Chapter 56 Alftand's Descent
They continued deeper into the Dwemer ruin of Alftand, their footsteps echoing faintly against ancient brass and stone, until the passage opened onto a narrow bridge sloping downward into darkness. The structure looked old and unforgiving cold stone slick with frost, gears and metal plates half-buried in the walls beside it. There were no railings at all, only empty air on either side, dropping into a vast, unseen abyss below. A chill draft rose from the depths, carrying the smell of damp stone and rusted machinery.
Alex stepped closer to the edge and leaned forward, peering down. His breath caught for a moment as he straightened up again, a low whistle escaping his lips.
"Wow… that's a really long way down," he muttered, instinctively taking a step back from the edge. He tightened his grip on his weapon and glanced at Astrid, his expression turning serious. "Okay, we have to be careful. If a Falmer attacks, you hit it hard no hesitation. Don't waste your movements out here."
Astrid followed his gaze downward, her eyes narrowing as she measured the distance. She shifted her stance, planting her boots firmly against the stone as if testing her balance. With a grim nod, she replied, her voice steady but tense, "Yeah. One wrong step… and you fall. And that's it you're dead."
They crossed the stone bridge inch by inch, each step deliberate and measured. Loose pebbles skittered away under their boots and vanished into the darkness below, the faint clatter echoing for several seconds before fading. Cold air brushed past them, tugging at cloaks and armor, while the distant hum of Dwemer machinery pulsed like a slow, mechanical heartbeat deep within the ruin.
Halfway across, pale shapes stirred ahead.
Falmer emerged from the shadows, their twisted forms crawling over the stone with unsettling silence. Before they could close the distance, Astrid drew in a sharp breath and planted her feet firmly. Power surged through her voice as she unleashed a shout. The sound thundered across the bridge, vibrating through metal and stone alike. The Falmer were hurled backward, their screeches swallowed by the abyss as their bodies tumbled from the bridge and disappeared into the depths below.
The sudden silence that followed felt heavy.
Astrid lowered her stance and slowly exhaled, then lifted her gaze around them. Her eyes traced the massive arches, the interlocking brass plates, and the carved supports that vanished into the cavern walls. Dim Dwemer lights glimmered faintly along the stone, casting warm gold against the cold gray rock.
"Wow…" she murmured, awe softening her voice. "They really were the masters of the underground."
Alex nodded, glancing up at the towering structures and the layered pathways carved into the walls. "Yeah, that's absolutely true. They rarely showed themselves on the surface, but when it came to underground construction, they were unmatched. Some even say all Dwemer architecture is connected beneath the ground like one enormous, hidden city."
Astrid's eyes widened, a spark of excitement breaking through her tension. She turned toward him quickly. "So it's possible that while exploring this place, we could find some kind of contraption that takes us back up to the surface too? And that everything is connected?"
Alex paused, then shook his head slowly. "In theory, yes. But in reality… many of the ruins are sealed by collapsed stone, and a lot of the mechanisms are broken. Whatever network they built, it doesn't function anymore."
Astrid's shoulders slumped slightly. "Aww…" she said, disappointment clear in her tone. After a moment, she added more thoughtfully, "Still, I admit the Dwemer were an intelligent and solid race. But they didn't care much about other races. There's good and bad to them very different from the surface races, who ended up tearing themselves apart with civil wars."
She let out a long sigh, the sound echoing faintly across the bridge.
Alex folded his arms, his expression turning serious. "The surface races were solid too, in their own way. But maybe the Altmer stirred conflict among them. Looking at the state of things now, it definitely led to civil war. We should be careful of Altmer or High Elf ambitions."
Astrid's gaze drifted downward, her earlier excitement dimming. "Yeah…" she said quietly. "You're right."
It turned out the bridge did not plunge straight into the depths after all. Instead, it ended at a heavy Dwemer door embedded into the stone wall, its surface etched with geometric patterns dulled by age. Astrid stepped closer to the edge beside it and leaned forward, craning her neck to peer down into the darkness below. Cold air rose from the unseen depths, brushing against her face and making the torchlight flicker.
"Huh…" she muttered, tilting her head in mild confusion. "I thought this bridge went directly downward, but apparently not."
With a low creak of metal and stone, they pushed the door open and entered the next chamber. The room was wider, the ceiling disappearing into shadow, with Dwemer pipes running along the walls like veins. The faint hum of ancient machinery echoed softly, broken only by the scrape of movement ahead.
Shapes shifted.
