Laurenna and I got an early start the next morning, heading east along the coastline of the Ashlands.

As expected, there were a number of blighted creatures along the way that attacked us without warning.

A quick blast of Medusa's Gaze, followed by Laurenna's swordsmanship put an end to their threat quickly.  

It was nearly 3 hours later that we finally saw the Dwemer ruin to our left, guarded by a lonely cliffracer.

This told us we were on the correct path.......  

.....followed by a Daedric ruin, which told us we were close to our turning point.

I was startled by the sound of a cliffracer plunging towards us to attack, but Laurenna quickly came to my aid.

Needless-to-say, the cliffracer didn't survive.   

Only minutes after passing the Daedric shrine, we saw the two spires we had been told to expect.    

We followed a narrow and twisting path for about 20 minutes, until we came to a huge structure built into the side of a cliff wall.   

The door was made of stone, and fused into the wall as a solid object.

As I tried to open it, I could hear a voice in my head.

"The door is locked, and will not open.
The star is the key."

"What does that mean?" asked Laurenna.

"Remember that clamshell door hiding the entrance to the temple where the Dissident Priests are located?" I asked. She nodded. "Well, my guess is that this works the same way - it only works in the morning or twilight hours." I explained. "We may as well make ourselves comfortable. We will have to wait until the evening to get inside."   

We sat and waited, nibbling on some of the provisions we had brought with us, chatting about older, happier times.

I changed out of my traveling robe into the white one we had brought with us.

We were both happy that there hadn't been any ash storms today.

Finally, evening came about, and I decided to try to open the door once again.

Laurenna was concerned. "Do you think I should come in with you?" she asked.

"I don't think so." I said, then added "If I don't come out by the morning, come and find me."

I didn't want to add "...and bring my body home." No sense in adding to her worry.

I pressed against the door, and it slid aside for me as easily as if it had no weight at all. Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside to find out what awaited me in this cavern.