Chapter ?
Buried underneath snow and ice for gods only know how long, the fabled ruins of Saarthal discovered a few months earlier have taken that same amount of time to dig down to its entrance. And really, we're not even sure this is it. The laborers dug until they uncovered a door, then they notified the College. Next to a nondescript stone structure that looks indistinguishable from other ruins in the province is a crudely-constructed wooden platform. It surrounds a massive hole in the icy, snow covered ground. This, for now, serves as the only marking of Saarthal's door. On one side, supported by a large boulder, tables and bookshelves are lined up along the top of walkway. They're stacked with urns and pottery shards and books that in no way look readable or salvagable. A short rope bridge connects to the other side of the walkway, leading to a series of sloping ramps that descend to a small area where the outer entrance into the city was found. Here are where a few of the contracted laborers hired by the College, most likely Mirabelle's doing, are scattered. Two are carving out the glacial walls, another is setting aside and cataloguing any artifacts that are found at a nearby table, and two others are digging through the snow to uncover more of the first and largest city ever built in Skyrim. I almost miss the storm atronachs at the edges of the dig site, supervising the area. They nearly blend in with the snow and glacial boulders that surround us.
My cohort stands down at the bottom, in front of the uncovered door, no doubt waiting for me. Tolfdir is at the front, looking to be inspecting the laborer's work and some of the findings. The rest are lumped in a vague circle, chatting amongst themselves. Brelyna and Onmund stand side-by-side, with J'Zargo in front of them. My jaw involuntarily clenches at the sight of him. I still haven't forgotten his scrolls that nearly killed me in the Midden. He's given me a wide berth ever since. He is unfortunately the first to notice me as I approach the group. His eyes light up for a brief moment before averting his gaze, which catches the attention of Onmund and Brelyna. Both are all smiles at my arrival, relieved to see me, as if my absence worried them. "I would have been here sooner but I got... rerouted on the way here." The surrounding area had no shortage of dangers, both natural and manmade. And snowstorms were a routine occurence. It wasn't uncommon at all for people to get lost in the wilderness, especially during the winter months. "I hope I didn't keep you all waiting too long." Brelyna shakes her head, hugging herself tight. "Not at all, Ira. We haven't been here long anyway. And besides," she gestures over her shoulder to Tolfdir behind us, currently speaking with an exhausted-looking laborer as he digs through piles of snow, "Master Tolfdir has been a little preoccupied with all the excavation work."
I smirk. Leave it to our teacher to lose track of time and himself with the discovery of a lifetime. As if on cue, Tolfdir looks over his shoulder and perks up when he sees us. The laborer forgotten, he clasps his hands together, rubbing them as he walks over to us. "Ah, finally! We were starting to worry we lost you, Miss Astora," he grins with all of his teeth. The comment was meant to be lighthearted and teasing, but it reminds me too much of the previous group of apprentices that went missing. Master Phinis' group, to be exact. Several months before I joined the College, theirs was a group slightly larger than ours. All five of them disappeared at around the same time. None of them have been seen or heard from since. "It'll take more than that, I'm afraid," I force a chuckle I don't feel inside. Thankfully, Master Tolfdir and the others don't notice. He moves around us, and we all follow to the door. "Alright then. Now that we're here, let's waste no time getting inside. Please, all of you, stay close to me. I don't know what we'll find, but it's always better to be cautious." In a heaving motion, he pushes the door open. It makes a horrendous creaking noise as it moves, giving way to a black abyss in front of us. No one has been here in centuries. Millennia, even. With an effortless flick of his wrist, a bright orb appears above Master Tolfdir's head. One by one, we follow him into the darkness, letting the light guide us.
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The rock wall collapses outward with a loud explosion, at the same time I hear the last of the metal barricade that trapped me sinking into the floor. Plumes of ash and dust blanket me and Master Tolfdir both as he rushes forward. I step back instinctually and wave it away as I cough, waiting for the air to clear and my vision to adjust. The wall has given way to what looks like a winding stone passageway, with jagged edges and no visible steps. It would be pitch black, were it not for candle mounts on the wall, with small candles strangely already lit. It looks like it was hand-carved into the wall at some point after Saarthal's construction. With all the effort it took to uncover this, I opt to say the quiet part out loud. "This was hidden for a reason." Master Tolfdir glances at me briefly before returning his focus back to the new path in front of us. "I daresay you're right, Miss Astora," he says carefully. "I certainly wasn't expecting a hidden path, but we ought to see where it goes." He sounds about as cautious as I feel. If he's feeling at all nervous about this, then what's on the other side of this passageway? My sword feels grounded and secure on my back, a reassuring weight. Master Tolfdir takes a few careful steps forward, and I feel a lurch of panic. "Is this a good idea, Master Tolfdir? We don't know what's on the other side..." He stops to look back at me. "We haven't run into any trouble so far, but I'm sure it won't be anything we can't handle. All the same, it would be better if we went together. You're the one who discovered this, after all." I balk. I hadn't considered that this would be classified as a discovery... by me, no less. I did break the rock wall, with no way of knowing it would lead to this. I take a deep breath, settling my shoulders. "You're right," I tell him. "Let's see this through."
We walk for several paces, the stone hallway leading us up and down and left and right and every combination in between until I lose count. Master Tolfdir says little as we go deeper, instead commenting on how strange this is and wondering aloud what on Nirn this is and why it would be in Saarthal. Questions I have no answer to and he doesn't seem to expect me to have answers to, but he clearly hopes to find out by the end of this. I focus on keeping pace with him while avoiding errant rocks and debris scattered on the ground at our feet. It distracts me from the growing sense of unease in the pit of my stomach. This is a bad idea. Something is telling me this is a bad idea, that something is about to happen. But I don't know what. Master Tolfdir said we haven't run into trouble yet. But what if we're about to? What if it's here, at the end of wherever this path is leading us? And what could it even be? I absentmindedly reach behind me to touch the grip of my blade, hoping I won't need to use it soon.
