Chapter 58 Blackreach and I Was Right or Wrong???
They stepped through the now-open Dwemer iron bars, the metal still humming faintly as if reluctant to let anyone pass. The air beyond felt heavier, thick with dust and the stale scent of old oil and rusted brass. Just a few steps in, two bodies lay sprawled on the cold metal floor a man and a woman, frozen in death as if the ruin itself had claimed them.
Alex slowed his pace, his boots scraping softly against the ancient surface. His eyes lingered on the corpses, narrowing slightly as he took in their gear and posture.
"Looks like they were explorers of this Dwemer ruin," he muttered, his voice low, almost swallowed by the cavernous silence.
As he studied their faces, something stirred uncomfortably in his chest.
These two…
In the game, they were supposed to stand here forever waiting, trapped in an endless loop until the Dragonborn arrived. But reality was cruelly different. Time in this world did not pause for scripted events. It moved on relentlessly, grinding people down whether they were ready or not. And now, all that remained of them were lifeless bodies and unfulfilled expectations.
Astrid knelt beside the corpses, the faint glow from the Dwemer lights reflecting off her eyes. She rolled one of the bodies slightly to the side, careful but unflinching, her fingers tracing the torn fabric and darkened stains.
"Hm… they didn't die to traps," she said thoughtfully. "Sword wounds. And this one " she tapped the dented armor near the ribs, " took a heavy shield strike."
She straightened a little, her brows knitting together.
"Judging by their equipment… they killed each other."
Alex let out a slow, tired sigh, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yeah. Looks like they couldn't agree on splitting the treasure."
Astrid clicked her tongue sharply, irritation clear on her face.
"Uuugh… again?"
Alex glanced at her, blinking in confusion.
"Again? What do you mean?"
She stood up, brushing dust and grime from her knees with quick, annoyed motions. Her eyes flicked back to the bodies, filled with a mixture of disdain and disappointment.
"Greed," she said bluntly. "That's what killed them. See? Dying like this over nothing more than shiny valuables. It's pathetic. Such a stupid death."
For a moment, only the low mechanical hum of the ruin answered her words.
Alex looked away from the bodies and scanned the chamber, his gaze traveling over the carved stone walls and silent Dwemer mechanisms half-buried in shadow.
"Owh yeah… true," he said slowly. "But even so, they still couldn't open this mechanism."
He walked toward the center of the room and tapped the metal floor with his knuckles. Clang. The sound echoed sharply, unnatural in the stillness. Embedded there was a circular socket, its edges worn smooth by age a slot unmistakably designed to hold a sphere.
Alex crouched slightly, studying it with a serious expression.
"So they made it this far…" he murmured. "But couldn't take the last step. I wonder how they passed the golem"
The ancient ruin remained silent, as if mocking them for it.
Suddenly, realization struck Alex like a cold jolt.
"Oh wait," he said, straightening abruptly. His eyes widened as he looked back toward the empty floor. "Did we… forget the key to Blackreach?"
Astrid tilted her head, following his gaze to the circular socket embedded in the metal floor. She leaned closer, squinting at it for a moment, then blinked.
"Oh. That thing?" she said casually. "I already have it. This, right?"
She reached into her pack without hesitation, the leather straps creaking softly, and pulled out a heavy, palm-sized object. The dim Dwemer lights glinted off its intricate brass surface as she lifted it into view a perfectly crafted Dwemer sphere, etched with faint geometric lines that pulsed ever so slightly.
Alex froze mid-step.
"…Huh?" His mouth hung open for a second. "How when did you ?"
Astrid gave a small, almost lazy shrug, as if she were explaining something trivial.
"When you walked ahead and left Septimus Signus behind, he suddenly called out to me," she said. "Handed this over and said he forgot to give you an artifact."
She rolled the sphere slowly in her palm, her fingers tracing the cold metal grooves, her expression thoughtful.
"Honestly, I didn't even know what this thing was. He just said, you'll need it." She paused, glancing from the sphere to the socket in the floor. "But now… yeah. I get it."
