#but i really enjoyed writing the fight against the draugr overlord

[unsettlingcreature]

chapter 3 snippet

full chapter on AO3

At last, they reached a large door with three rings on it. Arielle tested them, allowing them to slide left and right as she looked at the symbols on them. "Do you feel like sharing that shiny claw with me now or would you rather sort the door out yourself?"

"I'll do it," Kaidan said, unhooking it from his belt. He quickly matched up the symbols and slotted the claw into place, flinching back when the door shifted with the screech of stone upon stone. Where before, the confines of the barrow had pressed in on them at every angle, now it opened up in a brightly-lit chamber. Bats fluttered against the ceiling, disturbed by the sudden opening of a door that had likely stayed shut for decades if not centuries.

When Kaidan followed in immediately after her, the soft clank of his armour ruining any chance of a stealthy approach, Arielle didn't complain. Despite the tension between them and how she'd been vehemently against him accompanying her in the first place, it was comforting to not be facing such a grand space alone. After all, she'd been in enough ruins to know that large open spaces like this were not the norm and often held something precious within. If Farengar's dragonstone was in the barrow, it would be in this room and likely guarded by something troublesome.

Yet as they made their way further and further into the chamber, nothing revealed itself. Eventually they made their way up a short set of stairs until they stood atop a small platform. A stone coffin sat sealed and undisturbed with a shelf to one side and a large chest to the other. Cracking open the chest revealed little beyond a rusted sword and Arielle turned to the grandest feature of the chamber: a stone wall inscribed with an unfamiliar language.

"Do you think that's the dragonstone?" Kaidan asked, sword still readied against any possible enemy lurking in the shadows.

"If it was, then that wizard must be a few flowers short of a healing potion. I wouldn't even know where to begin in bringing this to him."

"Maybe you could try copying it down?"

Arielle groaned, setting down her bow and her pack to search for a sheaf of paper and her charcoal. Finally finding it at the bottom of her bag, she stepped over to the wall and knelt before it. She was unbothered by the sudden magic that swirled around her since rather than causing any harm, it seemed to instead sharpen her thoughts.

"Here lies the guardian," Arielle recited, the words easily finding their way onto her tongue as she traced over the letters with her finger. "Guardian of the dragonstone and a force of unending rage and darkness."

"You can read that?"

"No, I... I don't know how I understood that. Perhaps it's old magic, something that's been lost to time. You didn't feel that?"

Kaidan shook his head. "Nope, but I'm not the one who just sat down in the middle of it. If what you said is right, the wall's probably not the dragonstone. It'll be with the guardian, wherever that is." Arielle's eyes slid past Kaidan to the cist behind him. Noticing the shift in attention, he turned to look as well. "Please don't tell me you're thinking of opening that tomb."

"I'm not," Arielle assured him, rising to her feet. "I'm thinking of you opening that tomb. I don't think we can desecrate this place any more than we already have."

Despite his grumbling, Kaidan sheathed his sword and stepped over to the cist. Bracing his hands against the lid, he pushed it off with little effort. Dust flew up into his face, forcing him to lean back as he coughed heavily. Fighting against the detritus in the air, he peered inside.

"I think I found it," he said as Arielle came up alongside him. "Or at least, I found something."

"And someone. Be a dear and check whether the draugr is all the way dead, won't you?"

Rolling his eyes, Kaidan reached towards the still corpse. When its eyes flared to life, he reached for his sword only to get flung back as its jaw dropped open and a shout shattered the quiet. Swearing under her breath, Arielle darted back to where she'd left her bow and quickly worked to nock an arrow while Kaidan pushed himself back to his feet. Meanwhile, the draugr dragged itself out of its disturbed resting place, pulling a jagged-edged blade out after it with a guttural growl.

Kaidan swiftly positioned himself between it and Arielle, sword moving to block the first of the undead creature's attacks. Unlike the other draugr they'd encountered in the crypt, this one moved with uncanny speed and seemed to strike with deliberately angled blows to try and set Kaidan off balance. The two of them slashed against each other, steel upon cold steel, while Arielle struggled to find an opening to fire. The only opportunities she could take were when the draugr shouted out again, knocking Kaidan to his knees.

The worst of it came when Kaidan not only go flung to the ground but his sword came lose in his hand, skittering across the stone floor. The draugr immediately pressed the advantage, lashing out with his sword and leaving ice splintering up Kaidan's leg. Tossing aside her bow, Arielle pulled a delicate knife out of her boot and launcher herself onto the draugr's back, the thin blade plunging into the rotten flesh of its collarbone. Though she was quickly thrown off, it had given Kaidan the time he needed to retrieve his sword and slice cleanly through the creature's torso.

As the draugr slumped to the ground, Kaidan and Arielle stood panting and poised for a second attack. When it never came, they let out a joint sigh of relief as they took a moment to catch their breaths. Kaidan recovered quicker and was the first to speak.

"That's the second time you've saved me."

"Please," she said between gasps. "If I'd gone in here alone, that thing would have killed me. Either we equally saved each other or you've fulfilled your debt."

He shook his head. "You're really so keen to get rid of me? Even after this?"

"I still have no interest in a travelling companion. Even after this."