Northbound Pilgrimage II

Chapter CXXXIII - Never Let Go

Apparently, it wasn't enough that Aeyrin and Bishop had to fight through some of the Silent City's denizens the second they left their hiding place.

They certainly weren't the only ones drawn to that glowing 'sun'.

They barely woke up and recuperated and they were quickly dragged into the worst heat of battles. All the way from their sleeping chamber, across the entire Silent City, they were beset by Falmer. Some shot at them from the buildings or the pathways between them, some were lurking around the corners, waiting to ambush them, and some were huddled in bigger groups, attacking in numbers. And that was only on the outside.

When they reached the last tower they needed to explore, the situation wasn't any better.

They kind of regretted not taking it on last night after they had cleared most of the city – the Falmer wouldn't have regrouped so quickly. But then again, neither would have they. They were battered enough and even today they weren't in the best of states. Everything was sore and some of the magical burns still lingered on their bodies, only treated with salves. Aeyrin couldn't really deal with those well yet.

It made their battles even harder. As if they needed to be. But somehow they managed so far without major injuries. It took long enough to cross the City. Even longer to ascend up the tower and explore it fully.

But finally, they stood in front of a door that they knew could only lead outside onto the high platforms by the glowing orb.

Well... 'stood' was a strong word. They were leaning on the walls by the door, panting in exertion and giving themselves a fleeting moment of rest. Close quarters weren't ideal for Falmer battles. But unfortunately, it was where most Falmer battles took place. Then again, with how they swarmed people, open spaces weren't exactly ideal either. Maybe it was just fighting Falmer in general. How could something entirely blind be so effective in battle?

They had almost the same number of cuts, gashes and bruises as last night already between the two of them. But the platforms were their last stop for now. They really hoped something special awaited them out there. Otherwise this whole thing was for nothing since they got most of their loot in the City below. The tower was largely barren – it seemed to serve only as an observatory. The rooms around the floors were mostly empty with thin slit windows from which the Dwemer likely monitored the situation in the underground city.

Now they finally had a moment of respite with the tower cleared. For now. It wasn't a long moment. They knew that there were Falmer on the platforms. And more could have entered the tower by now, making their way towards the two of them.

"Packs?" Bishop asked in between his strained breaths that were only slowly calming down. His leg hurt so fucking much after he got stabbed right above the knee by one of those fuckers. But he could walk and he needed to hold on a little longer.

"I was... thinking... there..." Aeyrin pointed to the small ledge that circled the main tower chute, right below the golden dome. It wasn't very high. They could toss their packs onto it and then pick them up once the battle was done. It was never a good idea to fight with so much weight on their backs and they weren't exactly eager to leave them here behind closed doors for all to see – the Falmer could come from below and instead of attacking, just grab their stuff. Then what would they do with no supplies?

"Good idea," Bishop nodded. He slowly leaned back from the wall and took one of his arms from his pack's straps. Then he only let it slump down his other arm with barely any effort. The more difficult part would come now.

He grabbed the strap and tried to toss the entire heavy pack up onto the ledge. It barely got near it before it clattered onto the ground next to him. Fuck that made a lot of noise. That was so fucking stupid of him. His exhaustion was clearly making his judgment kind of suspect.