Bab 508: Bleak Fall Barrow
Big shout out to the New Patrons:-
@anthony frank machin (C rank)
@Justin La'von Matthews (D rank)
@Josh Hamm (D rank)
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I couldn't stay in Helgen after this. The people may have looked up to me but this is not Winterhold, I had more to go elsewhere.
"Send riders to the Jarl of Falkreath to ask for his aid. Spread the news of what happened here as much as you can then join me in Riverwood. We'll move to Whiterun together." That's what I told my companions to do before riding a Flame Hawk Atronach towards the North.
The distance between Riverwood and Helgen is one day on a good horse but flying on my Hawk Atronach would take far less time. Hawk Atronachs are fast and the road is not hindered by any long turns or steep falls, just a straight line.
At dawn, I finally arrived at the lazy town of Riverwood. Landing outside the town's wall near a traders camp, I put on a traveling cloak and a hood and walk in the town. There, the town covered in the shadow of the Snow Throat mountain was having an argument right a few houses after its entrance.
"I said I saw a dragon last night!" An old woman shouted.
"By the Eight! What is it now, mother?" A young man replied.
"It was as big as the mountain, and black as night. It flew right over the barrow."
"Dragons, now, is it? Please, mother. If you keep on like this everyone in town will think you're crazy. And I've got better things to do than listen to more of your fantasies."
"You'll see! It was a dragon! It'll kill us all and then you'll believe me!"
The conversation sounded very familiar but I didn't really think I would hear it. As far as I can tell, this conversation gets triggered when the player enters Riverwood for the first time. Could it be that my existence triggers those conversations the same as in the game?
I knew those two people, the young man is the bard Sven and the woman is his mother.
"Greetings!" I spoke as I approached the two.
"What is it, stranger?" Sven replied.
"By the Gods! Yesterday dragons and now Giants!" Sven's mother looked at me as if I am some sort of a freak… good eyes.
"Mother!" Sven turned to the woman then to me, "Excuse her, she is a bit moody this morning."
"It's alright. I just wanted to ask the specific direction where that dragon flew!" I said.
"… The dragon? It is just my mother's… you don't have to concern yourself…"
"Young man, don't you know? A dragon has attacked Helgen."
"What?"
"You heard me! The town was burned to the ground. I thought the Imperial Soldiers ran this way. Woman, where did that Dragon fly to?"
"Mara's Mercy! It flew that way." The woman said as she pointed to the west.
"Thank you."
I wasn't sure where Alduin went exactly but there was something I'm sure of, he is now off to resurrect the other dragons which makes him a pain to my ass. There is a certain item that carries a map to all the dragon tombs which I need to secure. It has many uses later on.
As I was walking away, Sven called for me.
"Wait, kinsman. If what you said is true and maybe my mother isn't that crazy, then you best tell the Jarl in Whiterun. He needs to know about this and help secure Riverwood." He said.
"I know. Just point me to this town's inn and you better spread the word. I'll head out to Whiterun after I catch some sleep."
I had to stay in Riverwood until my team arrives but I also had something to do and that is to visit the most famous dungeon of all times, Bleak Falls Barrow.
Why is this the most famous Dungeon of all time? Just ask every Skyrim player how many times did they have to go through this particular Dungeon. They should already know it like the backs of their hands.
Aside from my plan to venture there, I had to make the news go viral about Helgen and thankfully, the Sleeping Giant Inn was a good place to start as I paid the bard, booked a room and stayed pretended to be resting while in fact, I went out of town by Teleporting.
Bleak Falls Barrow was up ahead and all I needed to do was to climb a mountain, stumble upon some pack of hungry wolves then reach an abandoned ancient tower with bandits taking refuge in. The bandits were an interesting bunch as I saved one of them for questioning to learn that most of the people here are deserters from the Civil War. It explains why the number of bandits has gone up ten times as much from what it was before the war. It also explains why there were so many bandits in the game literally wherever the player goes.
As the Thane of Winterhold, I had a policy about bandits during the Time of Peace and that was to brutally execute them. With a war going on, I am now less convinced about it.
