If you want to read 20 Chapters ahead and more, be sure to check out my P-Tang12!!!
...
(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
...
But right now, his focus was entirely, utterly consumed by the massive, intricately carved stone puzzle door standing at the far end of the hallway. He dismissed the notifications with a mental wave of his hand. The numbers could wait. The Jagged Crown was waiting, and with it, the political leverage to bend the Imperial Legion entirely to his will.
Leaving the massive, shattered ambush chamber behind, Aerion, Jenassa, and Lupin moved deeper into the oppressive, freezing darkness of Korvanjund. The ancient stonework here was pristine, entirely untouched by the desperate looting of the bandits above.
Thick, frozen roots from the surface world had broken through the vaulted ceiling in places, hanging down like the skeletal fingers of dead giants.
They turned right, passing beneath a crumbling stone archway, and entered a long, narrow corridor.
Immediately, the rhythmic, heavy, terrifying sound of grinding gears and slicing metal echoed through the damp air.
SWISH. CLUNK. SWISH. CLUNK.
Aerion held up a hand, halting their advance. He peered down the dimly lit hallway.
Spanning the width of the corridor were three massive, crescent shaped iron pendulum axes. They were suspended from thick chains hidden within the ceiling, swinging violently back and forth across the stone floor in perfect, unrelenting unison. The heavy blades were rusted but razor sharp, easily capable of cleaving a fully armored man cleanly in half.
Directly across the deadly gauntlet, resting securely atop a raised stone altar, was a heavy wooden chest bound in iron.
"A primitive, yet highly effective deterrent," Aerion noted, his golden eyes tracking the rhythmic swing of the massive blades. He knew from his vast meta knowledge of the crypt's layout that there was a release lever situated just past the final axe on the left hand wall.
He turned to his Dark Elf companion. "Jenassa. You possess the agility of a shadow. Slip through the timing interval and find the disarm lever on the other side."
Jenassa analyzed the swinging pendulums, her crimson eyes calculating the exact millisecond delays between the arcs. A confident, lethal smirk touched her scarred lips.
"Child's play, Patron," she replied smoothly.
Jenassa didn't even draw a deep breath. She waited for the three axes to swing to the far right. In the split second before gravity pulled them back, she moved. She didn't sprint, she glided. She slipped past the first blade with inches to spare, ducked low beneath the backswing of the second, and executed a flawless, rolling dive past the third.
She popped up on the other side, her armor completely untouched. She immediately spotted the heavy iron lever protruding from the stone wall and hauled it downward with a heavy grunt.
The massive gears inside the ancient walls ground violently in protest. The heavy chains seized, and the three massive pendulum axes locked firmly into place against the ceiling, rendering the hallway entirely safe.
"The path is clear," Jenassa called out.
Aerion smiled, walking casually down the now-disarmed corridor, Lupin trotting happily at his heels.
"Flawless execution," Aerion praised as he joined her at the stone altar.
Together, they threw open the lid of the wooden chest. Aerion's dimensional void immediately went to work, vacuuming up the ancient treasures hoarded within.
[Gold Acquired: 213 Septims]
[Items Acquired: 3x Silver Ingot, 3x Quicksilver Ingot, 1x Copper Sapphire Circlet]
[Inventory Weight Increased by 5.65 KG]
"Leave nothing behind," Aerion murmured as the heavy ingots and the glittering jewelry vanished into thin air.
With the trap room cleared, they exited the corridor, continuing their steady descent into the bowels of the mountain. They walked down a short flight of worn stone steps and pushed through a heavy wooden door, entering a wide, beautifully preserved hallway.
The walls here were lined with massive, intricately carved stone murals depicting ancient, stylized Nordic totems, the Bear, the Owl, the Moth, the Dragon.
At the very end of the hallway stood the ultimate barrier. It was a massive, circular door forged from solid, dark stone, featuring three concentric, rotating rings covered in matching animal totems. In the very center of the door was a heavy, circular keyhole featuring three distinct, deep indentations.
