Into Skyrim, Elder Scrolls 8 Nirn's Beta

Chapter 86: Double Save

Chapter 86 - Double SaveSnap Leg Cave was the home of two hagravens. They would normally fight when you enter the dungeon and you could save a Spriggan to kill the remain hagraven. Since the hagraven almost always switches to melee when the spriggan engages. However I found one hagraven dead and the spriggan slumped in the cage. Using detect I could see it was still alive, just drained of its sap.

I looked to Viree, "You called it, go ahead and kill that hagraven."

She stared at me blankly, "Why do you know where so many of these ugly things are?"

I shrugged, "No clue on the specifics, just remember the locations."

Viree sighed lifted pendulum and rushed forward. The hagraven barely had time to react as the mace collided with its skull. Viree clobbered the hagraven into the ground with multiple swings. A second later the hagraven was turned into gore.

I pulled out some lockpicks, and started working at the lock. Only kept a dozen or so, thankfully it seemed to be a novice lock. I unlocked the cage and swung the door open. Viree asked, "Is it safe to do that?"

I shrugged, "Spriggans are intelligent creatures like atronachs. They are actually extremely peaceful outside their groves or if you gained the trust of the creatures that visit a grove with a spriggan."

She shrugged, "I'm going to collect anything valuable." A second of silence as I looked over the spriggan, Viree spoke again. "Why is their so many dead creatures here?"

I began casting healing hands, as I guess the reason why. "The hagraven's likely tamed the spiders. However when draining the spriggan it might've controlled them to attack the hagravens. By the way their should be a staff of paralysis around here, make sure to grab that."

She raised it up, "Found it."

I took a step back as the spriggan began to glow with a small light. it reacted and stood to its feet, uh twigs? It actually didn't have feet. "Woah, just healing you. You belong to Eldergleam Sanctuary."

It tilted its head and grabbed my hand with its own. I felt a little strange as it petted my hand. It nodded and a second later, it uh, tweeted? "Loooo-eeee? Twee Che Chwiii?"

I stared at the bark creature and it reached up to my head and petted me again. Before it smiled at me and walked out of the cage and around me. "Prrrrrl, Chi-Chi."

i expected it to wander toward Eldergleam however it just smiled at me. I looked at Viree and she shrugged. "No idea what its saying."

I raised an eyebrow, "Are you asking us to escort you to your grove?"

It nodded emphatically and i realized what was happening. "Is it because your weak right now?"

It nodded once more and folded its arms down. I only had one more question, "Are you fine with us stopping somewhere else to save someone else?" I had a quest now to escort the Spriggan, but I needed to save Derkeethus. So I had to ask the spriggan.

It nodded and smiled. Viree handed me the staff and I pocketed it. With a shrug and left the cave and the Spriggan followed behind silently. Viree whispered to me, "You ever read or experience something like this before?"

I shrugged, "Like I said before Spriggans are very similar to Atronachs. However they only are born on Nirn. There are Oblivion Spriggans, but those are vastly different and often tower over the trees they protect."

The spriggan seemed to look around as we walked over to Philip. The spriggan smiled when it saw Philip and rubbed her side. i paused, "Are you fine with us riding Philip here?"

It paused for a long second and eventually nodded. So me and Viree climbed up onto Philip and began riding toward Darkwater Pass. The Spriggan floated gently, but quickly behind us. Viree asked, "Should we name her? Uh, it? Do they have a gender? I mean it has boobs."

I had wondered that too, but I would have never spoke it aloud. "They are mostly female, I don't know why. However they turn into matriarchs given enough time so they likely are similar to Nymphs, though those are much rarer."

Viree asked, "Have you ever seen a nymph?"

I shook my head, "Only ever an image of one." Which was true as I only saw it in daggerfall. Truth be told in the games Spriggans likely replaced Nymphs. However here on Nirn they were clearly two separate species."

Viree spoke in a low-tone, "Before I contracted Lycanthropy, my dad said my mother was like a nymph. Entrancing and ethereal, however she died when I was born."

We closed in on Darkwater Pass, I debated about saying what I wanted. I sighed and decided it might help Viree. "You likely inherited some of her looks. You... are very... curvy."

She frowned at my words and punched me off Philip when we stopped. I shouted, "Hey! What the hell?"

The spriggan giggled and Viree rolled her eyes. "Curvy was not the thing to say there." I got to my feet and shook my head. "Be ready for a fight, and whatever you do. Don't get hit when we enter this cave."

Viree looked at me and even the spriggan tilted its head. "The cave is infested with Falmer, hopefully the guy we are looking for hasn't been killed by them."

Viree blinked, "Falmer? Aren't those blind?"

I nodded, "Yes, but they have excellent hearing. When inside make as little noise as possible."

I looked at the Spriggan, "I'm just gonna call you Orchid. Orchid, you stay with Philip. Falmer aren't the nicest creatures and well..." I looked at the Spriggan that literally hummed with life.

It nodded and crouched sitting next to Philip. With Orchid staying behind I began sneaking into the cavern. The cave did go straight through the mountian toward Darkwater Crossing. An incredibly small mining town that Derkeethus was from.

Since we entered from the back the cave was dark and a few glowing mushrooms lit the way. I crossed through the cave with Viree behind me. I began to get a little paranoid as I found no signs of Falmer. They should be here? There was Falmer traps and eventually we came up to a falmer hut. However I blinked as I casted Detect. Only one magical outline appeared. Only one person was within the entire cave.

I got up and shouted, "Is anyone there?"

Viree looked at me like I was crazy, "Didn't you say not to make a sound?"

I shook my head, and a second later a hoarse voice called out. "I-I am here! Please! W-Water!"

I looked at Viree, "Inspect all the walls, and I mean All of them. Anything resembling a tunnel of any kind collapsed or open. Falmer clearly were here, but now they are gone and Derkeethus wasn't saved."

Viree nodded and I rushed forward toward the the other side of the cave. I jumped over the collapsed coffin. The area was a nordic tomb, though much more recent than some of the ones scattered across skyrim. It was likely a burial site for Darkwater Crossing.

In a small pit filled with corpses, I found Derkeethus. He looked Gaunt and closing in on skeletal. I saw some of the corpses had teeth marks and I knew what he had to do to survive. I grabbed a lever on the far wall and the grate that kept him in the pit opened up.

"Let me pull you up." I held out my hand to the Argonian. He grabbed my arm and I pulled him from the pit. He laid flat on the ground and looked up at me. He reached out slightly, "Wa-Water, Please!"

I pulled out a flask and handed it to him. He began draining the flask and gasped when he finally stopped. "Thank you! Thank you! Oh, thank you. Please! Savior! What is your name!"

I pulled out some jerky, "My name is Vek Frostwane, my companion who is

Viree clung to my shoulder as we walked out of the cave, "So what's the story behind it."

I looked at her, "How much you want to know?"

Viree shrugged, "How far are we traveling to get to this Eldergleam Sanctuary?"

I smirked, "Well, it all started when the dwemer acquired the Heart of Lorkhan."