Let me start at the beginning…
I snuck out of the college early in the morning before anyone woke up and made my way down to the docks. There were a few workers milling around but none paid heed to me as I walked to the end of the pier and slipped into the water, my Pa's bag carefully balanced on the top of my head.
When I reached the other side, I carefully picked my through weeds and brush until I came upon the Folgunthur ruins located just below the Blue Palace. It seems that I wasn't the only person interested in the old place as there was a temporary camp set up near the entrance.
I crept closer, careful not to alert anyone just in case they left a guard, but saw no one. That was when I realized that the camp seemed to be an old one, so old that sand and snow where beginning to collect in some of the tents.
After a quick search of the camp, I found a few supplies and a journal. The journal's owner, Daynas Valen, seems to be absolutely enthralled by the Gauldur Legend. He was so taken by the legend that he even killed a man in Bravil for something he calls an "Ivory Claw". After procuring the claw, he travelled for quite a ways to get to Solitude, picking up some adventurers to use as "fodder" for the traps that he expected to find inside. His last entry details how, the night before they entered the tomb, he compiled all of his notes, his lifetime of work, into a much smaller collection of notes that he could use while in the tomb and then burned the rest.
There were no more entries in the journal. From what I can see by the dates, the journal's last entry was made just two weeks before, around the time I first read the book. From what I could see, the men never returned. Were the men still in there? Were they all dead?
I had many questions running through my head, so I decided to poke my head into the ruins. I stopped just long enough to don my armor and take my war hammer in hand before stepping inside.
And of course, what is the first thing I see? Dead bodies. Lots and lots of dead bodies, thanks to the nasty spike trap not more than 10 feet inside the door. Thankfully, I had been sneaking or I would have been caught in that trap myself. After that, I found an open doorway with a strange pedestal next to it.
Beyond that doorway, I found a room with more dead bodies. It looked as though the last of Daynas' adventurers bought their end right there. From the footprints in the dust, I could see only one person continued on. That had to be Daynas. Boy, his journal was right – he was determined.
As I was studying the footprints, I heard a noise – a very familiar noise that sent a shiver down my back. I turned in time to see two very undead Draugr's running at me, swords in hand. I raised my war hammer to block the first slams and then returned them with as much strength as I could, sending both undead back into their graves, very much dead this time.
As I continued through the ruins, I kept finding Draugrs, all dead set on killing me and defending whatever it was they were guarding. I bested them all, thanks to the Captain's training, and continues on without even a scratch on me.
It wasn't long before I discovered the body of Daynas. He looked to be dead for quite a while. After a quick search of the remains, I found the ivory claw he spoke of in his journal, along with the stack of notes he thought he would need to find his goal.
It was at this point that I thought about turning around and returning to the city. I didn't need to finish this crazy man's quest. And then I sat down and began to read his collection of notes.
To summarize, it seemed that the Archmage Gauldur was a powerful and well loved mage, looked up to by all…except his sons. They resented their father's prestige and lusted after his power. It wasn't long before his oldest son discovered the secret to his power – an amulet which he always kept on his person. The three boys conspired to murder their father and take the amulet.
Once their father was dead, the boys then began a long rampage through the countryside, burning villages and torturing people. The carnage got so bad that the king finally had to take things into hand, sending a pack of archmages after them. By some miracle, the boys escaped the battle and ran for their lives.
The youngest, Mikrul, was killed in these ruins and his crypt sealed with the ivory claw. Another, Jyrik, was killed in Saarthal, bear Winterhold. The last, Sigdis, was killed on an island east of Ivarstead. A tomb was erected to hold his body, now called Geirmund's Hall, after the archmage who fell in the great duel / battle against him.
Once the three brothers were dead, the King then made a decree – all mention of Gauldur and his three sons were to be stricken from the records and no mention of them were to ever be made, for fear that someone would figure out where the pieces of the amulet were and begin another reign of terror in his lands or any others.
After reading all of this, I realized what Daynas was after – the amulet. It was good that he died where he was. From what I could figure out, he was not right in the head and giving that sort of power to a crazy man would have been a very very bad idea.
Determined to keep the King's decree intact, I gathered his notes and the claw and headed out, locking any of the doors that I could to ensure that the amulet would be safe. As I exited the ruins, I was surprised to see someone waiting for me – Professor Germane – and he didn't look happy.
"How did I know you would be here," he mumbled, his face filled with a mix of anger and sadness, "Get in the wagon. We're going home."
I didn't put up a fight, I didn't try to reason with him. I just climbed into the back of the wagon and let him take me back to Solitude.
Now, here I sit in my cubicle, awaiting to speak to the headmaster. Even from this far away, I can hear Germane ranting and raving in his office on the first floor. I have a feeling my curiosity is about to get me expelled and possibly thrown into jail. I can only pray that I don't….
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