The puzzle door. Exactly like the one he had encountered weeks ago in Bleak Falls Barrow.
Aerion reached into his leather satchel, feigning the physical retrieval of the artifact, and materialized the dark, heavy metal key from his digital inventory.
He held up the Ebony Claw. The dark metal absorbed the ambient light, giving it a menacing, beautiful sheen. He flipped the claw over, examining the three animal symbols perfectly etched into the palm of the artifact.
"Wolf. Moth. Dragon," Aerion read aloud.
He handed the heavy claw to Jenassa. "The ancient Nords loved to lock their doors, but they seemingly lacked the memory to remember their own passwords. Place the symbols in order, from the outermost ring to the innermost ring, and then insert the key."
Jenassa took the claw, examining the etchings with a look of profound disbelief at the sheer simplicity of the ancient security mechanism. She stepped up to the massive stone door.
She placed her hands flat against the outermost ring and pushed. The heavy stone ground loudly against its track, rotating until the symbol of the Wolf locked into the top, central position. She repeated the process with the middle ring, aligning the Moth, and finally rotated the innermost ring to the Dragon.
Once the combination was perfectly aligned, she stepped back, handing the Ebony Claw back to Aerion.
Aerion stepped forward. He slotted the three talons of the dark metal claw directly into the three indentations in the center of the door and turned it like a heavy key.
CLUNK.
A massive, deep mechanical thud echoed from within the walls. The stone door split directly down the middle, slowly descending into the floor and rolling away to reveal the dark, untouched passage beyond.
Aerion pulled the Ebony Claw free from the mechanism and casually tossed it back into his satchel, letting the system reclaim the weight.
[Inventory Weight Increased by 2.0 KG]
Beyond the opened puzzle door, a wide set of stone stairs led sharply upward. They ascended the steps, navigating a short, curving hallway until they arrived at a pair of massive, towering double steel doors. The metal was frozen over with centuries of permafrost.
Aerion pushed them open, stepping into a grand, highly imposing chamber.
The room was vast, featuring a high, vaulted ceiling and a distinct secondary floor accessible by two sweeping stone staircases on either side. But what made the room truly chilling was its decor.
Lining the walls of both the first and second floors were dozens of heavy, upright steel coffins. They were not sealed sarcophagi; they were standing tombs, completely closed but giving off an overwhelming aura of latent, hostile energy.
Directly across the room on the first floor was a heavy iron portcullis gate, currently blocking their path forward.
Aerion's meta knowledge fired instantly. He knew this room flawlessly. To open the gate, one had to go to the second floor and pull a specific iron handle. However, the moment that handle was pulled, every single one of those standing steel coffins would burst open simultaneously, flooding the room with a massive ambush of Draugr.
"Follow me to the upper level," Aerion instructed, keeping his voice to a bare whisper to avoid waking the sleeping dead prematurely.
Jenassa and Lupin followed him silently up the right hand staircase. They reached the second floor balcony, walking carefully past the imposing, sealed iron coffins.
Near the center of the balcony, resting atop a small stone pedestal, was a collection of loose treasures clearly left as offerings. There was a jagged Orcish dagger, and resting beside it were four flawless, glittering gemstones: a Ruby, an Emerald, a Sapphire, and a Garnet.
Aerion swept his hand over the pedestal, taking everything.
[Items Acquired: Orcish Dagger, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Garnet]
[Inventory Weight Increased by 2.0 KG]
Before moving toward the release handle, Aerion remembered another hidden detail from his past life. He turned to the right side of the balcony, approaching a seemingly solid stone wall that looked slightly disjointed from the surrounding masonry.
He dug his fingers into the crack and pulled. It was a secret, counter weighted door. It swung open silently, revealing a tiny, hidden alcove containing a locked iron chest.
