Chapter 7: Poisoned
Kara saw a bright white light off in the distance, it seemed so warm and peaceful, it was like if she went there everything would be okay and she would be safe forever. She was drawn to the light like a deer is drawn to water. Slowly she started walking to the light, as she walked the light started to get ever nearer, but it wasn't happening fast enough. She wanted the safe warm home that the light promised, she wanted to feel safe and at peace. She broke into a run and sprinted and full speed to the light, not losing any energy. Kara felt good, like she could run forever. The light got closer and closer and closer until finally, she reached it and she ran into it. But a loud and soothing voice called out to her, "It is not your time child, you still have a big part in the coming story that you must participate in. You are destined to get the Dragonborn back on his feet, you are to be the one to make him forget his pain. A great evil is coming, one that has not made itself known yet not even to the Divines, and only the Dragonborn can stop it. You alone can get the Dragonborn to forget the pain of his heart and be ready to take this evil on and stop the Apocalypse. Without you, Argon is destined to fail and the whole world will be consumed by the darkness that is coming. Now go, back to your destiny. Save the Dragonborn from the pain that consumes him, save the world."
The disembodied voice sounded so distant, yet so far, but Kara knew who had spoken to her. It had been Arkay, the god of the cycle of birth and death. He had told her what needed to be done, and her heart was set on doing it. Whatever this great evil was, it had to be stopped. And Argon was the only one who could do it. But with the condition Serana had left him rendered him unable to defeat it. She now knew she had to fix the broken shell of what was a great man. But first she had to wake up.
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Kara's eyelids flung open, her head hurt and her ears were throbbing, but even worse was the pain in her shoulder. She felt as though someone had just stabbed her multiple times with a dagger in the exact same place. She rolled her head over to look at the wound, and as she did her head hurt worse. Still, she managed to look over at her shoulder and see right underneath it and right above her heart, there was a hole. It was about the size of a septim, but it hurt to no end. She let out a loud cry in pain. Instantlly, the heroes who were gathered around a small stone table eatinf Fayen's completed stew, shot up and rushed to her side.
"Oh thank the Divines you're alive!" said Fayen.
"Well, thank one of them in particular." Kara said as she attempted to sit up.
Argon gently pushed her back down. "Easy" he said, "you're in no shape to sit up."
"Here, drink this." said Nerevar as he handed her a large bottle.
"We removed the bullet hours ago, but we didn't want to give you anything because we didn't want to force feed you." said Garnin
Kara drank the whole bottle of the bitter substance. The healing potion tasted like dead skeevers and bugs. After finishing the bottle she gagged. Usually healing potions were supposed to taste warm and smooth, drinking it was like drink the sweet nectar of gods. But instead, this tasted bitter, a little chunky, furry, and like burnt flesh from a rat. Plus it had a horrible sharp aftertaste. Still, it closed up her bullet wound and removed the throbbing in her ears and sharp pain in her head.
"This is disgusting!" Kara exclaimed.
"That's what happens when you are stuck in an Ancient Underground cave and you have to make your own potions instead of going down the road to the nearest alchemist." said Argon.
"Still, it didn the trick. Now I have a question, I know I was shot, but why did my head feel like it had been ripped out by one of the zombies in the Ayleid Ruins?" Kara asked.
"When you were shot, you fell backwards onto the stone road, you probably gave yourself a nasty concussion. But it's all better right?" asked Nerevar.
"Yeah, I'm fine now."
"Good. So what did you mean when you said 'thank one in particular'?" asked Argon.
"I had died, but as I was going to the bright light to wherver I would go, Arkay told me it wasn't my time and he sent me back." said Kara, leaving out the part about the great evil and her needing to fix Argon.
"He didn't tell you anything else? Like why the Divines and reach us down here?" asked Argon.
"Nope. Now, I don't care what you guys say, I want to walk around."
Kara stood up from the bed and started walking towards the alchemy lab, she got about three feet away from the bed when she fell over and started screaming.
