Ignem Tristitia (An Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Prequel) [ON HOLD]

Chapter Twenty Four - Dragon's Tongue and Sweet Rolls

"Look!" Brelas yelled enthusiastically, raising his arm and pointing.

I caught up with him and focused on what his fingers were directing to. A hole in the continuous streak of trees, and we were just meters away from it. Upon exiting the gap, the dirty, grass-covered path we stood on transformed into a beautifully elegant white stone road, twisting into the arched gates of the city.

Elden Root.

After staring at the entrance from a distance, the group began to hurriedly approach the city; not running, but not walking. When we reached the gap, I noticed the trees on each side of it seemed to curve sideways, splitting to the sides to give us a wide berth. I could see the city. Well, part of it. I saw colossal white towers atop stunning circular marble buildings with roofed entrances all around the bases. I saw terrific wooden houses with blue shingles, the roofs curving upwards with golden trim lining the edges. Orange light shown through the glossy rectangular windows. White smoke rose from the tall stone chimneys; and the houses had around three of them. I saw a bustling marketplace with triangular blue roofs extending upward above the stalls. Of course, I could see the insanely large graht-oak tree towering above in the center of the city. The grass was chartreuse, the trees were blue, and birds danced across the sky, in which puffy white clouds hovered. I could tell this city was important.

"My gods," Duvrus trailed off.

The twins stood together, their faces stretched in wide grins. Everyone else's mouths were hanging slightly open, awe-stricken by the sights.

"Don't mean to interrupt," Veezare said, popping his neck. "But are we going to actually go in?"

"Oh, uh, sorry, yes," Star stuttered. "Everybody come on."

She stepped down the small root-covered hill that led out of the forest, turning her head to the right and gazing directly at the graht-oak. Everyone slowly followed behind her, each man setting his eyes on something different. I, personally, stared north at the three white towers stretching high into the sky.

We approached the twenty-foot-high arch that acted as entrance. There was naught but two guards standing outside. They were both altmer, wearing helmeted, lustrous elven armor. They didn't seem to care that we were going in.

"Did you people come out of the forests?" one asked. His accent was fancily beautiful.

"Yes, we did," Star replied.

"What were you doing in there? How long were you in there?" the other guard asked. His voice was much deeper.

"That's a long, long story. We were in there for a few days. Maybe weeks. I don't know. We didn't keep track of time," Star answered.

"We've got time," the first guard calmly stated.

"Um, all right, then," Star said. "Well, we were teleported into a system of tunnels by a mage, then we escaped and found ourselves on a small beach. After that, we navigated our way through the forest," Star explained. "It took a lot longer than it sounds."

"All right," the second guard said skeptically, shifting his position and crossing his arms. "You said you were on a beach. There are only beaches around the sea. How could you have walked here from the coastline?"

"Wait," Star said, turning to face Veezare. "I didn't notice that!"

"Neither did I!" Veezare frantically whispered. "How the hell is that possible?"

"I don't know," Star whispered quickly. "We certainly haven't walked from the beach, so what happened?"

"Guys, remember that amulet?" Duvrus whispered.