the-manta

In all Tamriel, since the dawn of time, there have been few flyers (or fallers) less graceful or dignified than apprentice wizards, and so Felix was playing his part in an age-old tradition as he tumbled helplessly down the sinkhole. His unflattering cry was cut short as he thudded into the viscous fluid beneath the elven hall, the sudden chill and unexpected impact driving the wind out of his lungs with a definite tang of blood. For a moment, he seemed almost suspended on the surface of the black sludge, but then he was sinking, faster than he thought possible. His mind galloped into panic as the muck sucked him downwards, oozing upwards and over his limbs as he struggled to swim. Rushing from spell to spell, his lips innately formed the beginnings of a dozen different spells, cut off before they were complete by the next frantic remembrance, sending nothing but white sparks crackling from his skin. The more the young mage struggled against the sucking ooze, the harder it pulled him downwards, almost like an intelligent entity swallowing him whole. Feeling the cold slime reach his chin, he gasped for breath, and regretted it. Instead of air, it felt as if he had inhaled a pound of broken glass, the breath tearing through his sickened lungs in what proved to be the last nail in the coffin for his chances of escape. The sinking slime seeped into his mouth, then his nose, then his ears, creeping ever upwards as he feebly kicked his legs. “Mages!†A strong hand grabbed seized his collar and he felt the familiar sensation of being rescued from certain death. Nina grunted as she hauled the mage upwards, dragging his head and shoulders out of the slime. “Don’t struggle,†she panted, “only makes it worseâ€. She looked to her side and spat, trying to dispel the bitter taste of the ooze without success. With one oil-slicked hand, she kept a hand on the mage’s collar, and with the other she maintained a death-grip on an angle of rough brickwork, holding herself in a crouch against the wall, just out of the slime. Felix released a few strong breaths, painfully stretching out the muscles of his chest as he regained his composure. “Thanks,†he managed, feeling the slime stick to his tongue and teeth. “And uh… sorry.†He glanced to the side, where a small cluster of desiccated craniums emerged from the slime like ghastly stepping-stones. A look of disgust was visible through the slime on her face as Nina followed his gaze. “Don’t worry about it; most of them died when they landed.†Her eyes turned upwards, up the rough stone blocks of the sinkhole’s size, and to the jagged maw of the hallway above. She seemed to shudder, and Felix soon saw why. On both sides of the chasm, pale, gormless faces stared down into the ooze, their eyes alight with an otherworldly blue. None of the zombies made any move to follow the two adventurers, but neither did they turn their backs on the stone flytrap. With some considerable assistance from Nina, Felix hauled himself (mostly) out of the viscous sludge, his knuckles turning white as he clutched the rough angles of the walls. He peered into the darkness over his shoulder, scanning the edges of the pit for some escape, but the jagged texture of the walls turned them into webs of shadow, impossible to penetrate in the darkness. “I can’t see…†he began “Anything? Yeah me neither.†Nina spoke with some reserve, perhaps suspecting the solution that Felix would suggest. “You know, I could…†“No.†“But we can’t…†“No.†“Just let me…†“NO!†“Tsk.†For a few moments they simply remained, squatting against the rough stone, in silence. It could have been his imagination, but Felix fancied he could see Nina peering into the darkness. “Okay fine.†She finally said. With a sigh, Felix cast the spell, a fluorescent orb of light rising from his outstretched hand to hover over his shoulder. “See? Quite safe.†“Shush,†was Nina’s only response. “I see the way out.†And so there was. A metre or so to their left, the rough rock curved off into itself, vanishing into a gloomy tunnel. With a look back to Felix, Nina led the way.

Massive birthday wishes Rider!