Without ceremony, Astrid knelt and carefully placed the sphere into the socket.
The moment it settled in place
WHRRRRR !
Ancient Dwemer machinery roared awake, the sound deep and thunderous, echoing through the chamber like a long-slumbering beast stirring. The floor shuddered beneath their feet, vibrating so violently that Alex had to brace himself. Metal plates slid apart with a deafening grind, sparks flaring as hidden gears turned for the first time in ages.
Stone and brass shifted, rearranging themselves with deliberate precision.
Slowly, unmistakably, a staircase emerged spiraling downward into the darkness below, disappearing into the unknown depths of Blackreach.
Alex let out a long breath he hadn't realized he was holding, his shoulders finally relaxing.
"Phew…" He gave a shaky laugh. "I seriously panicked there. If we'd forgotten that thing, we would've had to walk all the way back to Septimus. Haha."
He glanced down the newly formed stairs, eyes reflecting both relief and anticipation.
Without another word, the two of them stepped onto the newly formed staircase. Their boots rang softly against ancient metal as they began their descent, each step echoing downward before being swallowed by the vast, unseen depths below. The further they went, the quieter the world above became, until only the rhythmic sound of their footsteps and the distant hum of Dwemer machinery remained.
With every level they descended, the air subtly changed.
It grew cooler and denser, pressing against their skin not the sharp, biting cold of snow and wind, but the deep, untouched chill of the underground. It carried the scent of damp stone, old metal, and something ancient, as if this place had been sealed away from the surface for centuries, waiting patiently in silence.
At the bottom, they stood before a massive door of stone and brass. Faded Dwemer engravings crawled across its surface, worn smooth by time. Alex pressed his hand against it, and with a low groan, the door slowly opened.
What lay beyond stole their breath.
An enormous underground world stretched out before them, far beyond anything the surface could offer. Towering mushrooms rose from the cavern floor like glowing trees, their caps radiating soft blues, greens, and pale violets that bathed the land in an otherworldly light. Streams of luminous spores drifted lazily through the air like falling stars.
Scattered throughout the cavern, Dwemer lighting mechanisms still burned steadily, casting warm golden light across stone pathways, ancient ruins, and metallic structures. Brass and crystal gleamed together, creating a surreal harmony of nature and machine. The view was nothing short of breathtaking.
Yet beneath that beauty, danger stirred.
In the shadows between the glowing fungi, pale shapes moved Falmer slinking silently along rocky ledges, their eyeless faces turned toward unseen sounds. Chaurus insects crawled across the cavern floor, their chitinous bodies clicking softly as they skittered in and out of the light.
Astrid slowly turned in place, taking it all in. Her eyes sparkled, reflecting the glow of the mushrooms, and a wide smile spread across her face. She let out a soft, awed breath.
"Wooow… this is exactly why I love adventuring."
Alex stood beside her, arms loosely crossed, a small smile tugging at his lips as he watched her reaction.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "You're absolutely right."
Then his expression shifted, a mischievous glint appearing in his eyes. He leaned slightly toward her and added teasingly,
"By the way… who was it again that said they wanted a vacation and that this journey was exhausting?"
Astrid snapped her head toward him, shooting him a sharp glare.
"Hey! I never said that!"
Alex raised his shoulders in an exaggerated shrug, then let them drop casually, as if the matter were already settled.
"Yeah, yeah. Must've been the wind."
A faint blush crept across Astrid's cheeks. She clenched her fists at her sides and stomped her foot lightly.
"Alex!!"
Her shout echoed faintly through Blackreach, disappearing into the glowing darkness along with Alex's quiet, satisfied chuckle.
They pressed onward through the vast expanse of Blackreach, their figures moving through pools of blue and green light cast by the towering luminous mushrooms above. Each encounter was swift and decisive Falmer fell with broken cries echoing into the cavern, chaurus collapsed in twitching heaps, and even Dwemer sphere automatons were reduced to sparking scrap as Alex and Astrid cut through them with practiced ease.