I had to ask the bandit what the Jarl's men would do when they catch him and his answer was a Slow Death so I gave him a swift one.
Following that was a few turns on the mountain road then my arrival to Bleak Falls. Unlike the game, it doesn't really snow that in summer but it may happen occasionally, it just won't stick around. As soon as I started ascending the mountain, it started to show some signs of snow and barely got any as soon as I was up.
Outside the old Barrow, a band of dozen bandits was patrolling the area outside as it seemed that they have just arrived recently. I wanted to take them down quietly so I cast [Bound Bow] and aimed my spectral bow forward.
*Swoosh* *Swoosh* *Swoosh*
As they were all within the range of my Passive Detection, I ended up dispatching them with an arrow each. It seems my archery became very rusty from the last time I used it. At least this will serve as a good practice.
The Barrow's gates were huge and breathtaking which could only describe the greatness of the Ancient Nords who carved these Temples into the mountains just like the Dwarves and created this well-made gate that lasted for centuries.
Bleak Falls Barrow was constructed before the First Era during the prehistoric Merethic Era. This was one of the Dragon Cult's great temples. During the Merethic Era, the Nords and the Atmorans worshipped the Totem Guardians including the Dragon and each Totem had its cult but the most distinguished Cult of them all and the one that rules over the Nords was the infamous Dragon Cult.
The Cult, as its name implies, worshipped the Dragons as deity-kings with Alduin being the top dog. With their increasing influence, the Dragon Cultists became as Tyrant as their Masters and started abusing their positions until the rest of the Nords were fed up with it and the Dragon War started.
The Dragon War was almost hopeless as it was a meager resistance and a weak rebellion but soon, the Divines intervened and Kyne started giving her blessings to the Nords, the most important one was the Gift of the Voice, the Thu'um. Paarthurnax the Dragon and Kyne the Divine Mother of Nords taught the Nords how to shout like Dragons and the forces of humanity started having legions of Voice Masters instead of Mages. By the end, the dragons were vanquished and Alduin was thrown forward in time to this age, the Dragon Cult and its Priests were forced to go in hiding in their secure temples as they fed poison to each other and preferred to live for eternity as Draugrs.
Bleak Falls Barrow is one of the Draugr infested temples that once belonged to the Dragon Cult. There, an ancient Champion of the Dragon Cult was buried and with him, he holds the Dragon Stone. The map to all the dead Dragons that were sealed by the Nords during the Dragon War.
History lesson aside, I was already advancing through Bleak Falls Temple silently putting an arrow into each bandit I see. Still, with the Nerd living within me, I couldn't help but start collecting some samples from wherever I go.
There were old pots and ancient items lying around that means a lot to any archaeologist. Simply having bandits throwing those things and breaking them around made me question my own reasoning of dispatching them mercifully.
It was about a damn time until I heard some bandit calling for help, there roped by spiderwebs, a Dark Elf was trapped in the trap of his life. Guarding him was a Giant Frostbite Spider that can cause nightmares just by its appearance.
"Help! Help! Get it away from me! Get it away!'
That must be Arvel the Swift, a thief and a bandit. Dispatching the Frostbite Spider was easy so I got closer to the trapped Dark Elf.
"You did it! You killed it! Now cut me down before anything else shows up."
"What got you into this mess?" I asked.
"Just get me down, friend. I'm a treasure hunter, I was just exploring this Barrow."
"Exploring? So the ones I killed out there were not bandits?"
My question left the man silent for a second before he collected his thoughts and smiled.
"Those people? No! They were after me and the treasure. You killed them? Now that's good news. I don't have to share the treasure with any of those bandits now, it is all ours, friend."
"Hmm… intriguing!"
"Just me down, and I'll show you. You won't believe the power the Nords have hidden there."
I tried to get anything useful from this bandit but sadly, his backstory was as shallow as it can get. Probably a treasure seeker who ended up a bandit because of bad luck or a thief who was forced to a career change. These kinds are quite common. Arvel the Swift, as he was known, stole a key called the [Golden Claw], one of many similar keys shaped into the claws of dragons that can unlock certain gates. The Golden Claw works on a certain gate in Bleak Falls Barrow.
