Authors Note: Hello everyone. First of all, this is not the original version, I've decided to scrap the original Might and Magic fic and rewrite it, so if it seems familiar. That is why.
Second is, this is a story I will be writing at a not so consistent pace. My main focus is writing and finishing A Different Path, and while I will work on this now and then, the chapters wont be at a regular pace.
Finally, a third thing to note is that I've changed a lot of things since the original version, including their names.
With the sound of yelling, horses and creaky wheels going down the bumpy uneven road, it would have been hard for anyone to stay asleep or attempt at sleep at all within the wagon. Not that many would dare close their eyes for consensual slumber not brought on by a hard blow to the head.
Fear was everywhere among these men and women, some tried to conceal it and others squirmed in their seats with tears pricking at their eyes. There was not a man or woman bound that was not afraid of what was to come.
Towards the front of the wagon, a muscular man donning armor belonging to the Stormcloaks began talking. His voice low and hushed to not earn a bark of anger from the soldiers who captured them. Though he must have been afraid as well, he was among the ones who did well at concealing it, his voice was even and every detail said he would not show fear to the ones who were taking them to who knows where.
"You two were trying to cross the border, huh?" He, Ralof, asked as his eyes went from the dark haired man beside him to the woman across from him, "Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that horse thief over there," he added gesturing to the trembling man down towards the back of the wagon.
The reactions gained from the two he addressed were different in nature.
The woman, or rather girl once a better inspection took place, brought in a sharp breath to try and stifle her own fear as she looked away at the passing trees, trying oh so desperately to keep her mind off of what was going to happen to her. Her hands trembled and nails dug harshly into her skin. She had done nothing wrong, was not part of this war or even a part of Skyrim. She had only crossed the border at the wrong time, but that alone was no crime.
The other only threw in a wolfish grin and shrugged his shoulders. Like the first he opted out of speaking. Out of everyone in this group, he was the only one who appeared to be enjoying himself, having commented earlier on that it beat having to walk the distance they had ridden. Of course soldiers threatened to make him walk shortly after if he continued talking which effectively shut him up.
How much of that grin was genuine was anyone's guess, but it would be safe to assume that he was just as afraid as everyone else.
Lokir struggled more in his binds, body shaking and trembling in his uncontrolled terror, and had tried multiple times to climb out of the wagon only to be roughly shoved back in by the Imperials. "This is all your fault! If you and your stupid war- I could have had that horse and been half way to Hammerfell! We're not like you, we're innocent!" By we, he gestured best he could to the only other non-soldiers in the wagon.
"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief," was the quick remark.
The glare Lokir gave Ralof was pitiful, and he quickly turned his attention to the gagged man in front of him, "What's his deal anyways? He try to bite a soldier?"
This time his response was a harsh yell instead of a curt statement, "Watch your tongue!" Ralof snapped, "You're talking to the true High King of Skyrim; Ulfric Stormcloak!"
Blood seemed to drain from Lokirs face, and though the other two did not understand much of Skyrims politics they knew enough to be able to look on in horror at the rebel leader and piece together what that meant for their own fates. If they were going in with Ulfric, than it was safe to assume there wasn't going to be a simple fair trial to talk and explain themselves.
The horse thiefs trembling grew more intense after that, "Ulfric? Oh Gods, but if they captured you… where are they taking us?" he cried out, looking to Ralof for answers.
"I don't know, but Sovngarde awaits," Ralof said softly as he looked ahead to the path they were going down.
"Sovngarde? Hah, good one!"
Eyes fell on the one between Ralof and Lokir, and the man only gave them all a mocking grin in return.
"You still believe in those children stories?" He asked them, his grin not once wavering, "There are no Gods watching over us, no warrior afterlife. Once we die there's nothing left."
That certainly didn't do much to leave a hopeful feeling in one's heart, and there were a few glares thrown at him.
"Sovngarde is no fairytale," Ralof answered, giving the slightly taller man a harsh look, but his words were shrugged off.
That had helped to raise the tension in the group, and as they passed through the entrance to Helgen that tension grew to more fear. The thief began openly crying out for someone to save him, that he was not a rebel. Children were pulled into homes, advised against going to see what was happening. The girl had even spotted a headsman making his way through the town in the direction that they were heading.
They all knew what was to come; a public execution.
"Damn Imperial bastards," Ralof muttered vehemently as they passed by General Tullius and a group of Thalmor. "Of course those Thalmor scum are here to watch too."
