When the expedition had got what they came for, they journeyed back to Markarth and got their reward from the Jarl for their help. Also getting a piece of the bounties on the various Forsworn's heads. The man really hated them, probably because of what'd happened to his father.
Regardless, now with Katria's journal and an Aetherium Shard, Michael was well on the way to gaining access to the Aetherium Forge.
The next shard wasn't all that difficult to actually acquire, Katria's Journal spoke of a place called Bthar-zel and had a map that detailed her suspicions of where each shard might be. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly enough to be certain of the exact location. He asked Urag about it in the College and learned that it was once a grand Dwemer city that was the hub of trade between the other races. It translated to 'Allied City' due to the purpose for which it'd been built... Sadly, records suggest that some rogue Sheogorath worshippers snuck inside and hid magical bombs around the place for when a foreign diplomat was set to arrive... Some Joker-style shit.
The bombs didn't kill that many, but the damage to the infrastructure and chaos caused by the diplomat's death had certainly been deathblow. The Dwemer started to restrict contact with the other races after this and many other incidents.
While the tale was pretty depressing and a big warning to not mess with Sheogorath, it was also helpful in figuring out just where these ruins were located. Apparently, there was another Dwemer settlement nearby called Bthardamz, and from what Michael could gather from Enthir and Urag, it was currently a sanctuary to Peryite's Afflicted, men and women of all races who are 'gifted' a virulent disease by Peryite.
People were told to steer well clear of the place in order to not spread the sickness any further... Were the Afflicted actually malicious and intended to purposely spread it, Michael had no doubt that they'd have been wiped out already.
Michael didn't intend to bother them, knowing that if the sanctuary was removed, any Afflicted would be forced to live amongst other healthy people, or stay in the wilds to try and not spread the sickness.
It takes around three days for Michael to finally discover the ruins of Bthar-zel, fighting through some dangerous creatures while he was at it. This was probably the main reason why no one had discovered the valuable Dwemer materials just sitting on a plinth, along with the clearly and obviously visible Aetherium Shard.
With two shards down, Michael was now on the trail of the third, which, according to the journal, it was located somewhere on the East side of Skyrim. South ease of Windhelm and North of Riften... Which, actually narrowed down the options significantly.
There were around two that'd been discovered, and probably more that were hidden. But he knew of only one that was as Katria states 'The primary source of Aetherium.' a mine. Mzulft was the obvious answer, not just because of its location, but also because of the high likelihood that it was connected underground with Blackreach, where most Aetherium was harvested.
For this, Michael went alone, deciding that stealth would trump whatever benefits dragging the others with him would bring. There was bound to be a shit tone of Dwemer automatons, along with ten of thousands of Falmer, especially with how big Blackreach was, he might have even been underestimating their numbers.
There was a big problem, however, once Michael hadn't anticipated it until he'd reached the entrance of Mzulft. A corpse laid near the entrance, a man wearing the robes of the Synod, and upon further inspection, held an old Dwemer key.
The Synod was basically the Brotherhood of Steel of the world, searching for, discovering, and hiding any magic or technology they find and determine to be too dangerous for others to know... Savos had many things to say about them after a couple cups of wine, none of which were flattering.
Michael's main worry was the fact that he knew of Mzulft already though... It was the place where you learn of the location of the Staff of Magnus, which is used to help control the Eye of Magnus. Michael already knew where the staff was though, so he was pretty sure the Oculory would be useless to him...
The Oculory, from what he remembered, would help identify and locate valuable magical items all-around Skyrim. As it would map out their locations depending on their magical strengths... In the game it was useless due to the rampaging Eye of Magnus overshadowing everything, but now that it was still sealed? It might actually be functional.
The only problem now then was dealing with the Synod survivors, if there were any. The corpse looked to be a couple weeks old, so they may have all starved to death already, or been eaten by the Falmer.
He shakes his head, he'd grab the Aetherium Shard and take a look at the Oculory to see if it had any worth. That, and he'd probably get a few level ups from all the Falmer. He was already on the precipice of maxing out his Rubick Spirit, so he was eager to get started so he could begin reaping the benefits that the Silencer Spirit would grant.
He cracks his neck and enters Mzulft with Derflinger in hand and Darth hiding within a shadow at the crook of his neck. "Let's see what else these Dirt Elves have been keeping for me." he grins... And immediately has to throw his head backwards as a jet of fire shoots from a nearby wall.
"Hahahaha, Partner! You look so stupid with your eyebrows missing! Hahahahahaha!" Derflinger suddenly roars out with laughter at Michael's now hairless face...
"You're lucky this'll grow back quickly, or I'd stick you in a pile of shit until it did." he grouses while angrily stomping further into the ruins, eyes scanning for more traps... Riki would beat the shit out of him if he heard that he'd made such an error...