Several Falmer emerged from behind pillars and broken constructs, their pale forms twitching as they sensed intruders. Before they could rush forward, Alex reacted instantly. He thrust his hand toward the ground and unleashed Wall of Lightning. Crackling arcs of electricity raced across the floor, forming a glowing circular ring around them. The air filled with the sharp scent of ozone, and the lightning hissed and snapped like a living thing.
"This spell is pretty useful," Alex said calmly, keeping his stance steady.
The Falmer screeched and lunged anyway. The moment their feet crossed into the lightning ring, their bodies convulsed violently. Electricity surged through them, locking their muscles and sending them collapsing to the ground in spasms, their cries echoing briefly before fading.
Astrid laughed, adrenaline clear in her voice. She turned toward Alex with a wide grin. "Haha! Alex, that spell is useful. If we ever get surrounded, you should definitely use this!"
Nodding, Alex raised his hand again and released Chain Lightning. Bolts leapt from one Falmer to the next, arcing through the air in blinding flashes. In seconds, the remaining enemies fell, the chamber falling silent once more except for the lingering crackle of fading energy.
Destruction 66 → 67
The passage beyond sloped downward again, narrower and darker, forcing them to move carefully. Along the way, they discovered several chests and locked doors half-buried in debris. Instead of searching for keys or mechanisms, Alex stepped forward and focused his fire spell into a thin, controlled stream. He applied it to the locks like a blowtorch, metal glowing red-hot before warping and snapping open with a hiss.
Inside, they found several enchanted items, including one bearing Fortify Frost 20%, an enchantment that granted the wearer twenty percent resistance to frost and cold. Alex picked it up, turning it slowly in his hands as the enchantment shimmered faintly in the dim light.
His eyes sparkled with excitement. "Okay," he said with a satisfied smile, "I'll study this later when I find an enchanting table."
Eventually, they reached the very bottom of the ruin. The descent opened into a broad, cavernous space where the air felt heavier and colder, thick with dust and the faint metallic scent of ancient machinery. Dim Dwemer lights flickered weakly along the walls, casting long, distorted shadows across stone and brass.
Astrid stopped and tilted her head back, squinting upward. Far above them, barely visible through layers of darkness and stone, stretched the narrow bridge they had crossed earlier.
"Hey, look," she said, lifting an arm to point. "That's the stone bridge we crossed earlier."
Lowering her gaze, she slowly scanned the area around them. Scattered across the ground were twisted Falmer corpses, their bodies broken and lifeless clear victims of her shouts, having fallen from the heights above. Between them lay clusters of pale spider eggs wrapped in thick, sticky webs that clung to pillars, corners, and broken Dwemer mechanisms like rotting curtains.
She nodded to herself. "Yep. This is the bottom."
Alex stepped beside her, surveying the chamber with a thoughtful expression. "But this isn't Blackreach."
Astrid turned sharply toward him, surprise flashing across her face. "What? Not Blackreach…" She paused, curiosity quickly replacing her confusion. "Hmm. Now I'm really curious what Blackreach looks like."
Alex let out a small, amused breath. "Well, you could say it's beautiful," he replied. Then his tone shifted to something more serious. "But whatever you do, don't randomly eat glowing mushrooms or anything that looks shiny down there. Do that, and you might end up like those Falmer. Got it?"
Astrid waved a hand dismissively, barely containing her excitement. "Wokey."
They chatted for a short while longer, their voices echoing softly through the cavern, until a new sound cut through the stillness slow, heavy footsteps, accompanied by the unsettling scrape of chitin against stone. From the shadows emerged a massive spider, its many eyes glinting faintly as it shifted among the webs.
Alex cracked a small grin. "Well," he said, raising his hand, "it's been a long time, old friend."
A fireball burst from his palm and slammed into the spider's body. The explosion lit the chamber in a flash of orange and red, flames racing along the webs and igniting the egg clusters. The spider shrieked once before collapsing, its body blackened and smoking as the fire consumed everything around it.
"Huh," Alex said casually, lowering his hand. "That was easy."
Astrid shot him a sharp look. "Hey don't get cocky. You'll jinx it."
Alex bumped her lightly with his shoulder, a confident smirk on his face. "Relax. We're safe."
They moved forward and pushed open a door that had been completely covered in thick spider webs, the strands tearing and snapping as the door swung inward.
"Let's go in."
At that moment, neither of them knew what awaited beyond a massive Dwemer relic, silent and ancient, hidden just beyond the threshold, waiting to reveal itself.
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