The cart began to slow down, and as though to try to ease the tension another grin came upon a previously grim face, "Well, I hope they don't mess up my face to badly when they, you know, decapitate me. It's kind of my only good quality," he joked.
Though he had tried his best, it didn't do anything to help lighten the mood and ease the worry so he fell silent once again. The young woman had to give him props for trying however, they were all scared and it was kind to try and ease it for others. That fear only seemed to grow in her own heart as the cart stopped and they were ordered to get out.
She tried her own best to hide it as well as she could like the Stormcloak soldiers around her did, but she knew that she did a poor job of it. She couldn't hide her fear behind a mask of confidence or humor like the men, but thankfully she wasn't the only one who couldn't as Lokir also had all his terror open for the world to see, crying out for the Imperials to believe that he wasn't a Stormcloak or an ally of Ulfrics.
He was ignored and an Imperial captain stepped up to their group with another lower ranked soldier who held out a list.
"Imperials love their damn lists," Ralof muttered under his breath as names were called out and prisoners ushered away.
Another grin came up to the man beside her as another tempt to bring humor arrived, "Hey now, of course we love lists," he commented, feigning a hurt look, "Our memories are just terrible, we wouldn't be able to remember our own names without them!"
Though it didn't bring the laugh that he might have hoped, it did bring incredulous looks from the two at naming himself an Imperial. At first glance he had the appearance of a Nord, but as more attention was spent there were rather obvious appearance traits belonging to an Imperial.
He was tall, and his build was without a doubt that of a Nord, but compared to Ralof and Ulfric he was leaner, muscles more subtle. His skin was also fair, if not a bit tannish. But his face was sharp, and every detail said Imperial, that and his darker hair and eyes. Both Nord and Imperial, not something that was seen every day in Skyrim.
"Shut up over there!" The captain shouted at them, silencing the conversation and drawing their attention back to her. It seemed that it was their groups turn to be listed and lead away to their deaths.
Hadvar cleared his throat as he looked to his list and began calling them out one at a time. The first name called was Ulfric, followed by Ralof and then Lokir. He of course tried to beg for his life, but when that proved not to work he foolishly decided to run. Anyone could tell that it was not a wise idea to try to escape when there were so many archers around waiting for just that to happen, and it proved to not work in his favor.
He had only covered a little distance before he fell to the ground with several arrows in his body.
"Anyone else want to try running?" the captain asked, scanning the prisoners, and scoffing when no one else dared to brave a run through arrows.
But, now that Lokir was dealt with, there was only the two left, and Hadvar could only give them a curious look before scanning his list.
"Who are you?" he asked them, so it appeared that they were not on it, reasonable enough. They had both been caught and dragged onto the wagon when the prisoners were about to be taken away, after all the names had been already jotted down. No one bothered to update the list before handing it over.
The Imperial-Nord flashed another smirk as though to show he still had pride and confidence despite being stripped of his armor and weapons and subsequently bounded up, "Colbran Snowstrum at your service," he said, giving a mock bow which only served to annoy Hadvars captain.
"And you?" Hadvar asked, turning his attention to the one beside Colbran.
She looked down, fidgeting in her spot, "I… I'm…." her voice grew softer as she spoke and her name uttered so quietly that no one was able to hear her at all.
"Speak up!" The Imperial captain barked sharply, causing her to step back in fright. Honestly, who pissed in her mead this morning? But Colbran gently nudged the younger one forward best he could with bound hands, giving her a patient smile.
She appreciated the gesture, and slowly, her voice trembling, she spoke her name. "I-I'm Shuraja," It was still softspoken, but loud enough this time the three could hear her without straining to do so.
When she finished she had ducked her head down once more though Colbran offered her a smile as though to say 'good job' while Hadvar reviewed his list, searching for them.
"Captain, neither of them are on the list," Hadvar informed after a moment, looking at her and waiting for her answer, "What should we do?"
Hope sprung up within both Colbran and Shuraja at hearing that, to them it was much like a saving grace. They weren't on the damn list, and as far as the Imperials knew, they didn't commit any crime to be here. They couldn't execute them for no reason, so they had to let them go, right?
The Imperial captain glared at him, clearly not entertained by his question as to her the answer was obvious and reached over to rip the list from his hands and tearing it into pieces. "Forget the list! They go to the block!"
