(The above image is only for setting the mood, and is not my art what-so-ever. It was painted by auqifx over at Deviantart!)
The thunder rolled and crackled in the black sky above him. The merchants of Whiterun had been discussing the oncoming thunder storm drifting down from the northern reaches of Skyrim, though they also stated they didn’t expect it to reach them until tomorrow!
It’d figure, then, that Koueve’s luck would get him in trouble once more; Figuring the rest of today would be clear, he set out in an attempt to reach Falkreath, or as near to Falkreath as he could, before night fell upon him.
…And it was roughly a mile or three outside of Whiterun’s border that the Thunderstorm finally appeared out of nowhere, forcing Koueve to seek the nearest shelter. He was not going to suffer Hypothermia for a third bloody time!
Initially the cave appeared to be free of any inhabitants, aside the odd insect, spider, and bat here and there. No Falmer, no Bandits, no Vampires.. It looked as if it would be a good place to stay and wait out the weather! However as the storm raged with violent intent just outside the mouth of the cave, furiously strong gusts of wind threw Koueve this way and that, channeled deeper into the cavern than normal by the odd shape of the cave.
Koueve decided, then, that he should head inside far enough just to find a bend, or a corner, where he could then just wait out the storm and easily find his way back. He was good at keeping track of his position so long as he didn’t make too many turns! But that’s when…
CRACK!
The stone cracked, split in several pieces and fell straight from under him! What he had mistaken for a large boulder had only been a thin sheet of rock, and the moment he put his full weight on it, he fell through! He didn’t know how long the drop was, nor was he quick enough to grasp onto a ledge before gravity dragged him down. The most he could manage before he fell into what he thought was an endless black abyss was to scream into the cave!
“HELP! SOMEBOoooooddy…”
He thought for sure his rotten luck had done him in this time. He fell for what felt like a solid thirty seconds before he finally landed, expecting his legs to be shattered into a million pieces! He’d never walk again! Oh, the humanity!
…And he was pleasantly surprised to find that instead of rock, he crash-landed through a sheet of thick moss, and then into a pool of water!
The only problem now, despite his relief, was trying not to drown.
Koueve sputtered and coughed, breaching the surface of the water only to be pushed down again by more moss! A solid sheet of moss over the entire pool had grown untouched over time, and for Koueve, that was a serious problem! He did the only thing he could think to do, reaching back into his quiver after submerging again, this time breaking the surface to slash at the moss with the sharp steel tip of his arrow!
Strangely fresh air greeted him as he broke through the moss, abandoning his arrow to claw at the moss as he crawled until he felt his legs hit something solid.
“Thank Azura!” he cried in relief as he dragged himself up onto the stone, the pitch black darkness disallowing him from seeing where, exactly, he was. He rolled onto the moss-covered stone and simply curled up, cold and wet yet again. He had spare clothes with him this time, granted he’d have to wait for his body to get over the shock of a near-death experience before he could dig them out of his pack.
Feebly he lifted his head and glanced about, noting that while it seemed like this place was filled with fresh air, there didn’t seem to be a single hint of light other than what stood high above him where the mouth of the cavern had been.
“He.. Hello..?” He stammered, voice hoarse and quiet.
“…Hello? Is anyone there?” He tried again, louder this time. What if there was no way out of here…?
….What if he wasn’t alone?