"What's wrong with her?!" asked Fayen.
"The bullet must've been dipped in poison. It must have just reached her heart, quick someon grab a Cure Poison off the rack!" commanded Nerevar.
Argon ran over to the rack next to the alchemy lab. He started grabbing potions and tossing them around and he fumbleded around trying to find one labeled: Cure Poison. Finally, he found one, and he held it tightly as he rushed back across the room to give it to Nerevar.
Nerevar took it and held it up to Kara's lips as he slowly poured in into her mouth. She swalloed it and she seemed to relax and the screaming stopped. But a few moments later she went back to spazzing out, this time lacking the screaming.
"Why didn't it work?!" said Nerevar shocked, "Quick get another!"
Argon grabbed another and gave it to him. The same thing happened, something was seriosuly wrong. None of these were working!
"The Dwemer must've made a new poison that won't be affected by these cures!" Fayen realized.
"Well, they must have made a cure, just in case one of their own gets poisoned." said Sheogorath, holding Thadon close to his chest.
"That's a good point, they have to be hiding it somewhere. If you can find a Dwemer, maybe you can make him tell you where it is." said Nerevar.
"I'll go get it. Garnin, Sheo, Thadon, you are all coming with me. Fayen, stay here with Nerevar. You two tend to Kara, the Cure Poisons seem to get the poison away from her heart just for a few moments. We have about five left, and we have just enough ingredients to make about five more. That's ten Cure Poisons, that'll probably give us about two hours so we have to be fast. Try not to fight if we can avoid it." said Argon.
"Alright, but hurry." said Nerevar.
"And guys, be quick if we run out of potions before you get back, we're gonna lose her." said Fayen.
"We won't let that happen." said Argon.
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Argon, Sheo, and Garnin were walking down the stone road. In the distance they could hear the sound of the waterfall near the Field Lab growing quieter as they got farther away. Argon was worried about Kara, much more than he thought he would be. He hated Kara. Or so he thought. She was kinda starting to grow on him.
"Do you think we will be able to save her?" Garnin asked.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. Even if we are lucky enough to find and corner a Dwemer, who's to say they actually made a cure? Sure, they're a smart race. The smartest one ever. They would have thought about one of them getting poisoned, but what if they were smart enough NOT to make a cure." said Argon.
"Why would they not make a cure?" asked Sheogorath.
"In case something like this happens, one of their enemies gets poisoned, then the friends of the enemy go to try and get the cure to save their buddy. If they don't have a cure, the enemy will surely die because his/her friends won't be able to get a cure." said Argon.
"You're getting too scared. They probably made one. Why are you so worried anyways? You and Kara hate each other." said Garnin.
"I dunno. She's kinda growing on me." said Argon.
"Oooohhhh does someone have a little crush? Is someone finally getting over---" Sheogorath tackled Garnin before he could say Serana's name.
"I will admit, she's a very pretty woman. And yes, maybe I have a feeling or two for her, but that's it nothing more." said Argon.
"Well that's nice." said Garnin getting up from the damp cave ground, right where he had been knocked over, a small imprint of him was slowly disappearing as the ground rose back up.
"Shh. Be quiet." said Sheogorath.
"What is it Sheo?" asked Argon.
"Get behind this rock." Sheogorath commanded as he went behind it.
Argon and Garnin followed his lead and ducked behind a rock. Two minutes later they heard the sound of clanking metal as a small betallion of Dwarven Spheres who were patrolling Blackreach passed by.
"Nice ears Sheo." Argon whispered.
"Wait. There's more." just moments after the Spheres rolled by, a louder clanking of metal which was joined by the sounds of compressed steam breaking free and spreading out into the air.
A Dwarven Centurion walked by the rock, its heavy metal feet pounding on the rocks and causing the ground to shake. The heroes held as still as they could. But somehow they were noticed. The Centurion swung its arm and broke the rock exploded into pebbles.
