Glancing behind him, Niko couldn't help but smile at Brona's words - it was encouraging that some in the group could continue to make light of things in a realm as dark as this one.

"I have no intention of leaving you - I feel your "womanly touch" may just save our hides at some point." He responded with a grin, motioning towards her bow. None of the others had a ranged weapon on them, from what Niko could tell; and while it could be problematic shooting in such close quarters as a tower, he had no doubt that Brona could handle herself just fine with the blades at her hip as well. Exchanging more grateful smiles with Bardeck as the young warrior walked across the bridge (In Niko's opinion, far too fast, but that was likely just the worried father in him speaking. Nevertheless, he was relieved to see Bardeck cross safely.), he felt much better about their chances with the four of them. 

Before she had time to respond to the Nord, Bardeck collided into her, nearly knocking her completely off her feet, "Well hello there." She said, catching herself after a few steps, and turned to face him. "I hope that I won't meet my fate by being shoved into a pool of fire, eh?" She cracked a grin at the warrior and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. No harm, no foul. Bardeck didn't exactly know what to look and act like, so he nodded and did his best to hide his face in his thick hair. 

The interior of the second tower was not too dissimilar to the first; much smaller, and without the beam of magical fire going through the center, but with the same harsh, stone decor. A winding pathway led both up and down, and watching above, a large stone platform could be seen. Before Niko could even ask for the smaller group's opinions on where to go, a voice could be heard from above. A human's voice, and one that sounded very familiar to Niko. The guttural tones of a Dremora came soon after, and a cry of pain could be heard. Looking to the others, Niko placed his finger to his lips - clearly, those above (and possibly below) weren't aware of their new visitors. It would seem they had a choice; storm to the top where the voices were heard, or go about it more sneakily. While both plans had advantages and disadvantages, Niko wondered about what lay below. The entrance to the tower via the bridge was covered by their fellows on the other side, but what about the ground level? Would it be worth taking a look, simply for their own safety?

Brona froze at the voice of the Dremora, if one could even call it a voice. She turned to Niko, and slipped her hand around his elbow, pulling him in close to her so that she could whisper in his ear. "Let me have a look. I think this is where my 'touch' comes in handy."  

The broad shouldered Bardeck was somehow both on guard, yet emitting a casual air about him as he gazed around the blasted room they were in, trying to search for any means of attack from any place unexpected. The Dremora they'd heard, he had a huge desire to fight himself, but he let Brona handle it her way first. He'd seen her slip around enough to know she'd be effective at scouting ahead. Perhaps if she baited the Dremora and a few scamps back, Bardeck and Niko could take them out together in a quick, albeit brutal fashion.

"Careful," he said to Brona. "Don't face anything on your own if you can help it." He didn't doubt how dangerous she could be. They'd fought together for the most part. But this was a group effort after all. He felt a tad 'naked' for lack of a better word without Gideon. He hoped his dog was doing ok. 

Niko paused as he considered their situation. Although a Dremora - and helpless victim - could clearly be heard above, there could easily be more than just one. Not to mention the possible foes leading down, so the thought of sending Brona off alone was not a good one. Glancing between Valentis and Bardeck, Niko recalled that the former had used a manner of ranged spells; while Bardeck and himself were fine with weapons, it would be attacks over distance that would provide the most aid for whatever lay above.

"Okay... Brona - check out the top, but Valentis, you should go with her. I don't want anyone being left alone here, even for the sake of stealth." Nodding at the pair of Imperials, Niko locked eyes with Bardeck. "You and I will head down; we won't have to worry about anything coming across the bridge, so we need to make sure the entire tower is secure. If we do see something, at the very least we have the high ground." Hopefully, all four of them could get out alive and unhurt in this potentially monster-ridden tower. Niko only hoped the others were happy with his impromptu plan.

Valentis thought the situation seemed dire. Once the unusually long journey across the bridge had been completed, what awaited the team once they reached the second, smaller but nonetheless equally as foreboding tower, was a fellow human trapped up in the highest reaches of the tower. He was not alone either, but accompanied by a Dremora, it seemed as if there was only one, this could be a interesting chance to capture one alive and learn about them, knowledge was power after all. 