The hope that they had was dashed within seconds. Apparently the Empire could execute them for no reason.
"By your orders, Captain," Hadvar sighed, looking at the two and giving them both sympathetic looks, "I'm sorry, I'll see to it that your remains are sent home to your families," he assured them.
Colbran just gave a short and bitter laugh, "Yeah, they'll love to receive that delivery," he muttered, sarcasm dripping from every word as he and Shuraja began following the captain. Walking the few feet over to the crowd of prisoners, soldiers, and onlookers. Throughout the crowd there were people screaming at the Stormcloaks, calling them traitors and cowards, cheering for the execution about to take place while Tullius stood in front of and mocked Ulfric.
"Wouldn't be so brave as to do that if the guy wasn't bound and gagged," Colbran mumbled as he and Shuraja took their stand between a soldier and Ralof. The latter nodding in agreement.
Though for the most part throughout the entire ordeal to get to this point, he had put on a laugh, a grin and showed nothing but amusement and high spirits, that was nowhere near what he felt inside. A trickle of sweat began to form on the back of Colbrans neck, and he swallowed hard though a lump had formed in his throat. Though he refused to show it- years of acting and lying had taught him how to put up quite the façade- the young man was scared.
Did he deserve to die? Yes, he probably did, there were likely quite the number of people who wanted him dead and he wasn't going to deny that. For years he wore that fact as though it were a badge of honor, but that was not the case here. He wasn't ready for this, he didn't want to die. He was only twenty-four, he still had a whole life ahead of him to live, too many years left to go for it to all end now with a single fall of a blade.
But, to offer some form of distraction for himself and the younger woman beside himself, he turned to Shuraja and gave her a small smile, hoping it would help to at least ease her nerves even if just a little. He had a feeling that she was the only one here who had done nothing to deserve execution, a lamb among wolves was the image that came to mind when looking at her, and if he could give her some assurance before death, well his mother always told him to offer only kindness to women if they weren't holding a blade to his neck or poison in his drink.
"So, what were you doing coming to Skyrim anyways?" he asked in a whisper, conversation was a useful tool to avert focus from what was before him in his opinion.
But Shuraja glanced up at him and then looked away again, head lowered and a silent but clear message rang out; I don't want to talk about it.
Colbran shrugged at her response, "Got it, either a personal subject or a touchy one, or you just don't feel like talking about it to a stranger," he said, and turned his attention back to the block as they began bringing the first victim up. A Stormcloak soldier who, by the looks and sounds of it, seemed rather eager for his execution.
Maybe he was just sick of all of this waiting and dealing with the Imperials that he just wanted it to be over with. Colbran could relate if that was the case, he certainly had some similar situations, though none had included actual death.
"My ancestors are smiling down at me, Imperials, can you say the same?" he spat as he was pushed down until his face was pressed against the stone block.
As the Headsman began to get into stance, a silence fell over the area for only a second while a strange sound echoed through the sky. Heads scanned above and at the surrounding structures to try and locate its source as murmurs of worry rose among everyone. Even Hadvar voiced his confusion and the question many were wondering; what was that?
But the question was shot down by yells that it was nothing, and the crowd was quick, if not reluctant, to accept that as the captain brought attention back to the execution. Seconds later the sound of steel against stone rang through and the Stormcloak soldiers head had fallen to the ground a foot or so away from its body.
Ralof lowered his head in respect at this, "As fearless in death as he was in battle," he murmured, sending a silent prayer to the gods above for his fallen comrade just as several others were doing.
More screams came from the Helgen citizens as they cheered the Imperials and insulted the Stormcloaks. Though a few of the rebels voiced their disgust back at the Imperials.
"Next prisoner!" the captain yelled out, gaze narrowing in on Shuraja, "The Nord in rags!"
As attention fell on her, and realizing that she was next to die, her legs froze in place. Shuraja could only stare in terror at the soldiers before her, at the Captain, at the Headsman and at the still warm body not yet moved that laid before the block.
Her body trembled, and a layer of sweat began to form. Though she tried to, to at least not to make the Imperial captain any angrier than she appeared to be, she couldn't move her body to step forward. Her body was completely paralyzed with fear, as though she had been shot with a paralysis spell, she just couldn't move.
The same sound resonated through the air once more and as before questions shot through crowd. This time the sound had been louder, and it was easier to make it out as some kind or roar.
"Did you hear it? There it was again!" Hadvar yelled out, scanning the sky for its source but again there was nothing in there but clouds and birds.
