#falk firebeard

The man rubbed his face, hands fidgeting with one another idly. His glances to Elisif, her housecarl, and other figures in the court landed him with approving nods, and Falk again spoke up. "There have been reports of... weird happenings near Wolfskull Cave. Travelers disappearing, odd lights. I suspect wild animals or perhaps bandits." "Travelers disappearing?" Emeros repeated, his eyes wide as the words left him half-breathless. "And you didn't think that this was worth an investigation?" "Again, I thought it might be wild animals and bandits," Falk justified, enunciating the statement. "We all did. They've taken advantage with the war going on, all this uncertainty, no one is truly safe. But I digress, if you really think it's worth looking into, then I will make sure that you three are repaid for your work." A housecarl nearest Falk scoffed into a drink, prompting the court wizard to scowl. "Is there something funny, Erikur?" "No, no, not at all." The man rolled his eyes as he sipped from his goblet, a sort of wine from the smell of it. "I just find it a bit interesting that we're sending three strangers to investigate Haafingar's matters. This should be the work of someone from our own Hold, not these elves who had to get a military pardon when they first arrived here." Phoebe, over at her desk, winced. She looked to Erikur, a sharp, probably dangerous gaze on anyone else that merely served to make her appear like a mouse scolding a wolf. "Besides, our coffers are emptier by the day. What can we even reward three would-be bandit-slayers when they inevitably return without having spilt so much as skeever blood?"

Wrathberry and Lydia set off into the highlands. Wolfskull Cave was a few minutes' walk from Mount Kilkreath. On the road outside, they found a couple of skeletons guarding the cave, a daring choice in light of Meridia's recent reengagement with Tamriel.

Wrathberry had bought some Elvish armour that morning, and Lydia some Dwemer boots. Wrathberry felt like four hundred Septims. Lydia felt very clanky.

There were empty bottles and equipment strewn around the cave, and a handful of draugr in the mood for a scrap. Wolfskull Cave didn't seem strange at all; just your average Skyric cave, maybe after some prospectors had wandered in, got drunk, and been mauled by draugr. That was how it seemed until Lydia and Wrathberry saw the castle.

"Holy echatere...!" Wrathberry gasped, using the Orcish equivalent of 'holy cow'. "Who puts a castle underground? Castles are surface-dwellers who need plenty of fresh air!"

"More pressingly, My Thane, can you see that purplish-blue orb of light?" said Lydia, nudging her. "And do you see those sinister hooded figures along the battlements, feeding energy into it?"

Wrathberry's brow furrowed. "Now that you mention it..." She cupped a hand over her ear. "The heck?! They're chanting about summoning some polenta!"

"Um, no, they're saying 'we summon Potema'," said Lydia. Her face went white. "Potema?! Oh, no, summoning her's a terrible idea!"

Fortunately, Wrathberry was standing on a balcony well away from the castle, and she had firebolts.

Eventually, the necromancers and their draugr realised battlements were for hiding behind, and Wrathberry's bombardment lost its effectiveness. She and Lydia barged into the castle and started serving knuckle sandwiches and chops.

After a moderately stressful few minutes, our heroines ran out of necromancers. They climbed to the top of the castle, where the ritual site was deserted. All was quiet but the crackling of the flames.

"Looks like we dodged a bullet, huh, Lydia?" said Wrathberry, as they hiked back to Solitude through the pouring rain. "Or maybe we sort of grabbed the bullet before it could hit anything."

"What's a bullet?" asked Lydia.

Falk Firebeard was delighted to hear of their success. He paid Wrathberry handsomely and promised to give Jarl Elisif the good news.

In other good news, the excitement of Wolfskull Cave (and some prior alchemy, shopping, and smithing practice with spare sabre cat pelts) was enough for Wrathberry to level up twice! This means it's time to choose two perks.