Initial Draft for Dwemer Ruin Story

[SoulofChrysamere]

PROLOGUE

 

Taken from the journal of Chimald Salfdaire, veteran explorer and mercenary.

 

 

16th Frost Fall, 4E 214: The Silver-Blood Inn

 

Well, today's the day. The Jarl was sure mighty nice to pay us such a handsome bounty for spearheading the cleanup mission into the ruin. 'Course, I figure he doesn't want to waste any of his own troops on the monsters down there if he can help it. Either way, me and my gang are gonna be set for some time after this. Probably isn't going to be anything we haven't handled before. Some Falmer...some chauruses...maybe a few frostbite spiders. It'll be a cinch.

 

Got to finish packing. Will write more when we arrive at the ruin.

 

 

17th Frost Fall, 4E 214: Inside the Dwemer Ruins

 

Doesn't seem like any different an experience than what we're used to. Crappy traveling food, bad conversationalists as escorts, and a big, brooding shell of a once great civilization. No matter, though. We'll do our thing and pave the way for the "Markarth Elite". I suspect the only difference between them and the "regulars" are that they actually wear boots as opposed to slippers.

 

Everyone's pretty psyched up. Fleggir's been fondling his hunting bow and sword since we got here. Largorush has been checking, rechecking, and re-rechecking our supply packs. Urvi's being Urvi. Strutting around with her hand on her sheathed sword's hilt like she owns the whole damn place.

 

Guess I'd better quit scribbling in this journal and get my gear ready. Don't know what more I'll write after we're down there, but I'll just have to wait and see.

 

 

Two weeks later...

 

 

 

Fleggir pressed the balm-soaked cloth harder against his freshly wounded cheek as he came through the makeshift door for the group’s headquarters. To his dismay, only Largorush was there, busy putting a pot of water on to boil over the fire. Largorush turned his head back as the door creaked open, and rose to go meet his comrade upon seeing his new injury.

 

“Fresh battle scar?” Largorush said as he walked up.

 

“Yeah. Those damn chauruses are nasty buggers.” Fleggir answered as he re-latched the door. “Had a pair of ‘em scare me away from an already dead one. I wasn’t about to fight two at once, so I turned and started back here. Then, a third one jumped me in one o’ the halls. We gave each other a nasty cut before he scurried off.”

 

“Hmm...I guess no fresh meat tonight.” Largorush mused as he returned to the water.

 

“Doesn’t look like it. So, where’s Urvi and Chimald?” Fleggir asked as he sat on a bench.

 

“Down fetchin’ more water. Told ‘em we had enough for at least another week, but they insisted.” Largorush replied.

 

“Hmph. I hope they have better luck than me.” Fleggir said as he unsheathed his sword and began inspecting it.

 

“Probably won’t have any worse...if they don’t meet that chaurus you sliced, anyway. Sucker’s gonna be pissed now on top of bein’ hungry.” Largorush said.

 

“Yeah...those things are mean enough in a good mood. And now that I think about it, he did scurry over that way.” Fleggir said as he chuckled dryly.

===========================

 

“Still got the jug?” Chimald asked as he peered over the top of the earthen ramp that led down to the stream.

 

“Yeah, I got it.” Urvana replied in a mocking ‘weak girl’ voice.

 

Chimald snorted. “It ain’t you I’m worried about, sweetie. It’s your anvil touch. Anyway, looks clear. C’mon.”

 

Urvana snickered as the pair crested the ramp with Chimald at the lead. He advanced slowly, scanning every shadow and alcove. The large veins of running water within the walls made it hard to discern chaurus noises and he had been ambushed by one before, so he wasn’t going to chance it again. He used the residual flame from his left hand’s readied fire spell as a torch and security against any wayward chauruses. In a few minutes, the two made it back to the Dwarven ruin’s stone halls. Chimald breathed a sigh of relief as his boots touched the stonework.

 

“Guess you can relax now.” Urvana said as she elbowed Chimald playfully in the ribs.

 

“Heh...we’re not safe yet.” Chimald warned, tightening his grip on his sword.

 

They passed through the first few halls without incidence, but a familiar snarl from around one hallway’s corner proved the Breton all too right. Both froze in their tracks and Chimald instinctively kindled his fire spell. Urvana sat the water jug down and assumed her two-handed grip on her broadsword. The snarling steadily grew louder, and Chimald grimaced at the approaching encounter.