The heroes got up and ran. Pebbles pelted Argon's back and his armor made a ping each time a pebble hit it and bounced off. Argon, Garnin, and Sheogorath grabbed their swords and prepared to fight. They ran at the Centurion and swung their swords. The Centurion blocked with its arms and the swords left tiny dents. The Centurion let out a blast of scalding hot steam right on the heroes. Argon's armor heated up and he started to sweat inside of it. The Centurion then whacked Argon with his arms and sent him flying backwards. Argon landed in the damp cave dirt about five feet away. He stood up and brushed himself off, as he had flown through the air his sword had flown away from him. After he brushed himself off he ran over to his sword and grabbed it. He went back to join the fight.
They were not doing so good. The Dwemer must have upgraded their robots because the Centurions were usually easier to kill. Then Argon noticed something. Up on the Centurion, climbing around was none other than Thadon!
"Sheo look!" Argon called
Sheogorath looked up just in time to see his beloved pet rip through one of the Centurions wires and cause it to shut down and fall over.
"Good boy." said Sheogorath when Thadon walked back over to him.
"Damn....." Garnin was shocked by what he just saw, such a little creature take out something so big....
"Well... Let's move on then..." said Argon
The heroes hurried down the road. As they turned a corner, they saw a Dwemer Guard talking to a pregnant Dwemer woman.
"Well, I have to get going now. Have a nice day." said the Dwemer to the woman.
"You too, becareful while guarding. There are rumors that there might be people wanting to hurt us somewhere in the cave. Bah, that's nonsense. Don't believe those rumors." said the Guard.
As the guard was walking away from the woman he murmered to himself, "One day you will be mine Galecki. That husband of yours will be no more. One day..."
As the Dwemer turned the corner, the heroes pounced on him and surrounded him. They backed him up against the wall of a Dwemer structure. Garnin was at his right, Sheogorath was at his left, and Argon was in front of him. Their weapons were out and the tips were pointing right at his head. The Guard reached down to grab his gun from his side, but Sheogorath's blade slashed the guard's belt off and the gun fell to the ground at his feet.
The guard smirked. "I knew the rumors were true. I knew the Empire had team down here to attack us. Now, we no longer have to wait for the Empire's decision to give us custody of Nchuand-Zel. We have an instant pass to go to war." said the Dwemer.
"Except that's not going to happen. Because if you inform anyone of our presence we will kill you. And if you don't meet our demands, we will kill you." said Argon.
"Fine. What are your demands?" asked the Guard.
"Your race has made a new type of poison. One that is poisoning my friend. We want the cure for it, and if you don't want to give it to us we will be happy to kill you and find a more helpful Dwemer." said Argon.
"Well, my life is being threatened... Deal. I'll take you to where we are keeping it." said the Dwemer.
"If you even think on turning on us, there are three of us, two swords and a battleaxe, and a bloodthirsty animal that was directly created and raised by Sheogorath, the Madgod himself." said Argon. "Oh, and you are also unarmed."
"Those are some tough odds to beat." said the Dwemer "Right this way."
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The heroes followed the guard for a while, and eventually the came to the War Quarters. They went inside and Argon noticed how much different this place was than the last time he had been in it. There was armor and clothes thrown across the floor, empty ammo cartridges on the ground, guns and explosives sitting on shelves, alchemy ingredients and an Alchemy Table, there were bed rolls spread across the floor. A few cots had been brought in, and it smelled of sweat and dirt. The guard led the heroes to a cabinet. He opened it up and filling it were small clear bottles with some sort of black substance in it. He pulled one out.
"Here we go." said the Guard.
"Now hand it over." said Argon.
"Not so fast. Guards!" called the Dwemer.
Dwemer emerged from the shadows and held their guns at the heroes.
"You lying son of a bitch. You were never going to give it to us were you?" said Argon
"I thought you were supposed to be smart Dovahkiin." said the guard.
"How do you know who I am?" Argon questioned.