"I will aid in whatever way I can, but should we not make an attempt to capture, or subdue this Dremora? We could learn something from it, if, of course, it even speaks our tongue, this is a Daedric realm, but we do not know of which Daedra prince owns it, nor of any intent that they have for breaching into the plane of Mundas; something long thought impossible."  Valentis gave a brief pause and shifted his weight slightly. "If we can learn something, regardless of how little, I feel we should make the attempt." Valen would not be one to give out doses of mercy, especially to abhorrent beings such as the dremora, but death need not be swift for them, it will likely make the fight on the top floor far more dangerous and difficult, but he felt that both he and Brona could handle it. 

So she was stuck with the old man, perfect. And he was a talker. Brona suppressed an audible groan, and lowered her voice to a whisper, "If you want to help, keep quiet. The last thing I want is to end up dead, grandpa." With one hand, she conjured a spinning orb of light. Aiming it at the space between their feet, the orb evaporated into a burst of light. The spell would muffle their steps but they would need to move quick. She raised a finger to her lips, then retrieved the wooden recurve bow off its tethers and notched an arrow before beginning the ascent into the higher reaches of the tower. 

Bardeck saluted to them, indicating with an inclination of his head to Niko that he was ready to move forward. A warrior knew combat was far more instinct and reflex action than any conscious movement. But if they found themselves merely wounding a Dremora, he would be sure to knock it out simply and incapacitate it. "Careful," he told Brona and Valentis, before edging his way over to the archway that led to the lower levels. Bardeck had his shield before him and his axe at the ready. 

Valentis gave a small smile to Brona's response. Ah, that youthful arrogance, he almost missed it. He hoped at the very least that she would give his skills the benefit of the doubt, he may be old but he was far from any semblance of harmless. The young woman proceeded to use an interesting spell that Valentis had never seen before, it muffled their footsteps to the point where you could even jump and no sound would be emitted upon landing. Certainly a useful commodity, especially if you were up to anything sinister. Valentis nodded to Brona's gesture of silence and the pair made their way up the tower, steadily.

As Brona and Valentis ascended the ramp, Niko nodded at Bardeck as the pair began to move down. As they steadily approached the bottom, the light noise of something moving reached Niko's ears. There would be no way of telling what it was until they reached the last bit of the ramp, but at that point, they would become obvious to their foe as well. Niko could only hope they could at least surprise whatever it was that was down there.

"Bardeck - you take point. I'll hang back to give you some ranged support." He whispered, sheathing one of his swords and summoning a spell ready in his free hand; lightning crackled quietly in his palm, charged and ready to be flung at a hopefully unsuspecting dremora. However, as the pair moved ever closer to the bottom, there was no enemy in sight. Niko paused as Bardeck moved on, confused at their lack of foe.

Bardeck nodded, his shield held before him at the ready. Eyes set forward, Bardeck carefully made his way down the steps, lower body moving almost separately with the rigid stance of his muscled, upper body. He felt the heat around him increase, and the noise of the lapping lava filling his ears. It was too late when he heard the guttural, juttering chuckle of the Dremora that had blended into the surrounding, spiked pillars. It leaped out of cover, and landed a solid blow on Bardeck's meaty shoulder with its flanged mace. 

Bardeck let out a gasp of pain, and his knees buckled from the surprise and weight. He hit the stairway and rolled down it, tumbling and bruising much of his form. The Dremora merely had Niko to contend with, at least at the moment. 

The attack occurred so fast, Niko barely had enough time to react by the time Bardeck hit the floor. Thankfully, the dremora wasn't baring down on the younger warrior to finish him off, instead turning to Niko with a wicked, fanged grin. His spell still charging in the palm of his hand, Niko let loose the lightning with a yell, readying his sword as he rushed the dremora.