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Michael lets out a sigh as he sneaks through the ruins of Mzulft, invisibly walking past the various Dwemer automatons that were patrolling the place. Occasionally destroying some that were in the way of the exit.
He honestly hated fighting robots... It might sound morbid, but flesh was far more satisfying to cut through, instead of smashing his blade, fists, and feet at walking metal men. The reverberations sent through the blade and into his arm from attacking them alone were enough to make him swear off ever fighting them... Fortunately, he'd mastered a few Shock spells so he wouldn't have to waste tons of mana while spamming Laguna Blades at the enemy.
It isn't long before he spots the first Falmer of the day. The sickly grey skin, useless nonexistent eyes, and gnarled fanged mouth were able to frighten even the hardiest Nord if caught off guard. Thankfully, Michael had already had more than enough experience fighting these things.
They fought differently from most other foes, some acting like simple berserkers while others placed traps around their target, all while their strangely powerful spell casters threw unnatural spells around.
You haven't fought for your life before until you've been surrounded by Falmer and their giant insect pets called Chaurus, that came in many forms, large, small, flying, landlocked... Their exoskeleton was equivalent to iron or sometimes even steel armour, so combine that with their ability to spit acidic venom a significant distance, and you've got an army of incredibly dangerous creatures just ready to devour you.
The Falmer did have many weaknesses however, their non-existent eyesight made them heavily reliant on their sense of hearing. So, cast an overpowered muffle spell, mask your scent, and hide the heat your body produces and suddenly you've become completely invisible to them.
They do have some countermeasures, via using their Chaurus pets to triangulate your position, but in the midst of a chaotic battle, such things are less than useful, more often than not causing friendly fire amongst them.
Michael used all of this to great effect when he'd accidentally stumbled into a nest filled with thousands of Falmer and Chaurus... Darth was essentially invisible to them as well, so he was happily twisting necks without the enemy being able to do anything to him.
The only problem Michael had was the occasional yelp Derflinger gave when chopped into a harder than average substance. He rectified this with a variety of colourful threats though, finally rendering the sword silent, if a bit grumpy.
Three hours later of constant chopping, slicing, stabbing, and spellcasting, Michael had finally reached a giant hall that he vaguely remembered from the game... The strange-looking Focusing Gem that'd help control the Oculory that he'd found on a Falmer corpse was merely the cherry on top.
Not long after discovering the Focussing Gem, he located a vault of some sort, and after peering through the bars, he spotted a chest that held Aetherium Shard that he'd been looking for.
Casual use of Blink later and he loots the entire place, prying open the chests and uncovering a large number of Dwemer ingots, armour, gems, gold, enchanted items, etc. He stores them all and the Aetherium Shard in his inventory and proceeds to move towards the last room which held the Oculory.
*Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang!*
He heavily taps his fist against the fortified Dwemer door, wanting to see if any of the Synod had actually survived.
"W-who's there!? P-Plinius!? Is that you...?" a voice asks before tentatively opening the door, the gaunt man going pale when he comes face to face with Michael.
He gives a casual smile and gives the man a short wave, "Howdy." before pushing his way inside. He does have to stifle a gag when he notices the half dissected corpses of both humans and Falmer... This guy had held starvation at bay by cannibalizing the mutated snow-elves and his colleagues.
"W-wait! Stop! Who are you!" the mage demands, his hands sparking with electricity as he attempts to intimidate Michael.
Michael looks from the corpses and to the mage, "You're one sick puppy, aren't you?" he mutters towards the pitiful creature.
"N-no! I did what I had to! N-now, show me how you came here! Show me the exit!" he manically exclaims.
*CRAACK!*
The man's head spins until it's looking behind him, Darth having twisted it until his spine had completely snapped. He drops to the floor, dead. Leaving Michael all the time in the world to figure out the Oculory.
He found the machine in the next room, the huge Dwemer orb with metal limbs sprouting from the ceiling of the room, looking ready to be moved. He walks to the alter overlooking it all and places the Focusing Gem in a socket and gets to work moving it. Remembering that fire and ice spells were required to position it.
An hour of frustrating puzzle-solving later and Michael had finally finished, leaving him with a shining map of Skyrim that'd been projected onto the wall. There were many glowing spots on the map, some bigger than others, each were magically powerful artifacts, so Michael was eager to note down their location on his own map.
He did realise that many were just Daedric Artifacts judging by their locations. The Shrine of Meridia, the abandoned house in Markarth, etc. He wrote them down anyway before putting the Focussing Gem in his inventory.
He had half a mind to destroy the whole place but knew that it could still be valuable in locating artifacts that were on the move. If someone had one and wasn't actively blocking its magical signature, he could track the person wherever they went in Skyrim... A useful tool.
So, once he was done with the place, he completely locks down every entrance and exit before using a Dimension Gate to journey back to the College, happy with his loot.
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to : https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.
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