Jack pushed the heavy metal door open, the change in air pressure ruffling his hair as he breathed in a fresh earthy smell. Stepping through, Jack stood for a long moment in awe. He stood in a massive underground cavern unlike anything he had ever seen. Far out in the center of the cavern, sat a castle with a huge glowing golden orb hanging above it. While all around, the place was illuminated by giant blue glowing mushrooms and rocks. Glancing up toward the incredibly high ceiling, he grinned. The glowing rocks made it look like the night sky with billions of bright stars. Mark tapped his arm, saying excitedly. "Do you hear that? There must be a waterfall somewhere." Jack walked closer to the stone wall to get a better look at it all. The place was simply stunning. Mark stood beside him, stating out just as awed by it all. "So, this is Blackreach. The lost Dwarven city. I never thought I'd see something like this." 

Jack's smile faded a little as he noticed all the stone buildings spaced out around the outskirts of the castle. The place was huge. How were they going to find the Elder Scroll in here? It could take them days to explore this. Dropping his head with a defeated groan, Jack grimly mumbled out. "Oh, Mark... We could be here for months trying to find the damn scroll..." Mark placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze, before moving toward the stairs staying. "Well, then we better get started. I'd bet that it's in the castle." Jack couldn't argue with that. It was as good a spot as any. Following after Mark, Jack made his way down the stone steps to the rocky road path. Other than the soft roar of a distant waterfall or two, the place was serenely quiet. Mark stopped on the path, gesturing to the little stone house nearby, asking him curiously. "You wanna check out the house since it's right there?"

Jack shrugged, giving Mark a pleasant nod. He was curious enough about the place to explore a little. Mark twirled Jack's glass sword to loosen up his wrist as he headed for the house. Jack slowed his pace shortly after, putting distance between himself and Mark. In front of the house's metal front door was a automaton sphere. Was it guarding the house? Mark drew closer to it and it sprang to life, charging straight for him. It shot a crossbow bolt at Mark, who blocked it with Umana's shield easily. The second Mark was close enough, he struck the sphere's fragile spine, until it fell apart under its own weight. Jack carefully made his way to the door and peeked inside. It looked... lived in. For a place that hadn't really been discovered, this house had a lot of fresh supplies. Jack let out a low whistle to get Mark's attention.

Mark jerked his head in his direction and Jack pointed inside with a cautious look. Mark quickly walked over to take point. He had the most armor and the best experience with fighting in enclosed spaces. Mark kicked the door open all the way, raising his shield to defend. Jack stood against the wall by the door, watching Mark's reaction closely and listening intently. Mark's body relaxed, telling him calmly. "It's clear. This guy isn't going to hurt us." Mark moved inside and Jack slipped in behind him. On the floor before a cold fireplace was a human skeleton. Mark yanked one of the two bolts out of the skeleton's shoulder plate, telling him softly. "Dwarven crossbow bolt. Seems that our friend here stumbled upon that automaton sphere and it chased him back home. Vindictive piece of machinery. It stayed stationed there all this time... Waiting for him."

Jack examined the skeleton's narrow hipbone, informing Mark casually. "This was a man. Maybe late twenties... The bones can't be more than a few years old." Mark tossed the bolt into the dead fireplace, chiming in. "Well, that means he's not a Dwarf. Damn... I was hoping to find something of them." Jack noticed that the skeleton had his hand on a journal and picked it up. Taking a seat on the large stone bed, Jack skimmed through the journal, then told Mark lightly. "Seems he was an Alchemist. A man named Sinderion. Some trading Khajiit gave him a backdoor key to these ruins, after showing him a rare crimson nirnroot that only grows down here. He was down here studying them." Jack closed the journal, looking up in time to see Mark holding up a small attuning sphere like the one they had used to unlock the stairs above.

Mark set the sphere down and then picked up a dried out crimson nirnroot plant. Mark looked it over, stating out under his breath. "Makes sense. He was probably out picking herbs and stumbled onto that Automaton. Poor guy didn't stand a chance." Jack set the journal on the bed, letting out a soft sigh. Mark set the weed down to look at him and Sean expressed out curiously. "It's scary to think about how many good people have been lost in their pursuit to change the world. If he hadn't come down here alone... What could his research have uncovered?" Mark shrugged, stating out bluntly. "I doubt it would have revealed very much, Jack. It's a weed. So, it's a different color from the green ones on the surface... That doesn't make it any different. It's probably just like this, because there is no sunlight down here. A weed is a weed. Doesn't matter where it is grown. They are just as annoying to listen too."

Jack smirked to himself. He remembered his first time hearing a nirnroot in his alchemy class. No one really knew why the nirnroot chimed after reaching maturity... but it was hard on the ears after a while. Plucking them was the only way to kill their endless ringing song. Jack stood up from the bed, telling Mark with a playful chuckle. "Come on, weed killer. Let's check out the castle." Mark chuckled in response, following him out and playfully retorting. "Hey, don't give me your sass. Try sleeping near one of those damn things!" Jack turned, walking backwards for a minute as he shot back to Mark with a smug smile. "I spent four months in a garden with them. How do you think I made the potion for my hair?" Mark snorted, reaching out to ruffle his green bangs as he shot back in a playfully condescending tone. "Well, that explains why it looks like grass."