The electricity stunned it momentarily, but it still had an advantage over Niko. It was bigger, stronger, and it's mace had far more reach than Niko's swords. Ducking in low as it shook off his magic attack, he slashed diagonally across the creature's midriff... only for the metal to bounce off the daedric armour it wore, sending sparks into the air. Pulling his other sword from his sheath, Niko and the dremora gave their second attack at the same time; the Dremora's mace crunching down onto Niko's right sword arm, while Niko's left swung upwards towards the monster's unprotected head. He both felt and heard his arm bones snap at the weight of mace, but thankfully, his less dominant hand had swung true. The dremora toppled to the floor, half of it's head dangling from a thread of sinew.

"Are you alright?" Niko panted as he staggered over to Bardeck, clutching his broken arm. His bracers hadn't done much to lessen the blow, and blood was already seeping through and dripping down his hand. It felt like an open fracture, but fixing it would have to wait - they had no idea how Brona and Valentis had faired up above.

Bardeck grimaced and let out a growl at the pain. He sucked in quick, deep breaths as he sat up after the blow and the tumble. But he seemed to gather himself well enough. "I've had worse." He replied, presenting a determined visage to Niko. While what he said was true, that didn't mean he wasn't hurt like hell.

[hr][hr]

[i]Meanwhile...[/i]

With muffled footfalls, Valentis and Brona emerged in the doorway, the interior of the room was dimly lit yet she could see a raised wooden platform. Suspended from the ceiling hung a cage where a tortured body of a man lay helpless. At the sound of shuffling clothes, her eyes shifted to the corner of the room where a Dremora, as she now knew them, moved away from a blazing brazier. In its hand, he, or as she assumed the daedra to be, carried a cruel looking device. The device was straight as a rod, save for the end as it split in two, one end curled backwards while the other end resembled that of a pair of shears. As he made his way over to the cage, the man, groaned in agony.

"Please... no..." He whispered, his voice hoarse. A well of anger boiled inside of her as she watched the Dremora slip the torture device through the bars of the cage and reach towards its captive. Her bow raised, and in one smooth motion, she loosed the arrow she had notched on the bowstring. It sailed through the air, before the arrowhead buried itself in the skull of the Dremora. The daedra crumpled to the ground without another word. 

"Sorry about that." She said to Valentis before stepping into the torture room. Brona made her way straight for the cage, where the man struggled to push himself up. "We're going to get you out of here." Brona said to him, she assumed the key to the cage had to be on the Dremora, so she dropped to the ground, and proceeded to search its robes for the key.

"Quickly, quickly! There's no time!" Were the first words out of the captive man's mouth, rather than a thankful speech of gratefulness that Brona likely deserved. "I heard the Dremoras talking while I was stuck in here - you [b]must[/b] get to the top of the large tower! It's the only way to end this madness!" Wearing nought but a pair of thin cloth pants, the man was shivering; perhaps in fear, or pain, if the various injuries on his body were anything to go by - but certainly not from cold. Even in a tower separated from the lava outside, the air was stiflingly hot. "They call it the Sigil Keep - there's a stone, a Sigil Stone that will be at the top. That's what is keeping the Oblivion Gate open!" Glancing at the dead Dremora, and then towards Brona and Valentis, the man slumped to the bottom of his cage.

"The Keeper has the key to the upper levels." He said, motioning towards the fallen Dremora. "Remove the stone, and the gate should close. I don't know if my cell key is in there, but there is no time. I can barely walk, and you'll have more than enough trouble to deal with in the other tower." The urgency drained out of the man's voice somewhat as he locked eyes with Brona, his face taking on a mingled expression of grief and acceptance. "Just... let the guards know that Menien Goneld did not bend to his captors will."

As he mentioned, Brona's fingers curled around a cold metallic item, where she procured a long black key. This had to be the key to the upper levels. She lifted her gaze to meet his, and her heart ached at the sight. Here was a man, tortured for unknown reasons, a man who would likely die if he were left behind. Glancing at Valentis, she gritted her teeth before turning her attention back to Menien.

"We'll come back for you. I swear it." She sprang to her feet, and called out to Valentis, "To the Sigil Keep then!"