Jenassa picked the lock in seconds, and Aerion collected the hidden bounty.
[Gold Acquired: 156 Septims]
[Items Acquired: Silver Garnet Circlet, 2x Gold Ingot]
[Inventory Weight Increased by 2.0 KG]
With the room fully stripped of its valuables, it was time to clear the path.
Aerion walked over to the center of the balcony overlooking the first floor. Embedded in the stone wall was the heavy iron handle that operated the lower portcullis.
"Jenassa," Aerion murmured, his golden eyes fixed on the dozens of standing coffins below. "Draw your bow and knock an arrow. The moment I pull this lever, this entire room is going to wake up. They are going to attempt an ambush."
Jenassa's eyes widened slightly at his absolute certainty, but she didn't question his clairvoyance. She unslung her glowing Dwarven bow, knocked an ancient Nord arrow, and took aim at the ground floor.
Aerion did not intend to fight fair. The ancient Nords wanted to spring a trap? He would spring a vastly superior one.
Aerion closed his eyes, focusing the immense, terrifying depth of his 500 point Magicka pool. Once again, he forced his consciousness to bridge the dimensional gap into the realms of Oblivion. The mental strain was immense, a heavy, throbbing pressure against his skull, but his willpower was absolute.
He aimed his hands at the ground floor below.
CRACK. FWOOSH. BOOM.
Six massive dimensional tears ripped open in the center of the room. Two levitating Flame Atronachs, two hulking, ice club wielding Frost Atronachs, and two swirling, jagged Storm Atronachs materialized simultaneously, instantly filling the lower floor with a chaotic symphony of fire, ice, and static electricity.
"Hold the floor!" Aerion commanded his elemental army.
He grabbed the iron handle and hauled it downward.
A loud, grinding gear shifted in the walls. The heavy iron portcullis on the first floor slowly began to raise.
Instantly, the sound of exploding metal echoed through the chamber. Dozens of the heavy steel coffins burst open simultaneously on both floors. Dozens of Draugr and Restless Draugr stumbled out of their tombs, drawing their rusted weapons and letting out raspy, terrifying battle cries.
But their ambush was entirely, hilariously reversed.
The moment the Draugr on the first floor stepped out of their coffins, they walked directly into a wall of overwhelming Daedric fury. The Frost Atronachs smashed them into the stone with massive, sweeping blows of solid ice. The Flame Atronachs bathed the room in localized infernos, turning the dry, linen wrapped corpses into screaming torches.
"Clear the balcony!" Aerion shouted to Jenassa.
The Draugr emerging from the coffins on the second floor found themselves facing a heavily armed assassin and a god like mage.
Jenassa released her bowstring. The heavy Dwarven arrow, wreathed in magical fire, struck a Restless Draugr directly in the chest, blowing it backward over the railing to plummet to the first floor.
Aerion didn't even bother summoning complex spells. He raised his hands and unleashed a continuous, unyielding torrent of dual cast Chain Lightning. The blinding, jagged electricity leaped from Draugr to Draugr, frying them where they stood, reducing the undead threat on the balcony to smoking ash in a matter of seconds.
He leaned over the railing, raining massive Fireballs down into the fray below, supporting his Atronachs and turning the intended ambush into an absolute, one sided slaughter.
In less than a minute, the entire chamber was silent. The ancient trap had been utterly annihilated by overwhelming, preemptive force.
Aerion dismissed his Atronachs, rubbing his temples as the heavy mental pressure faded. He and Jenassa walked down the stairs, moving through the smoldering remains of the horde, letting the dimensional void vacuum up the ancient gold coins scattered among the ashes.
[Gold Acquired: 186 Septims]
"A highly ineffective trap," Aerion noted dryly, stepping through the now open portcullis.
Beyond the gate lay a long, torch lit hallway that culminated in a set of massive, incredibly ornate double iron doors.