Jack swatted Mark's arm as he passed by him to take the lead. They casually made their way along the path, combing easily through Falmer as they leapt out from behind rocks and bushes. The closer they got to the castle, the more uneasy Jack felt. Other than Falmer and the occasional Chaurus bug... The place felt abandoned. There was not a signal trace of the Dwemer. No bodies. Nothing personal to them. It was like they just all up and moved away. Jack was admiring a huge glowing mushroom that towered over them, when he crashed into Mark's back. Jack staggered back a step, peeking over Mark's shoulder and feeling his blood turn to ice in his veins. How the hell did he get down here?! Just ahead of them on the path was a giant! The giant walked casually along the road, hefting a large bone club on its shoulder.

Jack had seen very few giants in his life, but they weren't the cave dwelling type to his knowledge. They loved large warm bonfires, camping under the stars, and caring for their herds of mammoths. This one was completely alone. It didn't seem natural. He had always seen giants in pairs. Unlike the giants on the surface that wore loincloths with rope belts displaying bones of animals they had killed. This one was decorated in bits of falmer and Chaurus parts. Some fresh and some old, all suggesting that he had been down here for a very long time. Even his pale skin was a testament to how life down here had effected him. Mark grabbed Jack's wrist, yanking him off to the side of the road as the giant approached them. Mark prepared himself for a fight, but Jack could tell how afraid he was. Giants were strong enough to snap the thick necks of their mammoths with little effort if it was suffering.

Even if Mark brought it to its knees, the odds of killing it without suffering a lethal blow was extremely slim. Jack tried to think of a spell that might work, when the giant walked past them peacefully. The giant eyed them closely as it strolled past, but otherwise didn't seem the least bit surprised by their presence. Mark let out the breath he was holding, asking Jack curiously. "How did he get down here?" Jack shrugged, replying honestly. "Your guess is as good as mine, Mark. Let's just be thankful that he seems to be friendly." Mark chuckled nervously, uttering out under his breath. "Ya... Lucky us. I didn't even see him until it was too late." Jack rubbed Mark's tense shoulders, telling him with a soothingly chuckle. "Ya, he kind of blends in with these huge mushroom trees." Mark tried not to smirk, but he did. Mark continued down the road and Jack glanced back every so often to see if the giant was coming back.

The road lead them right to the castle's large stone steps. The gate farther up looked to be open. He couldn't see anyone or anything just inside... but the orb hanging above the castle kept drawing his attention. Everything down here was so dim colored, but that orb was such a bright firey color. He wanted to get a closer look at it. Was it a light source? A power source? It looked so important. They made their way up the steps, listening to every tiny sound as they reached the open gateway. The stone castle looked a little run down from age, but was still a beautiful sight to see. They barely got past the gate, when a group of Falmer ambushed them. Jack conjured his bound ethereal sword, standing at Mark's back to help cut them down. When Mark decapitated the last one, Mark pointed to the nearest door at the castles center.

Inside, Jack's heart sank. It was a large room with a circular table surround by metal chairs. A throne room perhaps? Or a debate hall. A place for meetings, but nothing more. Sean scanned the room for any possible secret passageways, but found nothing. Turning to face Mark, who was examining the halls gold banner with interest, Sean told him a bit sourly. "Nothing. I guess, the Dwemer were clever enough not to hide anything of value in their own castle. We'll have to move on." Mark raised a hand to stop him, his eyes locked on the gold banner hanging high on the wall. Jack glanced at it, but didn't see anything important on it. It just had a weird golden parallelogram on it. Mark pointed up at the moth eaten banner, telling him in a distant thoughtful voice. "Jack... I've seen this symbol before... It was in a book that father had..." Jack shrugged, replying nicely. "It's the Dwemer banner, Mark. Are you feeling alright?"

Mark shook his head, ignoring the majority of what he said to say bluntly. "No, Jack. That's not what I mean. Listen. My father had this old book that he read to my brother and I. It was about the dragon wars in the merethic era. Back when Blackreach was nothing more than a huge trench in the valley above. They called it 'Blackreach' because no light was able to reach the bottom of it." Jack moved closer to him, asking curiously. "Ok, what does this have to do with anything?" Mark turned to look at him with a childish excitement, upon telling him. "I want to check something before we leave. It should be in one of the castle towers if I am right." Mark dashed off, leaving Jack standing there even more confused. What was he so excited for? He could only guess that it had something to do with his dad. Mark always got dreamy eyed talking about him, or remembering something they had bonded over.

Jack had to jog to keep up with Mark. Following him to the towers, until they came to one that lead up to a landing above the orb. Jack panted softly, watching Mark stroll carefully up to... a high back stone throne chair? Jack straightened up, feeling anxious. What was a throne chair doing this high up? Did the Dwemer king enjoy overlooking his city? Jack inched toward the edge to get an idea of the view, regretting it instantly. They were so high up that it made him start shaking. Scrambling back away from the edge, Jack pressed his back to the rock wall, asking Mark. "Alright... We came. We saw. Can we go back down now?" Mark reached out to touch the chair's arm, telling him in a distant voice. "The story was true. The Dwemer king and Vulthuryol was true." Jack swallowed, shifting uncomfortably even though he was a good distance from the edge.

