45: Sigillum Sanguis

The entrance to the second minor tower opened directly into another bridge lock chamber. The massive gears were guarded only by an emaciated looking scamp, and they were soon turning and clanking after I had dispatched the creature and pulled the giant lever. I hoped to avoid the majority of this tower’s denizens by returning to the first tower’s now empty corridors, but as I stepped out onto the bridge connecting the two secondary towers, I realized that it was retracting faster than I could hope to outrun. I did confirm that the bridges leading to the Sigil Keep were extending and I could now make my way towards the stone.

I returned to the interior of the tower. Darkasha was sitting against the rough hewn stone of the wall, and sipping one of my heat relief potions. I helped him to his feet and he shook himself.

“The heat has been getting to me, I am sorry for my… sluggishness.” He said as he wiped some sweat from his brow. He pulled a wicked looking sword from the depths of his robe and swished it in the air. “I will attempt to be more useful.”

“That’s excellent news,” I said and blew out a sigh of relief. “And it couldn’t have come at a better time.” I then explained what I thought we were about to face, and he took it in with a silent gaze. “Do not worry about the heat; you will become more and more used to it.” I then turned and proceeded down towards the heart of the tower, where the bridge to the Sigil Keep connected. I was cautious, and used a spell of detect life to keep me from being surprised.

Darkasha’s aid made the trip towards the bridge incredibly easy compared to the battles I had fought before. He was slowed by the heat, but his speed was still unmatchable, and scamps and Dremora withered before the onslaught of his wicked blade. I contributed by keeping him from being surrounded and picking off foes from a distance. We carved a bloody swath towards the bridge, easily dispatching the churls and scamps. We were just about to open the door to the bridge, when a massive voice boomed out:

“YOU WILL FALL BEFORE THE MIGHT OF DAGON!” I turned and saw a massive blue-skinned creature hulking towards me, carrying two monstrous claymores in each hand and moving at an astonishing rate. Behind him a whole group of Dremora in full battle armor charged, screaming for blood. Darkasha flicked his tail once; sizing up this new enemy, then ran for the door to the bridge. I was closer to the door, and ran as fast as I could (my injury forgotten for the time being) out and along the thin bridge. I made it about a fourth of the way before Darkasha overtook me, and I knew then that nothing stood between me and the blue Daedra. I hurriedly summoned a scamp to slow the beast, but knew it would be cut through instantaneously by the razor sharp edges of the two claymores. My mind raced, and I knew that the Dark One was panicking as well.

All at once it hit me. I would use the creatures own momentum against it. I pulled a potion from my waist and broke it on the bridge in front of me, then pointed the staff towards the small puddle that coated the bridge and shot a blast of frost at it. I repeated this within a half meter or two and hoped the frost would hold. I had been running while I did this, and did not look back until I reached the other side of the bridge, where Darkasha was striking at the face of an unfortunate Dremora. I saw the crazed Daedra hit the first patch of ice and stumble, but the second patch of ice was what threw it off balance. It screamed as it tried to compensate, but then it tumbled and fell off the side of the bridge. It plummeted towards the lake of lava, its soul returning to the void. The group of Dremora still advanced along the bridge, but at a vastly reduced pace. I looked around near the entrance to the Sigil Keep and found a small, glowing lever, which I pulled hurriedly. The bridge groaned and began to retract, but it seemed far too slow. The Dremora screamed and began to run for me, but the gap between us increased too fast for them. One churl attempted to jump the widening gap. His screams echoed as he fell to his death.

I turned and entered the keep, where Darkasha had successfully cleared the level we were on. I congratulated him and we moved upward. The pillar of flame was rising towards the top of the tower, and I knew we were close to the Sigil Stone that supported this Oblivion gate. The journey was quiet, and there were few threats. It seemed that we had penetrated the only layer of defense the Daedra had set up. Finally, we reached the Sigil Stone Chamber. I carefully made my way up to the fleshy platform that supported the Sigil Stone’s iron chains. A large Dremora patrolled near the fiery sphere, lugging a massive battle ax and grimacing. I motioned to Darkasha, who looked at the guardian and smirked. Slowly, Darkasha faded out of sight, and I barely heard his footsteps moving up the meat-like slope. It sank slightly due to his weight, but otherwise there was no indication of his movement. A few seconds later, the Daedra was lying on the ground, twitching as his fluids drained out of the huge gash in his throat. Darkasha reappeared and flicked his sword to get some of the gore off of it. I approached the floating, trembling chains that held the Sigil Stone in place, Darkasha watched me with curiosity. I prepared myself mentally, then reached into the flames and grasped the pulsating stone. I gripped the smooth, warm surface and pulled with all my strength. The pillar of fire that had previously supported the stone burst into the air as the stone came free. Darkasha screamed as the air filled with fire, but it was more out of habit than pain. The flames did not actually affect us, as we were already being drawn back into Tamriel. Flames melted the inside of the tower and turned the air white. I felt the familiar tugging as I was pulled back into reality.

I landed gracefully, more or less. Darkasha on the other hand was writhing about, trying to get over the effects of the flames and the return to Tamriel. I stopped his writhing and helped him to his feet. Dawn was just beginning to break on the horizon, and I looked around for some place to get my vampiric companion out of the rays of the sun. Not far off through the trees I could barely make out the silhouette of a building. I helped Darkasha to his feet and we walked towards what would hopefully become our resting place for the night.