Aerion paused before the doors. His demeanor shifted from casual confidence to absolute, razor sharp focus. He turned to Jenassa, his golden eyes serious and commanding.
"Listen to me carefully, Jenassa," Aerion warned, his voice low. "Beyond these doors is the throne room of High King Borgas. He is not a standard Restless Draugr, nor a simple Wight. He is a Draugr Deathlord. An ancient king of immense, terrifying power. That's what I gather from the Arcaneum's books."
Jenassa tightened her grip on her Dwarven bow, noting the severe shift in her Patron's tone.
"He wields a massive, perfectly honed ancient Nord battleaxe," Aerion continued, laying out the tactical reality. "But more importantly, he possesses the Thu'um. The Voice. Like the legends of old. If you allow him to draw a breath, he can shout with enough kinetic force to blast us through the stone walls, or instantly disarm us."
Jenassa's crimson eyes narrowed. "A shouting corpse like the one in Bleakfalls Barrow.."
"That's true," Aerion stated with absolute, cold finality. "I will summon the maximum extent of my elemental vanguard. The moment the doors open, they will swarm him. They will hit him continuously, violently, from all sides. We must stagger him perpetually. Like at Bleakfalls, do not aim for the body, aim for the throat and the joints. If he tries to inhale, you put an arrow in his windpipe. Understood?"
"Understood, Patron," Jenassa nodded, her professional calm fully locked into place.
Aerion took a deep breath. He pushed his Magicka reserves to their absolute limit, visualizing the six entities.
He threw open the heavy iron doors.
The throne room of Korvanjund was a massive, sweeping cavern of ancient stone. At the very back of the room, seated upon an elevated, massive stone throne, was the Draugr Deathlord. He was hulking, heavily armored in ancient, ornate ebony tinged iron plates.
And resting upon his decaying, horned helmet was the ultimate prize. The Jagged Crown. Forged from the jagged teeth and heavy bones of dragons, it radiated an aura of absolute, undeniable sovereign authority.
Flanking the throne were two large, upright sarcophagi, housing the Deathlord's elite honor guard of Draugr Wights.
The moment the doors slammed open, the Deathlord's eyes flared with a blinding, malevolent blue light. He gripped the arms of his stone throne, preparing to rise.
"Now!" Aerion roared.
He bypassed the slow, methodical summoning process, forcefully ripping six Daedric entities into the room directly surrounding the throne.
The Atronachs materialized with explosive violence. Two Flame Atronachs hovered above, two Frost Atronachs blocked the left flank, and two Storm Atronachs blocked the right.
"Attack the King! Do not let him breathe!" Aerion commanded, his voice echoing over the thunder.
The Deathlord stood up, hefting his massive, razor-sharp battleaxe. He opened his decaying jaw, his chest expanding as he prepared to unleash a devastating Unrelenting Force shout to clear the room.
He never got the chance.
Before the first syllable could leave his throat, a massive Frost Atronach swung its club like arm in a brutal, sweeping arc, slamming directly into the side of the Deathlord's armored ribcage. The heavy kinetic impact staggered the ancient king, forcing him to exhale a useless puff of air.
Simultaneously, the two coffins flanking the throne burst open. Two heavily armored Draugr Wights stepped out to defend their king.
Aerion and Jenassa charged into the room.
Jenassa drew her bowstring back to her ear, targeting the Deathlord. THWIP. Her flaming Dwarven arrow struck the ancient king squarely in the shoulder pauldron, staggering him just as he recovered from the ice blow.
Aerion ignored the Wights entirely, trusting his peripheral Atronachs to handle the adds. He focused his absolute fury on the boss. He raised both hands, unleashing a continuous, blindingly bright, dual cast torrent of Chain Lightning.
The raw electricity struck the Deathlord, frying his ancient nervous system and burning the dried flesh beneath his armor. The continuous shock prevented him from raising his heavy axe, locking him in a state of perpetual, agonizing paralysis.
