Chapter Text
“We just have to cross this bridge, right?” Bowen peered over the edge, the bottom far out of the reach of the glow from the hanging braziers. He turned to Agavni with the slight hope that the small woman would correct him otherwise.
Pressing her hand to her forehead, Agavni stared off into the distance of the bridge, squinting her cool-blue eyes in an attempt to see its end. “Yep! Neramo should be waiting for us on the other side.” The young woman glanced up at the hefty Nord, quirking a curious manicured eyebrow, “You’re… not afraid, are you?”
The Nord looked appalled that she would imply such a thing, though the slight dusting of rose on his cheeks indicated that she had hit the mark. “What? Nooooo.” He stomped forward as if to prove his point, but his legs had a slight shake to them.
A gentle smile danced on Agavni’s lips. Her companion was scared, she knew it; but she refrained from making any sort of commentary, knowing that it might upset him further. Running up to the large man, she interlocked her arm with his as if he were the one escorting her, hoping to encourage him.
“We just need to stick to the center. I mean, what could go wrong?”
“You’d be surprised…” he grumbled, blue eyes set to the ancient bridge as if expecting it to collapse some time soon, “Didn’t he mention something about traps? Why haven’t we seen any yet?”
“Hmm, you’re right. Maybe we just got luck- AH!” The petite blonde suddenly felt a sharp sting against her posterior, startling her forward. Glancing back with an embarrassed glare, she noticed one of the golden plates that lay scattered upon the old bridge arcing with electricity. “What the…”
“You were saying?” Bowen would tease her about the shriek later, when he wasn’t focused on the worrying hissing noise coming from the many vents lining the ground in front of them.
Now Agavni was the scared one. Beside her, Bowen had slipped his shield from his back and drew his war hammer. Following her comrade’s instincts, she drew her own magic staff as an icy glow claimed its tip; she quickly cast an elemental strike onto the first Dwarven automaton as it assembled itself before them. Long metal legs twitched uncontrollably as it fell into a heap of lifeless metal. Another was quick to take its place.
Strangely enough, Bowen could handle this; his fear of heights momentarily forgotten as he surged forward into the swarm, his heavy hammer cracking into the side of the closest mechanical spider and shattering the glowing crystal buried within.
Agavni watched in amazement as the man bravely fought off the approaching opponents. With a sharp breath, she was quick to thrust her staff upwards, calling her own spells down onto the nearby crowd. A hissing suddenly sounded from behind, and she soon found that she had left her back unprotected.
“Back off!” She cried out as she whacked her staff into a Dwarven spider that had come far too close for her liking.
Bowen heard her exclamation and risked a glance over his shoulder. Three more had managed to sneak up behind them.
“I think they like you,” he teased, quickly casting Dark Talon. Several long claws materialized from the ground, temporarily immobilizing the enemy; Bowen took the chance to run back to Agavni's side. “Still think we were lucky?”
The blonde puffed her cheeks in response, a deep blush spreading over her gentle features. She acknowledged that she had been wrong, but she wasn't about to admit it out loud... Least of all right now. A secondary swarm was quickly approaching.
Backing up to create more distance between her and the automatons, Agavni collided with the group that Bowen had managed to immobilize with his spell. Deciding to take advantage of their motionless state, she used her Lightning Form; an electrical current wrapped around her being, causing a continuous shock to her immediate surroundings, barely missing Bowen in the process. The once paralyzed group soon fell to pieces.
On his end, Bowen lashed out with his hammer, making a small gap in the wall of deadly metal. “Come on!” He shouted over the creaking and hissing of mechanical joints as their escape was quickly closing again.
Agavni tried to stick to his side, but it seemed that every time they killed a Dwarven spider, two more would take its place. Soon enough, she found herself surrounded and barely capable of joining her companion.
With a frustrated growl, the young mage slammed her staff into the ground and summoned an elemental barrier, successfully stunning a few opponents - but only momentarily. It wasn't long until they sprang back to life once more.
“Bowen!” She called out in a panic as the automations continued to close in around her. The man may have been joking about their attraction toward her, but it was beginning to ring true.
Realizing that Agavni wasn’t close behind, Bowen turned and spotted the large swarm of the mechanical spiders that had surrounded the petite half-Breton. In an instance, he let his Hardened Armor surround his body, large spikes protruding from his back and arms as the magic swathed him in its protection.
