Eye of Magnus (a Skyrim fanfiction)

Chapter Eleven: The Staff of Magnus pt. 2

 I step inside the chamber, my hands shaking from nerves. I have no idea what to expect but, despite the nerves, something edges me on. 

I'm in an extremely large room that has a waterfall in the distance and a pretty pool of water at the bottom...in fact, the room would be beautiful if it weren't for the two enthralled mages standing on two raised platforms with bursts of magicka shimmering through them - magicka that is containing none other than a dragon priest. 

A fucking dragon priest. Just my luck. At least he hasn't noticed me yet. It doesn't seem like he can break out of his containment just yet. Then I catch sight of the staff in his hand and my heart sinks. Something tells me that that staff is the Staff of Magnus and the very thing that I need to complete my quest here...and I'm going to have to go through this guy to get to it. 

Then it dawns on me that the only way to attack and kill the dragon priest, and then get the staff, is by killing the enthralled wizards. I'll have to fight the priest by myself. 

I take a deep breath. In and out. In and out. I can do this. 

I survey what's in front of me. The platforms are above the contained dragon priest, meaning that I might have an advantage over him. If the priest uses the staff to fight me (which I'm relatively confident that he will) then it might just be a matter of dodging them while I take him out with some powerful ranged magic. 

Okay. I can do this. 

I descend the first platform and take the mage out with a simple fire spell. I cast a quick glance at the dragon priest and he's still contained - but now he sees me and he knows what I'm here to do. The menacing look in his eyes sends a shiver down my spine as I head to the next mage. 

He readies the staff in his hand and I know that I'm going to have to be quick. So I don't waste magicka, I get out a dagger I have strapped on myself and basically stab the enthralled mage. I mutter the incantation to cast stoneflesh on my skin, to give me some extra protection, and then when I feel my magicka at it's strength again I give the enthralled wizard one last stab. 

It's grim, it sucks, it makes me feel terrible but I'm going to need all of my strength against the dragon priest. There's a roar from him as his containment spell comes down and then in a flash in one hand I have an ice spike spell and in the other, fireball. Here we go. 

He makes the first attack by sending a chain lightning spell, which I just about manage to dodge but not without feeling the static whiz by. Before he can throw another spell at me, I send a fireball at him which explodes on impact and makes the priest give a satisfying roar of pain. While he's damaged, I send five ice spikes in his direction. I miss three times, but I get him the other two times. 

Then I realise my magicka is dangerously low. I crouch down behind an altar and hurriedly down a small  potion. When I stand back up, the dragon priest begins to levitate into the air. Well there goes my high ground advantage. 

He waves his arm and I hear a whirring sound, followed by the crashing sound of thunder and my heart sinks. A storm atronach. Just as well I'm adept with conjuration spells as well - I conjure up a frost atronach and the two battle it out while the dragon priest sends more waves of shock at me and I try to dodge them. He gets me several times and the impact drains everything: health, stamina and magicka. 

I don't know where I summon the strength but I angrily yell and out from my hands comes a wave of destructive frost magic - like a blizzard and it hits the dragon priest and staggers the bastard.  His storm atronach is, somehow, defeated by my frost one and I begin to feel a tiny bit hopeful. 

Until the dragon priest flicks his wrist and all of a sudden my frost atronach turns to me. By the Nine, he's turned my own atronach against me! Back on my feet, I try to think. The dagger that I have is enchanted with flames magic, so I drive it into the atronach's leg. That seems to do the trick, especially seeing as he was already weakened from fighting the storm atronach. Before my atronach dies, he makes a sweeping blow and catches me, knocking me to my own feet. Then I look up and the dragon priest as the Staff of Magnus pointed at me and sends a blow of shock in my direction...and I don't have time to get out of the way.