Lorkhan's Eclipse [A Skyrim Fanfiction]

9. Delving Deeper

We press on, the guys clearing away an unnerving number of cobwebs as Hjeralt questions me about my archery skill. I notice Killian darting off into small alcoves here and there, opening what looks like jars.

"What are you doing?" I ask him after the third time I catch him doing it.

"In the game, there's usually gold or gems," he replies, elbow-deep in a large urn. "People bury their dead with valuables."

It hits me and I stare at him. "You ever heard of a grave robber? 'Cos that's what you are right now."

"As if they're gonna need it!" He scoffs.

Ralof, halfway down a short flight of steps, hushes us quickly with a hand signal, and we fall silent just in time to hear what sounds like arrows hitting stone. Killian groans softly, like he's just remembered something, as I pass him to join Hadvar and Hjeralt, just behind Ralof.

In the chamber beyond, there's a large lever set into the floor, with a barred gate at the far end of the room. Holes in the wall opposite us - and the small crossbow bolts scattered around the room - tell me that this is some sort of trap.

Ralof has continued forward and stops beside a body stuck with a bunch of the same crossbow bolts. He nudges the body with his boot, looking back at us as we follow him into the room.

"Dead. I guess the gate is activated some other way."

"It's a puzzle," Killian nods to three fancy pillar stones lined along one wall. They have three sides, and I figured the bas-relief image visible on each of them is repeated on the other sides of each pillar. At their base is a circular plate, and Killian grabs one of the pillars and - with obvious effort - begins to turn it.

"What's the sequence, then?" Hadvar asks, moving for the next pillar. Killian pauses, nodding up at the wall above the gate, where two more bas-relief sculptures can be seen. There's space for a third, but the disrepair of the place has left it indecipherable.

"First two are the same, the other one is different," he tells us. He grunts with effort as he tries to turn the pillar again, displaying the hawk motif. Hadvar has grabbed the second pillar, and Hjeralt crosses to help him as I move for the third pillar. According to the motifs on the wall, the third one is meant to be a whale, so I only have to turn it once.

"Whoever is in charge of this place... needs to clean... the tracks for these things," I groan as I start to turn the pillar. The stone makes a grinding sound as it scrapes against itself, but once it gets past what must be a sinking point, it seems to roll better.

It takes Hjeralt and Hadvar a little longer with their stone, since they have to turn it twice, but Killian nods as they both step back, the stone locking into place. He grabs the lever, flipping it—

Someone shouts as I'm wrenched back, out of the line of fire as the arrow trap goes off. Killian reacts almost as quickly, diving aside with most of the arrows skimming past him.

At least, I 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 he reacted.

"So much for that," Ralof mutters as the arrows stop. They seem concentrated on the area around the lever, so we were mostly out of the way of the danger. I rush over to Killian, who is groaning as he clutches his shoulder. I don't see an arrow or any blood.

"That was a bad fall," he says, sitting up and looking up at the wall. "I don't get it. It's meant to be Snake, Snake, Whale."

"Well, we can't afford to get it wrong a second time," Hadvar says. "Maybe the middle one is supposed to match that one on the ground.'