The Dragonborn

Part 21

Jack stared perplexed at a stone archway.  Was he on a mountain top?  He couldn't tell.  Beyond the archway a fierce blizzard raged.  Covering the road in a thick snowy blur.  He felt like he needed to pass through it... but how could he?  He'd be blown off the mountain?  He started to reach for it, when he faintly saw a huge silhouette from within the blizzard.  A single eye shown through as bright as blue stained glass and as it locked eyes with him a thundering voice ushered out as wispy as the storming wind.  "Dovahkiin".  Jack jerked awake, glancing around in shock.  Slowly his surroundings came back to him as Mark pushed him back down, telling him calmly.  "It's alright, Jack. Lay back down".  Jack grabbed Mark's wrist and let him push him back down.  They were still in the room with the crumbling pillars and large wooden doors.  Mark was sitting beside him, stoking a fire with one hand and rubbing Jack's chest with the other.  Curiously, Jack scanned the area for the dead Draugr.  Mark must have won, right?  He wouldn't be sitting here so calm otherwise.  Mark kept his eyes locked on the fire, when he stated a bit sourly.  "Don't you ever do that again".  With a small smirk, Jack asked him playfully.  "Do what"?

Mark finally turned to look at him with stern eyes, when he answered.  "I'm not kidding, Jack. You could have killed yourself using a spell like that in your state. Magic has it's limits. Don't make me freak out like that again".  Mark turned his eyes back on the fire and Jack forced himself to sit up.  Leaning his head against Mark's shoulder, Jack whispered softly.  "I know that... but I was worried about you. I get that you can handle yourself, but even you have your limits".  Mark sighed heavily, and Jack smiled.  Giving Mark's bare shoulder a quick kiss, Jack asked him curiously.  "Where's the Draugr"?  Mark pointed back told the bridge, answering dismissively.  "I throw his body off the bridge. I didn't want to smell him any longer than I had to".  Jack chuckled, before asking Mark.  "Did you get any sleep? Or take a look around"?  Mark nodded, pointing to the large wooden doors as he said.  "I took a quick look in there. Seems like another ancient nord puzzle. Could be what that Dark elf was talking about... but nothing I have tried with the claw works".  Jack climbed to his feet, while Mark leaned back against the floor to lay across his arms, adding.  "Unless you can figure it out we're stuck here".

Jack scuffed loudly, telling Mark simply.  "Oh, you and your negativity. Where is the claw and that journal you picked off the guy"?  Mark's eyes were closed, but he gestured to his bag with his boot.  Ruffling through the bag, Jack pulled them out, stating proudly.  "Give me five-".  Jack stopped talking when he heard the sound of Mark's soft snoring.  Shaking his head with a smile, Jack turned for the large doors.  Mark must of stayed up to watch over him.  Slipping into the dark room, Jack cast the spell for candlelight.  As the room lit up, Jack admired the designs along the walls.  Leading to a large stone wall with circular dials that had it's own little brass animals... and holes for the dragon claw in the center slab.  Closely examining the walls images, he noticed people bringing their dead ones to different people who bore different animals.  There was a woman with images of a dragonfly.  A man with an owl and another man with a bear.  When Jack reached the wall, he carefully turned one of the three circular ring dials.  Each of the dials had all three animals on them.  A lock?  Flipping open the journal, Jack read aloud from the book.  "The golden claw is the key to Bleak Falls Barrow. To unlock the door to the hall of stories; one just needs the claw and the solution is in the palm of your hands. The legend says this test was to keep out the unworthy". 

Jack placed the claw into the holes and turned it.  Nothing happened.  Sighing Jack read the inscription again.  It said all a person needed was the key.  They had the key.  Was there another claw they would have to find?  Jack paced back and forth taking in the images on the walls and rereading the book.  Why wasn't he getting this?  Frustrated from trying everything he could think of, Jack sat facing the dial wall and fiddled with the claw as he tried to think.  The ancient nords worshipped Dragons... They were given gifts of some kind... Now they were forever damned to protect some ancient dragon knowledge.  Jack stopped turning the claw in his hand as an idea clicked.  A dragons gift in the palm of your hand.  Glancing down, Jack turned the dragon claw over in his hand to reveal the palm and groaned loudly.  He was such an idiot... why had that taken so long to figure out?  Quickly standing up, Jack raised his hand to the top dial and turned it until it was on the image of a bear.  The next dial he turned to the dragonfly.  Then the last dial he turned to an owl.  Exactly like the images on the palm of the dragon claw.  Then taking a deep breath, Jack placed the claw into the holes and turned it.

There was a loud 'thud' and the sudden scrapping of stone against stone.  Jack took a hesitant step back, as the ground began to rumble and shake.  He had done something!  Dropping the claw, Jack watched dust fall from the ceiling as he called out loudly to Mark.  His voice echoing off the walls, but still barely heard over the loud rumbling and scraping of stone.  "MARK?! I think I did something bad"!  Jack turned around to see Mark run up to the doors, yelling back at him.  "What did you do"?!  Jack shrugged, then turned back startled as a gust of wind blew passed him.  The other room had been sealed so tightly that it only just now breathed in fresh air!  The stone wall was lowering.  He had unlocked the door.  When the wall completely disappeared into the ground and the dust settled, Mark told him anxiously.  "I'll get our stuff. Don't you move"!  Jack didn't have the heart to tell him that he wasn't sure he wanted too.  The door had been sealed so tightly.  What the hell could they be guarding that needed 'THAT' much security?  Jack was so busy staring off into the next tunnel that when Mark patted his back, he nearly had a heart attack! 

Mark chuckled, handing him his bag as he said.  "Calm down. What do think they've got in here?  A dragon"?  Mark hefted his own bag and started walking... but now Jack really was worried.  What if there WAS a dragon in here... and they just released it?  Mark stopped a little ways ahead to look back and tell him playfully sweet.  "Oh, come on. I was just kidding. It's more than likely just more Draugr. If that. Come on, I'm right here".  Mark extended his hand for Jack to take.  Sighing, Jack picked up the claw and the journal, before walking up to take his hand.  Mark gave him a smile and Jack asked softly.  "What if there is a dragon down here"?  Mark chuckled, answering smugly.  "Than he is nothing but bones now. No one has been this deep in these tombs since just after the great war. And even if by some miracle one is down here... he's got to be pretty small".  Jack released Mark's hand to walk around a statute of Dragon heads in the center of the room, muttering out mostly to himself.  "I don't know... that Frostbite spider was pretty damn big".  Mark meant back up beside him on the other side of the statue, ruffling Jack's hair as he happily told him.  "Jack, relax. We've made it this far. We'll be fine".  To Be Continued...