Felix turned from the ragged chasm with a huffing sigh of exasperation. “So stubborn…†he muttered under his breath. She had a point though; he had never made this much noise in a ruin and not been beset by anything. Stifling a cough, he cast a sickly candlelight with one hand, and a shielding spell with the other, sending a metallic ring echoing down the passageway. “What are you doing up there?†came Nina’s suspicious whisper. “Looking after us!†The mage hissed back. As his attention flicked back to the gaping corridor, he caught the distinct sense of something wrong, a faint vibration in the air perhaps. “Lady of Infinite Energies, Prince of…†the prayer cut short in his throat and for a moment it bounced around in his head. How foolish the words sounded. Felix had little time to think on the matter. With a faint scratch of stone on stone, a smooth block of wall slid away, and the long-awaited dead arrived. One by one, they shuffled out of the hidden passage, dragging their feet so their tarnished boots scraped against the floor. Felix shuddered at the sight of their drawn, decaying faces, all fixed into grimaces of horror, and flame sprang to life in his hands. “Nina… How’s the climbing coming?†“Not… Bah, dammit… too well. Are the dinner guests arriving?†The faintest trace of fear shone through her humour. The zombies were drawing closer, and Felix spared only a “Yep†before he released a fireball. The remains of a stocky warrior lit up like tinder and dropped a battle axe with a resounding clang. Felix sprung forwards as the dead staggered back, trying to give himself as much retreating space as possible. The action was poorly calculated, and he found himself beneath the blades of half a dozen zombies. With a cough, he staggered and fell, knocking the wind out of his lungs, and his executioners raised their weapons. He remembered the night beneath Mount Kilkreath, the sight of a blinding light, its warmth on his skin… As the rusted blades fell towards him he roared an incantation. A burst of fire and light sprang from his hands and the beasts fell back, their papery skin burned away and their weapons forgotten. One rusty sword clattered to the ground beside his face, and for what felt like hours Felix watched it blur as it bounced off the stone. Before the blade had settled he was on his feet, and the dead had closed ranks. He ducked an axe, punched its owner in the bare midriff and set two of its companions alight. “Sorry!†He called out as a flaming zombie tumbled down the chasm. His spellfire tossed the zombies back one by one or two by two, and the passageway rang with clattering iron, but there were too many, and the hall was too narrow. The Breton took a step back and gasped as his foot found nothing. He swung his robed arms like some ridiculous bird as he struggled to catch his balance, finally grabbing hold of a convenient axe-haft. The zombie sounded almost surprised as Felix pulled himself towards it and yanked on its weapon. “Sorry!†He yelled again as the creature overcompensated and stumbled past him, into Nina’s abyss. He thrust the battle axe clumsily forwards, pushing the beasts out of his breathing room with many a grunt and wheeze. As he tried to pull back the ancient weapon for a swing, he remembered he was a mage, almost falling again with the weight of it. Indiscriminate flames were all the Breton could think of as the zombies bore down once again, and the smell of their sinewy flesh crackling away made him wretch. Out of the fire loomed the screaming face of what had once been a man, blade raised high, and Felix had no time react before it came crashing down into his shoulder. His howl of pain mixed with an echoing ring as his shield absorbed most of the impact, and he thrust forward bodily, bruising his chest in the pattern of a breastplate. The shove was just about sufficient, and the zombie stumbled drunkenly into its companions as Felix tried to recover. It was no good. He couldn’t even tell how many there were – they filled his vision and most of his attention. A flick of the head showed him that the other direction was scarcely more appealing. The gaping hole in the floor stretched for some distance, and only beyond that could he see a clear path. Nothing for it then. Two last fireballs erupted among the dead and Felix spun around. His soft boots pounded the stone for only seconds before he jumped, his bruises screaming protest and his robes trailing like moth wings. “Sorryyyy!†He cried as he began to fall, the edge of the chasm still a foot away from his fingertips.

Felix cleared his throat painfully as he and Nina entered the waterside cave "Lecelle was a brilliant mage. Is a brilliant mage," he added to Nina's distaste. "But more than that, he was a brilliant... He was brilliant. The, uhh, 'cult type' you might say. His words were honey potion to all of us, his mind could shape and control ideas that were hazy impossibilities to ordinary men. He was a born leader, that much is certain." Nina's face was flat with irritation. "I hate mages," she muttered."No offence". She brightened as she went on: "but, none of that makes him any harder to kill. That... is what we're doing, isn't it?" "Oh I have little doubt that's where this leads," the mage replied grimly, "but I doubt even less that it will be more complicated than that." "Tsk. When is it?" Neither spoke for some time, walking instead in a pregnant silence as the rough stone tunnel gradually adopted the unmistakeable traits of intelligent artifice. "Stinks of elf," Nina finally commented as they passed under a soaring arch of the otherworldly white stone. "And rotting meat," she added, wrinkling her delicate nose. Felix nodded, gazing up at the elven architecture that seemed to grow out of the natural stone around them. "Falmer maybe? It doesn't match any drawings, looks more Ayleid..." Felix surprised himself with brighter, 'Felix' thoughts. He shrugged, and the motion turned into a metallic-tasting cough that shook his shoulders and made his stomach ache. Nina made to grab him but he waved a hand as the coughing subsided. "I'm fine, let's keep going" he assured his friend, dragging the back of his hand slowly across his mouth. She held her look of concern a moment longer before turning her head. "Well I'm not so worried about the elf..." she glanced around nervously, "as much as the rotting meat. I've yet to meet a trogolodyte wizard with no zombies handy..." ***