His voice shook a bit as he tried to distract himself by asking him curiously. "Who? What story?" Mark kept his eyes on the chair as he told him in a proud voice. "My dad used to read us this old fable story about the dragon wars. It was about a fierce dragon known as The Overlord of Fire. He led a battalion of Alduin's greatest fighters to destroy his rebellious kin. The fight over the valley was brutal and long. When the Akaviri showed up to help the rebelling dragons with the aid of the dragonborn. The dragonborn used his skills to slay the battalion of dragons. All except one. Vulthuryol. It was said the Vulthuryol was a master in the skies. He could ride the winds as easily as his flames took lives. It was never clear how the dragonborn won. It was only noted that Vulthuryol fell from the sky. Falling into the depths of the valley. Into the endless void of Blackreach. The story said that Vulthuryol fell so fast and so hard that it broke his wings."

Sean let that sink in and mumbled out softly. "The Dragonrend shout? It brought him to the ground... but if there was a trench where he was falling..." Mark finally looked up to meet his eyes, carrying on excitedly. "Exactly. We know now that the shout brought him down. The tale went on to say that Vulthuryol fell, but didn't die. Though without the ability to fly, this place became his prison. Realizing this, Vulthuryol tried to call out for the help of his kin. His roar echoing out so loudly that it could be felt all the way to the Throat of the World. It was so loud that the walls of the valley broke off and collapsed. Forming the roof of his prison and sealing his fate. It was then said that after the dragon wars were over and new races started to appear all over Skyrim. The Dwemer dug into this cavern, building up their great city. Here, the Dwemer king found the violently distressed Vulthuryol, in a time when dragons were said to be all gone. So, to appease the great beast, they made him a token to calm him."

Mark turned slightly to point at the hanging orb, adding in a soft heartfelt voice. "They made him the one thing he missed. The sun." Jack relaxed only a little, asking him curiously. "What happened to Vulthuryol after the Dwemer vanished?" Mark lowered his hand, giving a small shrug as he answered casually. "The book actually mentioned something about Vulthuryol dying long before the Dwemer vanished. Something about the ground giving out from under him and causing him to fall once again. Only this time he broke his neck in the fall. I remember because my brother found it ironic that the overlord of fire was reduced to a watery grave." Jack felt bad for Vulthuryol. He couldn't help feeling like that dragonborn had broken more than just Vulthuryol's wings. He had broken his spirit. Reducing him to a long life trapped and alone. Never to even see the skies again.

The story made Jack think of Paarthurnax. Both isolated from the world. One doomed to a life far above the world and the other so deep below it. Eternally trapped in prisons of their own design. It seemed like such a cruel turn of fates for creatures as amazing as them. Mark moved closer to Jack, snapping him from his thoughts as he held something out to him. In Mark's hands was a strange necklace made from what appeared to be corundum metal. Beads decorated the red cord, while a large slim amulet hung from the center. Mark unclasped it, holding it out as a gesture for Jack to turn around. Jack pried himself from the wall, turning his back to Mark. Gripping the wall, he let Mark lower it over his neck. The amulet that hung from the necklace was that of a dragon swallowing a sword. It was quite beautiful... but he wasn't sure what it meant. Mark fastened it, then kissed the side of his neck, before whispering in his ear.

"This is the Amulet of Akatosh. It's very rare. I think it's only fair that you should have it. It will protect you." Jack huffed sarcastically, smugly stating over his shoulder. "That is what I've got you for. Where did you find this?" Mark pointed to the throne chair, but Jack's eyes had locked on something else. A large spider that was creeping up over the edge behind Mark. In a panic, Jack moved Mark out of the way and belt out. "FUS RO DAH!" The large frostbite spider let out a shriek as it was blasted away from the wall. Its body just missed hitting the hanging orb as it crashed to the floor far below. Mark flashed him a smile, but it faded quickly. The orb suddenly pulsed with a blinding white light, letting out a deep ring that echoed through the cavern like a large heartbeat. Neither one of them said a word as silence slowly returned to the cavern.

Jack was about to let himself breathe again, when a loud ear shattering roar bellowed out around the cavern. Jack jumped back to press his back firmly to the wall, letting out a terrified whine as the walls shook and dust rained from the ceiling. A small glowing rock fell from the ceiling shattering at Mark's feet to reveal... a grand soul gem. Mark picked up the gem to look it over, then glanced at the orb. Launching to his feet, Mark yelled out to Jack over the fading roar. "JACK! The orb isn't a light source! It's a rare red diamond! A soul gem!" Jack's eyes widened in horror. A red diamond soul gem could only be activated by someone with dragon blood in their veins! If the Dwemer king had sealed Vulthuryol's soul into the gem... Than his shout had just summoned him back from the dead! To Be Continued...