An Enchanting Tale

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The once mighty city walls of Damlzthur stood as little more than rubble; brown hills with scattered, gray, stone architecture. The group pressed on beyond the fallen stones. Searching for an entry, Numerius rounded a large wall to the east with Fara as the brothers rounded it to the west. Appearances suggested a former tower long since abandoned.

"I have located the exterior door," Fara yelled.

The elves bounded over the rubble. There, she stood before an askewed, brass-like door. Evidently, time and pressure had forced the foundation beneath the soil to list a bit towards the north end, their own right-hand side. The group worked quickly to clear debris from the door then pushed their way in.

Stale winds assaulted their olfactory senses for a moment. Immediately, the droning of gears and steam rushing through pipes assaulted their auditory senses. The excitement was palpable. For a lingering moment, they simply gawked, awed by the ancient dwemer.

"Alright, we need to be wary of traps," S'maash said.

All four of them peered down the tall, long, stone hallway. At the end of the hallway was only darkness. Numerius produced a torch. Before he lit it, S'maash raised a right hand overhead, casting a candle light spell. The illumination from his magickal beacon did little to bring radiance to the far end of the hall, but so long as the team stood together while moving slowly, the spell—a wavering bauble of light—remained over the wizard's head.

"Nicely done," Fara said. She took the forefront, leading the team. "S'maath, Numerius, keep your eyes peeled for floor traps."

"Aye," both man and mer replied.

They treaded carefully and quietly, their footsteps drowned out by the sound of the ruin itself. Like a living, breathing beast, it ticked, clanked, and sent roaring steam through its walls. The candle light revealed the entry hall was quite extensive. While the others had little trouble moving, S'maash was thrown off by the tilt in the floor. Like the door, the entire hallway listed slightly. Then, they reached a corner.

Fara raised a hand, calling the group to a halt. She stepped forwards to peer around the juncture. The wizard saw beautiful filigree carved into the walls and brass-like metal, which adorned the junctures. Small, dwemer shelving lined the left side of the corridor, which was much more level than the previous one. It was difficult to tell, but there seemed to be some doorways along their left. Finally, the redguard motioned to resume movement.

"I thought we were going to rest upon arrival," Numerius remarked.

"Don't be a fool. We'll rest after having taken stock of our surroundings," Fara chastised.

He winced, but she was right. They pressed on. After inspecting the shelving, and a few of the other rooms, they found little in the way of treasures. Weary and hungry, the group took a break in one of the rooms. Fara shut the door as the others unpacked. S'maash stopped to look at her quizzically.

"In the case of intrusion, whatever might be coming will at least have to get through this door," she said to him before he uttered a word.

"This is why she leads us," S'maath added.

After garnering an hour's rest, the group left their gear in the room as a sort of base camp. S'maath pulled some parchment from his robes. With charcoal, he started sketching a map, providing the luxury of referring back to where they had started should the need arise.

Hours and hours of searching yielded only ruined tomes, old dishes, bed sheets, and broken tools. Apart from the unnerving clatter of dwemer gears built into the stonework, there was nothing extraordinary. The first day of the expedition ended with moving camp to a new location, one quieter than the previous.