Not Alone (A Skyrim Fanfiction)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I wasn’t wrong. 

     Most adventurers like me hired a follower to help fend of draugr and falmer attacks while exploring the deep ruins of Skyrim.  I preferred to sneak through the tunnels, giving me a chance to see enemies before they caught sight of me.  Frea, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy making as much noise as possible.  She kicked old rusty weapons out of the way, making hideous reverberating clangs that made me wince and slink along like a scolded cat, paused to comment on the history of the temple at the most inopportune times, and sneezed loudly once or twice, complaining plaintively about the quantity of dust in the corridors.

     At least she wasn’t like my previous follower, Marcurio.  He apparently had the thinnest skin in Skyrim and was forever complaining about being too cold, then asking if ‘it would be foolish to stop and light a fire’.  I had lit a fire in a draugr crypt once, and it wasn’t an activity I ever want to repeat.  Something about the warmth and light must have attracted the bony things because every single draugr in the entire hole had woken up and come at me at once.  Not a very comfortable situation, I can tell you.

     The only thing I could really say Frea did well was avoid traps.  She repeatedly noticed ones I didn’t, to my carefully disguised annoyance.  The bloody things were everywhere!  Dart traps, battering rams, swinging blades, fire plates….  You name it, this temple had it.  I had encountered traps in many of the barrows and old forts I had explored, but whoever had set these up could teach anyone a thing or two about subtlety.  Even the many cultists we met and fought seemed to be unaware of many of the lethal traps. 

     I suppose that since there were that many traps in the temple that was a stupid time for me to be reminiscing about past experiences.  I shook myself out of my reverie and followed Frea through two chambers, the second of which had nothing but a handle, which I pulled then jumped back very quickly to avoid any darts or otherwise potentially lethal devices.  But there was nothing, and a section of rock wall opened up.  Beyond was a sprawling room full of sarcophagi, and I could just see a throne with the figure of a sitting draugr reclining on it.  There was almost always a high leveled draugr or something of the sort guarding the best treasure in these places, so this came as no surprise. 

     Frea, however, did come as a surprise.  Instead of briefly mapping out a plan and possibly attempting a surprise attack as I usually did, she simply yelled a war cry and charged into the room.

     I really wanted to stay behind just long enough to roll my eyes, but instead I dashed after her.  She went straight for the seated draugr so I fought instead to keep the smaller ones off her back, thinking unkind thoughts even as I leveled a stroke at one’s neck.

     I had to admit, this fight didn’t take very long.  Between the two of us we eliminated all the draugr in just a minute or two, no health potions necessary.  I might have to consider reevaluating my opinion of followers. 

     I didn’t feel like looting the bodies at the moment, so I pulled the chain that couldn’t possibly have been in a more obvious spot, jumping back once again to avoid any traps.  But there was nothing but a gush of stale air as a door opened, revealing a long, serpentine path beyond.  “Over here,” I called, since Frea was still doing Divines know what in the other room.  Not waiting to see if she followed I continued on, looking around me with unease until the corridor opened up into a small round room.  My attention was immediately drawn to the center of the room where there stood a pedestal with nothing but a single black book resting on top of it.

     A book.  I just spent all this time creeping through a trap and draugr infested temple to find a book.  Typical.  Still, maybe it was a valuable book or contained information on Miraak.