Finally, after what feels like an hour of walking, we see a faint light ahead. The path abruptly ends at a dooray. We step through a smooth entry way that opens up to a small dimly-lit room, barely the size of the storage foyers in the Halls back at College. Three coffins line the wall, one on each side and one more in front of us. In the center is a tall table, reaching past my waist. Stacks of linen wraps lie atop it, next to archaic, black tools with long apparatuses, curving shafts, sharp and serrated blades. An embalming room. This is an embalming room. Master Phinis will disagree, but we have no business meddling with the dead. Least of all in a city as ancient and important to the Nords as Saarthal. "Master Tolfdir," I begin, "these look like burials. I don't think we should sta-" My words fall short when I look at Master Tolfdir. He's doing something strange. Which is... nothing at all. I move closer to him and touch his arm. He doesn't react, but his body feels unnatural. Warm, but stiff as stone. He looks like he was taking a step forward before he just... stopped. His brows are furrowed and his lips are slightly parted, an expression of perplexion, but his eyes aren't moving. His entire body isn't moving, now that I look. He's not even breathing. He's frozen. As if someone snapped their fingers and decided time would stand still for him here and now.
I take a deep breath, forcing a calm I can't muster. I feel the panic building under the surface the longer I stay here, making me regret not obeying the unease I felt on the way here. We must have walked into a trap, that's the only explanation that makes sense. We need to leave now. But first, I have to go back. Find the others. Figure out what in Oblivion is happening. Snap Master Tolfdir out of whatever has gotten into him. Get the assistance of Arniel if he's still around. Get out of here being the final task. With another shaky breath, I turn to head back down the winding passageway, sprint if I need to, when the entire room shifts. Gradually, it becomes brighter and awash with a sickly, pale blue color that is uncomfortably familiar. I've seen this before. Even before the dream I had with mother, from days ago. I once fell into the Iliac Bay after slipping on a rock while trying to cross a particularly violent current. I remember opening my eyes after I plunged under the surface, my surroundings taking on a soft, blurry blue. What is happening? At the same time, I feel a tingling awareness behind me. It compels me to turn around, and I obey. Across from me, on the other side of the table, there's a rippling motion in the air, not unlike the one that appeared on the rock wall when I put on the amulet. It grows stronger in intensity before concaving inwards, slowly manifesting into the outline of... a person.
My sword is off my back and in my hand before I have time to think. The outline fills in, growing brighter until the details emerge in scattered fractals. An ornate robe with long sleeves. Intricate geometrical shapes and patterns lining the wrists and the front hem where it is buttoned closed at the waist. A tall belt that looks like a tower shield, stones inlaid at its corners. Broad, sloping pauldrons bearing the same designs. A plain tunic with dark pants underneath it all. Dark gloves with bare fingertips. A high collar covering the neck, until finally, a hood-covered head. My heart drops when the face materializes. A male Altmer. The lighting in the room and the hood covering his hair make it impossible for me to tell how old he us, but what I can see are facial features sharp enough to cut through stone. He's tall, and sneering at me like I've just been caught trespassing or interrupting something important. I don't know who he us, but he must be the one responsible for whatever is happening here. I waste no time interrogating him. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The Altmer blinks once, his deep voice carrying the haughtiness and authority of his people. It rings clear, and I catch a youthful undercurrent to it that betrays his age. He is young, but not very young. Definitely older than Brelyna, but much younger than our Archmage. "I could ask the same of you, Ira of Astora. But that is neither here nor there." My heart drops further as the panic I felt begins to shift to fear. How does he know my name? "The Psijic Order have been watching you for some time. That is why it is imperative that you listen and heed my words carefully," he uncrosses his arms. My body is still tense. The Psijic Order? Why does that sound familiar? Where have I heard it before? I'm not entirely certain this Altmer won't attack me or freeze me like he did with Master Tolfdir. But an explanation would be nice. "By unveiling this passageway, you have set into motion a chain of events that, from this point onward, cannot be stopped or changed. But fear not, judgement has not been passed, as you had no way of knowing."
I feel my eyes narrow. "Judgement? From who? The Psijic Order? What are you talking about?"
He waves his hand dismissively at me. "I am not at liberty to answer those questions, I'm afraid. But I assure you, you will have all your answers in due time." He's too calm, nonchalant, in control. Who is he? The robes are a dead giveaway that he is a mage, but he's definitely not with the College... or any College that I recognize, from here or outside the province. And the Psijic Order sounds alarmingly familiar, something I've definitely heard of before but cannot place at the moment... "For now, know that you will be tested, by forces outside of our control. And know that you will succeed. The Psijic Order believes in you." Suddenly, he begins to glow, a reverse of his entrance here. The air around him begins rippling inward, almost sucking him into it. "Wait," I say in a rush, "you didn't tell me who you are!" The only response I get is a blank stare. I watch as the rippling grows stronger until his entire body is a glowing outline. In a flash, he is gone. The eerie blue light coating the room fades away soon after. Master Tolfdir completes the step that was interrupted and stops abruptly. He makes a slow turn towards me, looking even more perplexed than he did before all this happened. "I swear, I felt something just then," he starts. I don't think he knows quite how to phrase what he felt, but he doesn't need to. "I know," I tell him. "Something happened just now... there was a mage here. He appeared behind the table there and spoke to me," I gesture to the empty space where he once was.
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