"I... think yes, I do."

The excavation is a day's ride away—if one rides a regular Ethereal Horse.

Tolfdir is the foremost expert in Alteration in all of Tamriel and no slouch in all the other kinds of magic, so instead of riding an Ethereal Horse what they do is ride a conjured carriage that is pulled by four Ethereal Horses who are also enchanted to be a lot faster and hardier than those of the basic spell Ruby has. The carriage is furthermore very comfortable and shielded from the cold and wind, and it floats rather than having wheels which makes the ride very smooth.

All of the individual parts of that spell are things he knows magic can do, so Ruby really shouldn't be surprised. And he isn't, exactly, surprised. What he is is jealous as fuck. The amount and control of magicka necessary to set this spell up and cast it are definitely beyond him as he is, but this looks incredibly useful to travel anywhere.

Why anyone would want to not be a mage is entirely beyond Ruby.

Anyhow, it will only take a couple of hours, and they don't even need to pay attention to the way. It's really comfy.

"So, what's the deal with Saarthal anyway?"

"It was the first human city in Tamriel, and used to be the capital of Skyrim, until it was destroyed by Falmer."

"...wait, is that related to..."

"Yes," says Erandur, who is also joining the mages on their expedition, vouched for by Ruby. "In retaliation for the sack of Saarthal, the ancestors of the modern Nords went on a war of extermination against them, and the result is modern Falmer."

"It was really quite gruesome, according to the tales," says Brelyna. "There were only three survivors in the whole city."

"But what's fascinating about it is that we've been able to detect the magical signatures of some truly unique seals in there, ones I have never seen before," says Tolfdir.

...of course that's what Tolfdir finds interesting there. Ruby offers Onmund a look of understanding.

Yeah, see.

"Though of course, since it's been buried for thousands of years, there are all sorts of secrets we may uncover. No one knows why the Falmer attacked on that fateful day, or what they hoped to achieve."

"How come it's never been excavated before?"

It's because other people have any respect for their ancestors, Onmund doesn't say.

"A few reasons, Brelyna my dear. No one really knew where Saarthal was, after the sack; the destruction was so thorough the whole city sank underground, and it is said that by the time Ysgramor and the Five Hundred Companions returned the landscape was changed beyond recognition. And given that plus the difficulty of excavating—you will see how deep we had to go to find a single entrance—it could only really be done by magic, and no one wanted to expend the resources needed.

"Indeed, it was a happy coincidence that we found this place at all! Archmage Savos Aren was the one who detected the faint magical signature which inspired him to have us explore."

...that sounds like plot. That's plot, right? It is. There's more stuff happening.

The excavation does go extremely deep, a good twenty metres from the surface, and they have to go several levels of ramps and landings down the scaffolding lining the walls of the hole. Once they're all by a large metal door set into a wall Tolfdir says, "Now make sure you are all ready to face draugar. Ancient Nord tombs, especially those from the Merethic Era*, are often teeming with them, and we are not unlikely to encounter some today."

(* Also known as the Mythic Era, it came before the First Era. Its specific duration is not extremely clear and—given that linear time only started existing during it—may be unkowable.)

The Erudites and Erandur cast the necessary protection spells and then step into the ruins one after the other.

But when Ruby steps in there's that strange feeling of vertigo and losing focus—

(—"Really? Here? Is it just going to be every single time I walk into danger, that's gonna get old fast."—)

—and they're all naked.

"—what was that?" wonders Tolfdir, sounding more amazed than upset. "I've never seen a trap like this!"

Ruby grabs his staff, which once again Sanguine allowed him to keep despite everything else he had been carrying vanishes, and says, "It's Sanguine."

"The Daedric Prince who set his eyes on you?"

"Yeah. He's done it before. Last time our equipment was in a bundle just outside the doors but... something tells me she's not going to be happy if we just step out and grab it all back."

"J'zargo had powerful enchantments on his robes and feels naked without them."

"...aren't we all pretty much naked even with them?"

"What would... happen if we tried?"