2 - Quest for the Claw: Cabbage Edition Pt. 2/3

It's true! It really is dark, bleak, and moist!

Barging his way through the large iron doors of Bleak Falls Barrow like a champ, Colin stops to admire the surroundings; the sun beaming through holes in the walls, the warm haze of a camp fire in the back of the room, and some pikes with rather sad looking heads impaled on the top of them. Colin, activating ninja mode, sneaks towards the fire and spots two figures by the camp-fire. Jealous of their fire, he pulls out his bow in order to remove them from their place, and take his rightful place at the side of a warm, cozy camp fire.

I want to be warm and cozy...

Blood: The finest Face Moisturizer in all the land!

Quickly removing the bandits from the warm gaze of the fire, Colin takes a seat and relaxes for a while, thinking back on his adventure thus far, remembering all the great people he's met. While sitting at the camp-fire, he turns around to notice a chest! Six lockpicks later, he finally opens the chest to find the best treasure of all: 15 gold coins and some cloth shoes. Stashing away his new found rewards, he prepares to head deep into the halls of this crypt, to find the Golden Claw and return it to the friendly merchant back at Riverwood.

What could possibly go wrong?

Finishing his preparations, including day-dreaming of cabbage, Colin begins to walk down the stairs, into the darkness below. Walking upon a crossroad, he looks either way and notices one end had caved in, still unable to see, pushing forward he stumbles upon a dimly lit corridor with a shelf; a single healing potion and a torch resting among it. Looting the potion in case he needs it, he puts his shield away and grabs the torch from the shelf; setting it ablaze and lighting his way through the tunnels ahead.

A single potion and no cabbage?... This will have to do.

Venturing forth, the mighty Colin approaches a dimly lit room with a single man within; as he begins to approach the man to ask him for directions to the Golden Claw, the man in the room pulls a lever, dying immediately due to fulfilling his dream of become the first human porcupine in Skyrim. While in the room, there are shrine like tablets around the room; hanging on the high back walls and in small coves in the left of the room, "A puzzle!" Colin thinks, and immediately realizes the tablets strewn about are in a specific order, and the few in the coves can spin. When finished spinning the shrines, he pulls the lever and to his great relief, the gate opens in front of him; revealing a small room, and a spiral stair.

I love it when a plan comes together!

I wish I was as badass as these stairs... 

Continuing down the stairs, Colin is noticing more and more spider-webs clinging to the walls and ceiling. Hoping the webs are just the doing of silly string and little children, he pushes forward until he reaches an opening to a large room; the opening which is completely blocked by spider-webs. Unsheathing his sword and slicing away the webs, he walks through the archway and is facing one of Colin's worst fears... a giant spider.

Behold! The... Oh wait, that's Dark Age of Camelot... ahem, one moment

There. BEHOLD! THE GIANT SPIDER!

Fearing for his life, Colin Johanson does what ever true hero would do, and runs back through the arch way and starts to fling arrows at the eight-legged beast. Noticing his arrows aren't very effective at damaging the spider, he pulls out his blade and charges forth, swinging his sword again and again, even bashing the spider with his torch in hopes to spark a flame.

It's like I'm Frodo, only 4 feet taller!

As battle rages on, there's an annoying voice of a dark elf in the back of Colin's head... he's wondering where it's coming from, and why it keeps shouting to "cut him loose" but it doesn't phase him, and he fights the spider until defeating it. While Colin is looting the spider and storing some venom in a vial, he continues to hear the voice of a dark elf, and turns around to continue his journey, only to see the source of the mysterious grumbles hanging in the entrance way.

Sup.

The dark elf, who is now confirmed real, offers the Golden Claw in exchange for Colin cutting him loose from the webs keeping him bound in the doorway; being the good guy he is, Colin frees the man, but he takes off with the claw! Colin gives chase, running through what looks like a burial chamber, and into another hallway before he catches up and cuts the dark elf down, looting his body and claiming the Golden Claw, the true objective for this quest!

Cleaning the blood off his blade, Colin stores the claw inside his pack and pushes on through the crypt in order to find a way out, unaware that he could turn around and walk out the way he came. Trudging onward, Colin stumbles into several burial rooms; walls lined with corpse beds and urns of ashes... walking forth, he hears moaning and whips around to see three undead corpses getting up from their beds and charging our hero.

Take that criminal scum!

After a short battle between Colin and three undead foes, he continues through the winding halls of the crypt, facing many more of the enemies known as the Draugr, and cutting them down one by one with relative ease and finesse. Delving deeper into the caverns, Colin comes to a long hallway, strewn with moss and webs, and walls covered in Nordic art and story telling, with the end of the hall capped with a door and some sort of puzzle lock involved.

Owls and Butterflies and Bears, oh my!

The claw! The claw is our master. Claw chooses who will go and who will stay! No, wait, that's Colin Johanson's Job. 

Remembering the symbols on the door were also seen on the claw when packing it away, Colin pulls the claw out and spins the dials to the correct order as displayed on the claw; inserting the claw into the key holes, and watching the door open as if he's just won a brand new horse. Walking through the door, he walks forwards into a damp cavern, where bats are fluttering in the high ceiling, Colin stumbles upon something not even he can believe he's seeing. There's a very large, stone shrine on top of a raised platform, as he approaches it; the words begin to call to him, and emit light as his vision blurs and darkens...

Let's be honest, this is not the strangest thing that's happened...

When Colin reaches the words, he feels an energy enter him that can not be explained... as if he's been filled a power from another dimension. Upon reveling in his new discovery and feelings, Colin hears a the lid of a coffin burst from it's closed state, and a very furious Draugr getting out of it, large sword in hand, the Draugr beckons at Colin with such ferocity, it knocks the sword out of his hand. Stumbling from the force of the shout, Colin regains his composure and picks his sword back up, fighting the monster for what seems like hours; before finally forcing it to it's knees, where Colin quickly finishes it off.

I dub thee... Dead. Once again.

Claiming his reward from the chest near the busted coffin, Colin heads in the only direction he can see; up some old stairs and out a secret stone door, which is opened by a very easily found switch. Inching his way through the narrow mountain corridors, he comes to a ledge where he makes his way down to the ground level of the cave, and heads towards the sun-light peering in through an entry from the outside...

'Almost Badass' Status Achieved