 

“Chaurus...an angry one.” He uttered.

 

“Yep. Get ready.” Urvana said.

 

It seemed a long while, but the chaurus eventually rounded the corner and confronted the pair of mercenaries. Chimald immediately noticed a deep gash across the chaurus’s face with caked blood around it. Urvana tightened her combat stance while she waited for Chimald to open with a fireball. Chimald quickly powered up for his opening strike, aiming to exploit the chaurus’s exposed facial skin.

 

Chimald loosed a fireball directly at the chaurus’s wound. The flames quickly peeled away the thin layer of dried blood and seared the soft endodermis. The chaurus squealed in pain as it wildly shot a glob of poison in Chimald’s direction. Chimald sidestepped the attack and tossed another fireball to keep the creature busy while Urvana moved in.

 

The chaurus tried to avoid being flanked by Urvana, but Chimald’s persistent flames and sword thrusts at its weak spot succeeded in pulling its attention away from the Dunmeri maiden. She moved in as the chaurus made a wild lunge at Chimald and delivered a heavy overhead chop to the middle of its back. The weighty, finely sharpened steel blade parted the protective chitin and Urvana made a cruel drawing cut across the creature’s back.

 

The new surge of pain along its backside caused the chaurus to switch targets and knock Urvana to the ground with a speedy pivot. Urvana rolled with her momentum and was back up on her feet quickly. Chimald, with the new gap in his opponent’s armor now open to him, released another ball of fire. The chaurus again whipped around as its backflesh roasted, but Chimald was out of range. As the bug’s head came to face the spellcaster again, yet another fireball found its mark on its target’s damaged face. The chaurus reeled back in frenzied shrieks, its flesh cooking inside its own carapace.

 

Seizing the opportunity, Urvana ran up alongside the chaurus and rammed her blade into the base of its neck. The chaurus’s movement ceased instantly and it gave one more faint squeak before it fell silent and plopped onto the ground. Urvana wrenched her sword around inside its shell for a few seconds to make sure it was dead, and then ripped it out.

 

With fresh adrenaline still flowing through their bodies, the two warriors sat against opposite walls to finish processing what had just happened.

 

“...Mean buggers, ain’t they?” Chimald commented between relieved chuckles

 

“Heh...yeah. They can get nasty when you piss ‘em off.” Urvana added.

 

“Mhmm. ‘Course, looks like something else pissed this one off before it met us.” Chimald said as he observed the corpse’s now blackened facial gash.

 

“Yeah. Was wonderin’ why it didn’t run when it sensed us. Guess it figured whatever had hurt it was back to finish the job.” Urvana mused as she rose to retrieve the water jug, which had managed to survive the ordeal unscathed.

 

“Who says miracles ain’t real?” She said as she held up the spotless jug.

 

“Indeed.” Chimald agreed as he stood and nodded to the dead chaurus. “Those things’ve been known to kill groups o’ explorers and even mercs single-handedly.”

 

“Yeah, but that’s ‘cause most explorers and mercs are careless dumbasses. Helps to bring a little brainpower to a situation.” Urvana interjected as the duo continued on their trip back to base.

 

“Heh, true. Speakin’ o’ situations, I wonder if Fleggir was able to find any more food.” Chimald said.

 

“I dunno. Maybe that guy back there was supposed to be dinner?” Urvana suggested as she hooked a thumb behind her at the dead chaurus.

 

Chimald shrugged. “Beats me. I doubt Fleggir would tussle with one o’ those all by his lonesome, though.”

 

“Yeah. Scary either way though, when a chaurus comes lookin’ fer crap instead o’ runnin’ off and hidin’.” Urvana noted.

 

“Yeah well, we’re close now and it doesn’t look like we’re gonna get any more trouble. If Fleggir and Largorush are there, we can all come and haul that sucker in.” Chimald said.

 

“Mhmm. We’ll have to race the scavengers for it, though.” Urvana added.

 

Chimald just nodded.

Edited August 14, 2012 by SoulofChrysamere

[Maharg67]

SoulofChrysamere. Excellent, I hope to read more of this story! Please keep on writing on!

[tokyobiohazard]

I felt bad for the chaurus >.<' Great job, though! xD