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

Chapter Three - Black Marble

The cold air blew dead autumn leaves through the air, swirling and twirling and scraping across the ground. The wind wasn't strong, but it was definitely blowing. The sun was setting on the east side of us, goldenrod-colored rays flashing though the surrounding amber forest. The sky was blue in its upper space, fading to a light pinkish color and then to a bright orange. White streaks of cloud were barely painted across the sky, like strings of the atmosphere slowly dusting across.

"It's not autumn yet," Brelas noted. "It's spring."

"I noticed," Star said, lowering her eyebrows in suspicion. "Let's go inside."

The prison was haunting. The entirety of it was chiseled from slick, black marble. Two towers rose from it, the western one shorter than the eastern. The entrance was up a flight of many stairs, underneath an upside down V-shaped roof, lowering down on the sides and surrounding the stairs. A thick shroud of mist eerily floated around the base of the prison. It was on a hill; a small grey concrete plaza with a pattern of diamond shapes was resting in front of the stairs. Several demolished beams were crumbled onto the plaza. No sound came from within, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

"Are we gonna go in?" Veezare asked, looking at Star.

"Yes," she replied, squinting her eyes and stepping closer. "Let's go."

We tried to conceal our footsteps whilst we were ascending the stairs. Lumak, of course, was the loudest. I didn't hear Brelas at all. I almost forgot he was there. Once we approached the massive door, he spoke.

"Hold on," he said. "We shouldn't just walk right through the front door. There are probably guards or something of the like!"

"What else are we supposed to do?" Veezare asked. "There aren't exactly any windows we can crawl through! There's not a back door!"

"We don't know that," Lumak informed him. "There could be a back door."

"I never thought I'd say this in my life, but Lumak is right," Star agreed. "Let's hop around back."

Drelas groaned. Walking down the stairs, he said with every footstep, "I. Don't. Want. To. Walk. These. Damn. Stairs. All. The. Way. All. Over. Again!"

"Hush, brother," Brelas commanded.

Drelas sighed sharply and continued down the stairs, walking out onto the plaza with the broken columns. Everyone scrambled about awkwardly, trying to look for a way to the back.

"There's a dirt path," Duvrus spotted. "Leads straight behind the prison."

"Good job, Duvvie," Star patted him on the shoulder and began to walk along the path.

"Did she just call me Duvvie?" Duvrus asked Lumak, leaning in to him slightly.

"Afraid so," he replied.

"What does that even mean?" Duvrus said, now on the path.

"No clue," Lumak chuckled. "You're like a scout dog."

"Shut up," Duvrus smiled.

Veezare sped up to Star. "You sure about this?" he asked.

"No," she whispered. "I just don't want them to give up."

"You'd better hope there's a back door, then," he advised quietly.

"There's always two ways to get through something," Star said. "It depends on which one you choose, and the outcome will be different according to the rightness of your choice."

"Yes, but sometimes the second choice is more difficult in the long run," Veezare added. "The easy choice is not always the better."

"Exactly," Star agreed.