The cavern floor trembled faintly beneath distant machinery, and the air hummed with an unnatural stillness that returned the moment each battle ended.
Eventually, something different caught their attention.
In the open center of the cavern stood a solitary stone structure small and squat, like a house forgotten by time. Its surface was weathered and cracked, standing in stark contrast to the glowing wilderness around it, as if it did not belong there at all.
Astrid's eyes lit up immediately. "Hey "
She took a step toward it.
Alex reacted at once, reaching out and gripping her arm firmly but not roughly.
"Wait."
Astrid halted mid-step, turning back with a puzzled look.
"What is it, Alex?"
Instead of answering right away, Alex's gaze drifted away from the building. Slowly, deliberately, his eyes tracked upward past the stone walls, past the glowing mushrooms toward the opposite side of the cavern ceiling.
"Look up there," he said quietly.
Astrid followed his line of sight.
High above them, half-hidden among metal supports and rock, was a massive Dwemer ballista. Its ancient frame was still intact, its limbs drawn tight, and its enormous bolt rested in place aimed directly at the stone building's entrance.
"That Balista…" Alex said grimly, "it's targeting the door."
Astrid sucked in a sharp breath. "Whoa… you're right. That almost got me." She squinted at it, tilting her head. "But wait that's strange."
She pointed toward the doorway of the stone house. A Dwemer sphere automaton stood there, completely motionless, its metallic body gleaming under the cavern's glow.
"Alex, I think the ballista is broken," she said. "See? It's not firing at that Dwemer sphere."
Alex's jaw tightened.
She's wrong.
The ballista was still active he knew that as surely as he knew the layout of Skyrim itself. The game knowledge pressed heavily against his thoughts. And if my guess is right…
"No," he said firmly. "It's active. I'll show you." His eyes flicked toward the automaton. "But first, we take care of that Dwemer sphere."
Moments later, the automaton lay disabled, its metal shell cracked open, steam hissing weakly as its core went dark.
Alex stepped toward the door, posture calm but alert.
"Okay," he said. "Watch closely. I'll open the door… then close it."
He reached out, pushed the heavy stone door open just enough to break the seal then immediately shut it again.
Nothing happened.
For a heartbeat, the cavern remained silent.
Then Astrid burst out laughing, bending slightly at the waist as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
"See? It's fine," she said between chuckles. "Alex, it's okay humans make mistakes sometimes. No need to be embarrassed."
Alex didn't respond.
Instead, he repeated the exact same motion opening the door, then closing it once more.
Astrid crossed her arms, smirking.
"What are you trying to prove "
BAM!!!
The sound exploded through Blackreach like thunder.
The Dwemer ballista fired.
A massive bolt tore through the air and slammed into the stone building with terrifying force, stone and dust erupting outward in a violent shockwave. The echo rolled endlessly through the cavern, rattling metal structures and sending glowing spores drifting down like falling embers.
Alex and Astrid standing safely to the side of the doorway were completely unharmed.
For a moment, Astrid stood frozen, eyes wide.
Alex turned slowly toward her, a smug, satisfied smile spreading across his face.
"Ohhh, yeah," he said lightly. "Totally my mistake. Looks like saving us was my mistake."
Astrid's face flushed bright red, her lips trembling between shock and embarrassment.
"Ugh… shut up."
Alex wasn't done.
He leaned in slightly, hands on his hips, grin widening.
"Hmmm, now who was it that said I was wrong, huh? Who was it?"
"Uuughhh, Alex! I hate you!" Astrid snapped.
She spun on her heel, stormed into the building, and slammed the heavy stone door shut behind her with a loud bang.
Alex flinched.
"…Ah," he muttered. "I might've gone too far."
He exhaled slowly, rubbing his face.
I mean, I was right about the trap… but yeah. Teasing her like that wasn't smart.
"Hey, Astrid!" he called out, knocking lightly on the door. "Astrid, come on I was just joking! I'm sorry!"
After a brief pause, he pushed the door open and stepped inside, following after her into the dim interior.