He had that key on him once he came to this crypt and got captured by the spider with it. As soon as I cut the webs holding him, he'll just…
"Hahaha! Thank you, friend, but… I'm too swift for you to catch."
… he'll just run away. I knew he would.
"Nefertiti." I called for my most trusted companion and in less than one second, the man running from me in the ruins met the most goosebumpy accident a mortal can have. It was as if the poor bastard was run over by a truck, all his limbs were facing the wrong directions.
"That's overkill, little missy." I said.
Nefertiti was there standing over the corpse licking her paws. I picked her up and searched the body for the Golden Claw and a journal. I'll be needing both of them.
"Hooman."
"Hm?"
"The Dragon was scary." Nefertiti said.
"Yes, dragons are supposed to be scary."
"No… that one was scarier." Nefertiti transformed from her Cat Form to the Human Form.
"It is supposed to be the scariest one ever. But girl, you and I have been through worse, haven't we?"
"Yes… it was scary… and too dark."
"Now imagine something too dark for even you. I'm glad I'm not crazy… I am not crazy, right?"
"Hooman… you are talking to a cat, you are perfectly sane."
"Oh! Little one."
This is so harmonious. After her teenage rebellious phase was over, Nefertiti returned as cute and supportive as ever. Can't say how much I'm happy.
This hooman-cat moment gave me enough boost to charge through the dungeon in one go. I was so hyped to the point where I reached the last chamber in a couple of hours. [A/n: The dungeon is small but in reality, it takes days to go through it carefully.]
The last chamber can only be unlocked by the Golden Claw and Jon could decipher the door's puzzle in a few seconds. There, a large cavern chamber awaited me with an amazing scene of a majestic ancient sarcophagus in front of a Word Wall.
I could hear the humming coming from the Word Wall as I walked towards it and as I got closer, I had an enlightenment on the Dragon Word "Fus" meaning Force.
I use that word a lot but this gave me more understanding of the word "Fus" and the concept of the Force.
The word wall said: HET NOK FaaL VahLOK, DeiNMaaR DO DOVahGOLZ, ahRK aaN "FUS" DO UNSLaaD, RahGOL ahRK VULOM.
It means: Here lies the guardian, Keeper of dragonstone, And a "Force" of unending, Rage and darkness.
*Crack* *Crack*
As I was trying to focus on the knowledge I just absorbed from the Word Wall, the sarcophagus started to make sounds from inside. It seems that its resident has finally woken up. This is supposedly the Master of Bleak Falls Temple and the Champion of the Dragon's Cult who holds the map of the Dragons burial locations.
Without much thinking, I charged toward the sarcophagus and kicked its led away.
"Motherfucker! First time I played the game, you gave me quite the heating when you Fus-Ro-Dahed my ass across this chamber. Now, it is payback."
I didn't let this motherfucker Draugr Deathlord stand up, I rode it and started giving it my best punches. The bastard was so resilient that it almost retaliated a couple of times but he was ultimately beaten till his bones cracked.
Victory for me!
I've beaten the guardian, took its Ice Enchanted Axe and found a heavy stone tablet hidden beneath him, this was the Dragonstone, the most prized item of the long perished Dragon Cult. It is very necessary for me personally and I'm planning on keeping it.
It had a dragon script on it saying: HET NOK UN MAHLaaN DROGGE ERei SULeyK SE ALDUIN VOKRii. It means: HERE LIE OUR FALLEN LORDS UNTIL POWER OF ALDUIN REVIVES.
Those Dragon Worshipping bastards kept note of all the fallen dragons until during the Dragon Wars. By looking at the other side of the map, one can see a rough map of Skyrim with over 22 marked locations of Alduin's top lieutenants. This will take some time to pinpoint on a real-life map.
With that, I finished Bleak Falls Barrow for the last time ever. Thankfully, no one gets to come to this nasty place ever again. I will come later to know that my wish wasn't fulfilled but that's another story for another time. Right now, it's time to head to Riverwood, I can barely count the hours before reaching Whiterun.
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