However, the Deathlord was a creature of immense, prehistoric durability. He roared through the lightning, swinging his massive axe blindly. The razor sharp blade cleaved cleanly through the torso of a Storm Atronach, banishing the entity instantly. The Wights joined the fray, their heavy swords hacking into the Frost Atronachs.
It was a grueling, terrifying fight of attrition. The Daedra were falling rapidly beneath the heavy, unyielding strikes of the ancient elite guard. Another Storm Atronach shattered. A Flame Atronach was shot out of the air by a Wight's arrow.
"Keep the pressure on him!" Aerion yelled, his Magicka reserves draining rapidly as he sustained the massive lightning assault.
The Deathlord tried to shout once more, inhaling deeply.
Jenassa, running out of arrows, dropped her bow. She sprinted forward, drawing her Steel Frost Sword. She vaulted off a broken stone pillar, launching herself through the air. She drove the malachite blade directly into the gap of the Deathlord's neck armor, severing the vocal cords entirely.
The Deathlord let out a soundless, gurgling wheeze.
Aerion capitalized on the lethal strike. He dropped the lightning, concentrated all of his remaining Magicka into his right hand, and unleashed a massive, point blank Fireball directly into the Deathlord's chest.
BOOM.
The explosive force was absolute. The ancient king was thrown violently backward, crashing heavily against his own stone throne. His armor shattered, his bones cracked, and the malevolent blue light finally faded from his eyes.
With their king dead, the remaining Wights fell quickly to the surviving Frost Atronach and Jenassa's rapid strikes.
The throne room finally fell silent, thick with the smell of ozone, burning linen, and ancient dust.
Aerion stood panting, leaning heavily on his knees. The sheer expenditure of maintaining six summons and continuous lightning had nearly drained his 500-point pool. He unsummoned the final, heavily damaged Frost Atronach, letting out a long, exhausted breath.
Jenassa wiped the black, oily blood from her Glass Sword and sheathed it. She looked at the smoldering corpse of the ancient king resting against the throne.
"He was... incredibly resilient," Jenassa noted, her chest heaving. "A worthy adversary."
Aerion slowly walked up the stone steps to the throne. He reached down and carefully, reverently lifted the heavy, jagged crown forged from the bones of dragons.
It was a brutal, beautiful, terrifying piece of craftsmanship.
Jenassa stepped up beside him, eyeing the strange, archaic helm. "What is it, Patron? It looks like it was fashioned by savages, not kings."
"It is the Jagged Crown, Jenassa," Aerion explained, his voice laced with profound awe and absolute strategic triumph. "According to the most ancient, restricted texts in the College, it was forged from the teeth and bones of the ancient dragons by the first High King of Skyrim, Harald. It is the absolute, ultimate symbol of true sovereign authority in this province. It has been lost to history since the War of Succession, buried here with High King Borgas."
Aerion turned the crown in his hands, feeling the immense political power it represented.
"Whoever possesses this crown possesses the legitimate claim to the High Kingship of Skyrim," Aerion continued, his golden eyes burning with ambition. "Neither General Tullius nor Ulfric Stormcloak has it. But they both desperately going to want it in the future to validate their war efforts."
Jenassa stared at the crown, finally comprehending the sheer, terrifying magnitude of the High Elf's political maneuvering. He wasn't just acquiring wealth; he was actively acquiring the keys to the kingdom.
With a satisfied nod, Aerion opened his satchel and slipped the massive crown inside, letting it vanish into his digital void.
[Item Acquired: The Jagged Crown]
[Inventory Weight Increased by 4.0 KG]
He then quickly looted the ashes of the Deathlord and the Wights, claiming their remaining coin.
[Gold Acquired: 123 Septims]
"Our primary objective is complete," Aerion announced, stepping away from the throne. "But there is one final piece of business in this crypt."