“Agavni!” He shouted, smashing a path back to her. Again, he cast Black Talon, feeling his pool of mana strain against the repeated use; but it didn’t matter when his friend was in trouble. “You alright?”
The young woman shook her head, mostly out of disbelief of the sudden twist in their journey. Sensing another creature at their side, she furiously slammed her staff into the Dwarven automaton and shattered the soul gem within. “We need to keep moving. They… they just keep on coming!”
“Agreed.”
Just as they were about to move, a lucky strike on one of the spider’s part managed to catch Bowen in the side, drawing a stream of blood. He let out a muffled cry as he retaliated against the strike. He couldn’t risk showing weakness here.
Wrapping an arm around Agavni's slim waist, he hefted her over his shoulder, earning him a surprised squeak from the small woman as she clung to his armor. He made a dash for the exit, hearing shots of magicka from his companion as she guarded his back.
Once he made it to the end of the bridge, he set her down, wincing as his injury was aggravated by the action. The spiders seemingly retreated once the pair had made it to the other side, but it wasn’t safe to relax just yet.
Agavni was quick to notice his wounds and pressed a small hand onto his side in an attempt to slow the blood loss. “You’re alright.” She comforted as she glanced up at him worriedly, mostly hoping that he hadn’t received anything grievous; she would properly tend to him once they were out of the nightmarish ruins.
“Of course.” Bowen tried flashing his usual smirk, but it ended up being more of a grimace. Hearing no further noise from their earlier attackers, he risked putting his weapon away.
“Come on,” Agavni ushered, “we’ve stayed here long enough.”
Leaning against the large doors, she attempted to push them open with the weight of her body; the exit barely budged as its groan echoed within the empty ruins. With the tiny mage so preoccupied, Bowen reached out with a hand and pushed, the door swinging open much more quickly with his added mass.
Agavni glanced up at him, but he had already removed his hand when he spied her head move.
“Thank you…” She muttered timidly.
The Nord didn’t say anything, rather he tried to pretend she hadn’t needed his help opening the heavy metal doors.
The small opening that they created was enough for them to squeeze through, finding Neramo idly waiting for them on the other side. “Ah, there you are! I was just coming to, er, help you. I hope you found what we were looking for?”
Bowen had a few choice of words on his tongue, but Agavni simply smiled and stepped forward, a quieted rage building behind her sparkling eyes.
“As promised, we have your drawings,” she said.
Neramo accepted the scrolls eagerly. “The schematics are mine at last! Splendid. This places me in your debt. What would you ask of me in return?”
“Help Captain Kaleen with the heist she’s planning.”
“I hear Kaleen intends to head toward the isle of Betnikh. The ruins there greatly interest me. But first, I will assist you in this heist.”
At this point, Bowen was near close to giving the elf a fairly rude gesture, but Agavni quickly thanked Neramo and pushed the Nord along.
“That prick!” She hissed angrily just out of earshot. “Coming to help, my foot…”
“Still isn’t too late to go back and hang him from his toes… let the assassin beetles get him,” Bowen suggested half-seriously, a hand wrapping around his side to stem the slowed blood flow.
For a brief moment, Agavni seemed to genuinely consider the suggestion, before finally shaking her head. “Nah, he’ll get what’s due. People like him always do… Besides,” her gaze flickered to his wound, “I'm more worried about you. Let’s find a place where I can take a look at that injury.”
The tall Nord huffed, not wanting to make a fuss over it; but he knew from experience that it was a losing battle to try and argue with Agavni, especially over one’s well-being. They found a small sheltered alcove, and Bowen leaned up against the stone wall and slid to the sandy ground.
Though the perforation hadn’t damaged anything vital, it was deep and already swelling. As if by automatism, the petite mage rubbed her hands together to heat them up before coming into contact with Bowen’s skin - not that it seemed to matter, as the moment she touched him, she heard a distinct, “By Ysgramor’s beard, your hands are cold! We’re in the middle of a desert, and you’re walking around with ice blocks for hands.”
The young woman bit down on her lip, trying to fight back the laughter that threatened to escape her throat; still, she couldn’t hide the small smile that tugged at the edges of her mouth. Despite the rough day they’ve been through, Bowen’s humor certainly came as a welcome break.