Finding Septimus' Outpost was easier than I had anticipated, it was fairly easy to spot once I climbed down the cliffs from the college. Erandur easily caught sight of the thin column of wafting smoke out on the ice, and, assuming that there weren't too many people crazy enough to live over a frozen sea this far north, decided it must be Septimus Signus's outpost. It was. He was a crazy old mer, but he was able to at least point us in the right direction, which I was thankful for. He said that there was an Elder Scroll hidden deep underground in the Dwemer city of Blackreach and freely offered me a small orb which he said would unlock the entrance. I had never heard of this Dwemer ruin which puzzled me, as I had studied many of them, and read many tomes on them when I was looking for those Aetherium shards. Septimus however was able to enlighten me slightly on why this particular ruin had evaded me, apparently it is so far underground that one must access it by traveling through another, nearby ruin. The second ruin he mentioned was familiar to me, although I had never been actually near it and so thanking him for his cryptic information Erandur and I set off back across the ice.
Perhaps it is worth mentioning here that Septimus also gave me a strange Dwemer cube. He said that the Dwarves had developed a way of reading the scrolls which prevented blindness. Apparently they were able to somehow copy down the information contained in a scroll and transfer it onto a cube similar to the one Septimus gave me. He asked that before I took the scroll for whatever purpose I needed it for, that I first use the Dwemer machine to copy it down for him. Since he had helped me so much, I felt I must oblige him, however I do not intend on returning this cube to him until the dragon crisis is over, just on the off-chance that I may need it more than him. Although granted I have no idea, and probably no ability to read what is inscribed on this cube.
Upon entering the first level of the ruins we discovered what looked like the remains of a camp sight which had not been abandoned more than a day or two ago. However there was blood on the floor. As we ventured in further we continued to see signs of blood and brief struggles, however no sign of actual bodies, alive or otherwise until we reached a much lower level. Our first sign of the adventuring party came in the form of muttered Kajhiiti curses from up ahead. We approached cautiously it was obvious from the Khajiit's ramblings that he was in distress, it seemed that he was speaking to another party, although we never heard the other respond. He attacked us on sight, and we were forced to kill him. Erandur discovered a small journal near the head of his dead brother whom it seems he'd been speaking to. Apparently they were part of a party who came down here to find the city of Blackreach as well. The living brother had been a skooma addict and it seems that it had finally gotten the best of him. How his brother died we weren't sure, either killed by Dwemer machinations, or the skooma addict. Either way, he was quite dead.
As we ventured further into the ruins, we slowly discovered the rest of the adventuring party. All dead, killed off one by one by either Falmer, or the Dwarven guardians It's a pity they were not better prepared, but it seems it was their own over-eagerness and stupidity that got them killed. Dwemer ruins are not to be taken lightly.
Finally we reached what appeared to be the entrance to Blackreach, a huge room, its centerpiece a strange archaic device which we assumed to be the lock Septimus had spoke of. Septimus had told me that the orb he gave me would unlock the entrance, he was correct. As soon as I inserted the orb into the device a humming noise filled the room, the floor below my feet shifted to reveal a grand staircase leading to a huge elevator shaft. I was a bit concerned about getting on an elevator which was many thousands of years old, but there was no alternative.
Blackreach makes every other Dwemer ruins I've ever stepped foot in seem tiny. This must truly have been a huge center point for trade and commerce back when the Dwemer were in the height of their power. I felt almost as if I was outdoors at some points, the air, although moist was not thick or suffocating, in fact it seemed very healthy for plants and wildlife as there was plenty of both. Even though there were a few Falmer settlements, it seems even those vile creatures had not ventured this far down. We cleared out the few camps that we found, and then were able to walk in relative peace through this massive city.
Although I realize that I am on a mission which must be completed in a timely manner thus preventing the end of the world...allow me to go on a slight rant, as I am a mage and thus a student of all forms of knowledge. Thus Dwemer city was filled to the brim with things which, if brought out into the light, could forever change the way that the civilized world views this ancient society. First off, let me say that the lighting these people used was not anything ordinary. Erandur described it to me in great detail, it seems as if all of their lights, which have remained illuminated throughout the decades are powered by some sort of magical energy. In fact the whole place was overflowing with magicka. I could feel it tingling in the air, hanging heavy around us.
But I must finish this entry soon, as it is getting late, and Erandur complains he cannot get to sleep with the sound of my quill scratching on parchment. We found what we though we were looking for when we finally arrived at the most prominent landmark of Blackreach, a great palace. Although we searched it fully however, we found no Dwemer machination of the type Septimus described. On a whim I decided to use my Thu'um, directing it at a huge magical orb which hung above the palace. I wasn't really expecting anything in particular, Erandur and I were just tired of searching and I could think of nothing else to try. The orb was laced heavily with magicka, so I assumed it must be linked to something.
Well, it did not open any secret door, nor did it reveal the way for us. It did however make an earsplitting 'gong' which echoed loudly throughout the entire city. I am glad that it is so very sturdy down there, or I would have feared an earthquake or landslide of some variety.
There was silence for a moment after the noise, but not for long. Soon Erandur and I heard the sound of leathery wings taking to the air. A noise both of us know well. A dragon. Yes, there was a very powerful dragon living down in the depths of Tamriel. A dragon that took us a good hour at least to bring down, and even longer to finally vanquish. It was the scariest dragon battle I have ever participated in. The landscape of Blackreach is treacherous after all these years, and I do not know my way around anywhere near well enough to trust my footing much in battle. I mostly resigned myself to hiding around a large wall near the palace and shooting out healing spells towards Erandur who was busy using his bow to down the beast. Once it landed it was easier for me to help out, for although a dragon's breath attack is powerful, it is not nearly as fast nor graceful on land as it is in the air.
Once the ancient beast destroyed, we were both much more cautious for awhile, speaking in hushed voices and walking lightly. We did finally find another tower which seemed to be some sort of laboratory. Inside was what we had been searching for. It took me many frustrating hours to figure out the ancient Dwemer machination, but finally I managed to make it do something. Once I figured out how to operate the machine, it was only a matter of minutes before I managed to get it to inscribe on Septimus' cube. Then it was just a simple matter of opening the shell containing the Elder Scroll. It was such an amazing feeling of power when I laid hands on the scroll. Of course I am incapable of ever reading a scroll, but even so I could feel a deep, arcane power, washing over me like waves. Erandur was very hesitant to even look at the closed scroll, he made me place it in my pack out of caution. I suppose he's afraid he'll suffer blindness but from my research one who has no knowledge of how to read the elder scrolls will also suffer no damaging effects from them. Even so I had no issue with holding on to it myself. An artifact of such value must be protected with the utmost of care.
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