He turned his attention to the very back of the cavernous room. Dominating the rear wall was a massive, sweeping curve of dark, polished stone, covered entirely in ancient, glowing draconic script.
It was a Word Wall.
The moment Aerion stepped closer, a deep, rhythmic, terrifying chanting began to echo in his mind. The ambient magic in the air vibrated, pulling him toward the ancient stone.
Jenassa stood back, her crimson eyes wide with genuine amazement.
Aerion approached the center of the wall, one specific word began to glow with a brilliant, blinding blue light, separating itself from the rest of the ancient text. The chanting reached a deafening crescendo in his skull.
Aerion reached out, placing his bare hand directly against the glowing blue rune.
The raw, cosmic knowledge of the Thu'um flowed violently from the stone, bypassing his physical senses and burning itself permanently into his soul. It was the fundamental, absolute understanding of the concept of time itself.
A massive, golden prompt exploded across his vision.
[Word of Power Discovered!]
[Would you like to permanently integrate the first word of the Slow Time Shout into your reality? Tiid (Time) YES / NO]
Aerion didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second. To possess the ability to literally slow the flow of time around him was the ultimate combat multiplier. It was the power of a god. He mentally smashed the YES button. The chanting abruptly stopped. The blue light faded from the wall, leaving it dark and silent once more. Aerion slowly lowered his hand, his golden eyes glowing with a terrifying, absolute confidence.
_____________________________
[Main Panel]
Name: Aerion
Race: High Elf (Altmer)
Health: 350/350 Stamina: 370/370 Magicka: 500/500
Level: 82
Skills: Animal Affinity (MAX LEVEL), Fast Skill Levelling (MAX LEVEL), Fast Magic Mastery (MAX LEVEL), Instant Shout (MAX LEVEL), Destruction (Fire(+1)/Lightning/Frost) (Level 43/MAX/43), Restoration (Healing/Purify) (Level 63/37), Alteration (Level 27), Alteration (Level 20), Illusion (Level 42), Conjuration (Necromancy/Summoning) (Level 37/54), Persuasion (Level MAX), Smithing (Level 22), Sneak (Level 33), One Handed (Level 67), Two Handed (Level 65), Lockpicking (Level 35), Archery (Level 72), Enchanting (Level 34), Light Armor (Level 53), Block (Level 60), & Pickpocket (Level 8)
Shouts: Fus (Force) & Tiid (Time)
[Inventory Panel]
1x Steel Dagger, Small Sack, Poacher's Axe, Mammoth Tusk, Iron Shield, Steel Mace, Steel Warhammer, the Golden Claw, Calm Spellbook, Arvel's Journal, Inkwell & Quill, Thief Book, Scroll Of Summoning (Wolf), Scroll Of Healing, Steel Dagger of Minor Souls, Weak Potion of Paralysis, Ancient Nord Bow, Dragonstone, Ancient Nord Battleaxe Of Blaze, Potion of Minor Pickpocketing, Golden Staff of Flames, Parchment Rolls Of Mammoths Farm And Loan, Golden Emerald Circlet, Copper Sapphire Circlet, Ebony Claw, Orcish Dagger, Emerald, Sapphire, Garnet, Silver Garnet Circlet, & Jagged Crown
2x Iron Mace, Steel Axe, Steel Greatsword, Silver Amethyst Ring, Silver Necklace, Gold Emerald Ring, & Gold Ingot
3x Iron Greatsword, Steel Sword, Scroll Of Fireball, Glowing Mushrooms, Potions of Minor Stamina, Silver Ruby Ring, Gold Ruby Ring, Amethyst, Silver Ingot, & Quicksilver Ingot,
4x Potions of Minor Magicka & Spider Eggs
5x Lesser Soul Gem, Dwarven Metal Ingot, & Ruby
8x Iron Arrows & Ancient Nord Arrows
9x Potions Of Minor Healing
Weight: 129.22 KG / 485 KG
Septims: 80,472