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Ellie and Em in Tamriel
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"Eating the mushrooms, perhaps."

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"Could be. C'mon, let's try to find this tower." She creeps forwards, considers the automaton ahead of them, sights along the crossbow - it's not actually pointing at the automaton, and she can't figure out how to move it. She groans, then crouches behind the low wall and knocks an arrow. A few quick shots, and the automaton's dead before it can reach the stairs.

"At least there seems to be plenty of cover, here, though this gloom advantages those eyeless creatures more than us. Still... I think I can see a promontory up ahead, we might be able to get a good view of the cave from the top of it, and we might want to investigate some of those buildings. Though I can hardly see anything from here..."

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"Your sight will be better in the other form. Shift."

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She shifts, and - that is indeed slightly better, though she still can't see through the distant mist or the low mushrooms, and the main path is still blocked from view by a ridge. She hums, then shifts back. "Yeah, that's better, though that form isn't as good for stealth. I can shift into it when we're trying to plot out a path. Doesn't look like there's anything hostile between us and that promontory, if we want to go there."

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"That seems prudent."

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She makes her way over cautiously - the rock is behind a half-sunken building, and juts out well above the surrounding area. Ena stays crouched down and shifts, pointing out a road to their left - which has another of those giant humanoid automatons in a docking station. A strange, insectoid creature also ambles along the road, and after a few moments Ena spots another eyeless creature in the wilderness ahead of them, near where the road passes under a tower bridge. There's a lake to their right, waterfalls cascading down into it from slightly behind them, strange organic pods that pulse softly with light in clusters along its shores. What looks like an access road, unlit, runs from where the lake turns into a river, around some rocks, and towards ahead of them.

And, in the distance, past the hazy outlines of some buildings, is an orange, spherical glow - what looks like a giant, ornate lamp.

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Huh.

"I want to take a closer look at that."

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"Yeah. That access road to the right looks clearer for now, though who knows what's farther down it. I think both roads probably go to that lamp."

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"I'd rather avoid that colossus."

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She nods, and starts feeling out a path down the cliff.

Getting onto the access road is a bit complicated, involves jumping onto a rock beside a small building then onto some pipes coming out from it that arc across the riverhead, but they're on it soon enough. There's nothing moving on the road, though there's some wisps to their left at one point, until they come to a point where it passes under a bridge - and there's a dead colossus collapsed beneath the overpass.

 

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Any sign of what downed it?

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It has long, non-parallel gash marks in softer places, and looks like someone burned it - in addition to the lightly melted metal, the ground around it is charred.

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"This doesn't look like the eyeless."

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"No... And those scorch marks... Either someone with a very, very strong and wide-area fire spell, or a dragon. Or someone with Shouts, though the Greybeards don't leave their mountain and my sister couldn't breathe fire last I checked."

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"It has been a while."

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"Yeah. It's possible the Dawnguard are after the scrolls, too."

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"I don't like the implication that they would know to be looking."

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"Lianda did see that you had one."

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"One is enough for most people."

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"Might have figured this one'd be easier to get than yours. Or might be another reason entirely, Lianda's got her nose stuck in a lot of places."

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"Well, if we find her, we can ask. Best get moving again."

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"Alright."

The path curls up from there, meeting a road around the inner city. They have to leave the road at one point, climbing up into the rocks, when a pale giant passes by, but the giant is at least not very aggressive, so.

Then, looming out of the mist - stairs up to their left, into the inner fortress-city, and a lone tower to their right, distinguishable from a natural column mostly by the enormous dwarven metal head affixed halfway up.

Ena points to the tower, glancing over at Elana. "That might be it, or at least worth checking out, though the lamp seems more significant."

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"I prefer to look at the lamp first, while we're out here."

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"Alright."

And thataway, slinking up the stairs.

The area under the lamp is well-lit with barely any shadows. There's humans of all beings, walking around the courtyard, along with a few of the eyeless creatures. Buildings ring the inner courtyard, but none of them stand out as a tower, though one across from them could be.

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Humans? What are they doing here?

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