"Because, I know all about your little group. It's comprised of you, the Madgod, the Hero of Daggerfall, the Eternal Champion, and Indoril Nerevar. We meant to draw you out of hiding. You see, we had bands of scouts posted all across Blackreach. We knew, eventually, you would try to get rid of one of the groups. Then, the group would poison on of your own which would bring you looking for an antidote. Then, when you came. We would lead you here and arrest you. But we thought all of you would have came, even the poisoned one so that you could give the antidote to them right away. Guess not. No matter, we will still capture you and force you to give up to location of Nerevar." said the guard.
"Nerevar? He's what you're after?" said Garnin.
"Well, really we wanted to catch all of you. But Nerevar is the only one Kagrenac wanted to keep. He said we could just exile the rest of you and not have to kill you or keep you locked up. Nerevar though, we want him." said the guard.
"Why do you want him so badly?" asked Argon.
"Because, he is part of the reason we went extinct! Kagrenac wants to punish him for leading an army against us. And, Kagrenac believes he knows the location of Keening. And with it, Kagrenac will be able to fulfill his plans for the world, and the Dwemer race." said the guard.
"Sheo," Garnin whispered while the Dwemer was still talking, "do you think you can hit him with a bolt of lightning? Maybe disentegrate him and the guards so we can get the cure and get out of here?"
"Worth a shot." said Sheogorath.
Sheogorath called upon his daedric powers to blast all the guards. Nothing happened.
"Guys, my powers, they're not working!" Sheo said.
"Oh yeah, the Divines and Daedra are being blocked down here by a powerful artifact. Somehow you managed to get in, but while you're down here, you're just a regular mortal man who can be killed." said the Dwemer.
"How is this possible?!" Sheogorath exclaimed.
"Easy, the Heart of Lorkhan." the Dwemer explained.
"No... That's, that's not possible. It was destroyed by Nerevar a couple hundred years ago." said Argon.
"Yes but, whatever brought us back also restored the heart."
"Guys, we have to go." Garnin whispered to the other two, "We have to warn the others."
"I got this. Hold on." Sheogorath put Thadon on the ground and whispered something into his ear.
The eager sloth stealthily scurried towards the Dwemer and climbed up his back. It then quickly climbed across his arm and bit his hand. The Dwemer yelled in pain and dropped the cure. Garnin dove for the cure and Argon quickly pulled out his sword and slashed the face of the Dwemer in half.
The heroes turned around and were faced by twenty angry Dwemer with guns. Argon Fus Ro Dah-ed them and they flew back. The heroes sprinted out the door but the Dwemer quickly got up and followed. The pulled out their guns and started shooting.
"They're not gonna stop until the catch us!" Garnin yelled.
"Then we'll give them one of us!" Argon yelled.
"What?!" Sheogorath asked confused.
"You two go, give Kara the cure and warn them about the Heart. Make sure you warn Nerevar that they are looking for him. I'll hold the Dwemer off." Argon said.
"We aren't letting you do that." said Garnin.
"You don't have a choice." Argon stopped running, turned around, and held his hands above his head.
Despite their reluctance, Garnin and Sheogorath kept going.
The Dwemer surrouned Argon and aimed their guns at him. "Argon Stormblade, you are under arrest. Congratulations, you are the first prisoner of this war."
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One of the guards that had arrested Argon went to report to Kagrenac who was sitting in his throne atop the Hall of Rumination.
"Lord Kagrenac." the Dwemer said kneeling.
"What news do you have for me?" Kagrenac asked.
"We have captured the Dragonborn."
"Excellent. I want a small army of guards around his cell. He has a great power that for some reason is not blocked by the Heart." commanded Kagrenac.
"Yes m'lord." The Dwemer said, "He and his friends believe they are safe and we don't know of their location. Shall we send some troops there to capture the rest of them?"
"No, let them believe they are safe. It gives us leverage." said Kagrenac. "How goes the search for Keening?"
"Better than expected. We were tracing its Aetherius signal, and we believe to have located the area it is in."
"And where is that area? I want all scouts in that area trying to find that dagger." commanded Kagrenac.
"It's right here in Blackreach."