The captain gave him a sharp look and a quick order to shut up before she yelled once more at the prisoners, or rather at Shuraja, "I said; next prisoner!" she barked out, trying to draw the crowds attention away from the sky and back to the execution once more.
Colbran gave her a strained but sympathetic smile, "Be brave," he whispered to her as she slowly made her way to the block.
Each step taken was shaky, her legs threatening to give out under her and the few feet to her death spot felt like a mile. She wondered if she was shaking so badly that everyone could see it, it felt like it at least. Never before had she ever been so terrified.
Then again, never before had she been walking to her own death.
She didn't want to die, not like this and not now! They had no reason to kill her, this wasn't fair, and this wasn't justice! She screamed inside of her head a lament of this cruelty, hoping that someone might stop this and save her. Wasn't the Empire supposed to keep people safe, not execute the innocent?
When she reached them, the captain forcefully shoved her onto her knees and quickly pressed her face against the block. The stone brick scratched roughly against her face, part of it cold bust most of it was warm and wet from the blood of the previous prisoner. Her stomach turned as she took in the scent of it.
The way she was positioned, she had a clear view of the Headsman beside her and cold dread filled her body.
He looked at her, expression unreadable through his mask and raised his bloodied axe. It was high in the air, sunlight glinting off it and a few drops of blood trickling off it and onto Shurajas face. But just as she could clearly see the Headsman, she could also see the buildings and sky behind him, and the large dark figure that was in it and flying towards them.
Screams followed as others spotted the beast and moments later it landed on the building directly in front of her, taking a second as though to access the crowd. Once again it let out a bellowing roar with an incredible force behind it which knocked even the towering Headsman over and left Shuraja quite disorientated.
What kind of roar was that?
If Shuraja wasn't already in such a state of terror and confusion, she might have screamed at the sight of the dragon. It looked like something straight out of a nightmare.
"What in Oblivion is that?" An Imperial yelled out as though it wasn't obvious from appearance. Archers began aiming and firing at the dragon in an attempt to bring it down, though it had little affect and the beast seemed to only shrug off the attack before letting out another powerful roar, and the world around Shuraja became blurry.
Minutes later, or perhaps only seconds, she felt something roughly shaking her which served to cause the stone block her face was still pressed against become more painful as it scraped against her face. She wanted to move and swat the person away but her hands were still bound and her body still stiff from the fear.
"Shuraja! Shuraja hurry! Get up, we won't be given another chance!"
From the sound of the voice, Shuraja could tell that it was Colbran. Slowly the world began coming back into focus and he was quick to help get her standing on her own feet, trembling and unbalanced as they felt. She tried to take in what was happening the best she could, though there wasn't much to take in, the entire city was in chaos and blasts of fire were raining down from above.
"Hurry up you two!" Ralof yelled from ahead of them, and Colbran pulled Shuraja forward, helping her stumble after the Stormcloak soldier into the tower for protection.
There were others within them as the door was pushed closed, all Stormcloak soldiers and possibly the only ones still alive at this point from the group that came to Helgen. As Shuraja sat down, or rather collapsed onto the ground, she did her best to listen to what was being said and watch as the men and women slowly had their binds removed and tried to rummage for anything they could use.
To little surprise, Ulfric was among those who made it to the tower and was rubbing his sore jaw after removing the gag, quickly entering an argument with Ralof over what had happened and more importantly what that thing out there was.
"That was not a fairytale," Colbran broke in, siding with Ulfric as he took a seat next to Shuraja and taking hold of her still bound hands. He had already gotten the rope tied around his wrists removed and set to work cutting off Shuraja's with the dagger he borrowed, "Fairytales are supposed to be nice and sweet things you tell to make people feel better and not be outside your door trying to kill you."
Shuraja nodded to agree with him, rubbing her now free and sore wrists while the other returned the knife. The three continued to talk, trying to figure out what to do now but she tuned them out in favor for pondering over whether the stone tower would honestly be durable against the dragon if it set its sights on it, or if they would even be safe against the Imperials if they tried to run. Though they had their hands full outside to fight the dragon, so trying to get by them might not be too hard. They were certainly the least of her worries right now.
Having left the conversation shortly after, Colbran walked back and sat beside Shuraja. Taking this as a chance to rest and let the adrenalin still coursing through him to settle down. Though his rest was short lived as even the tower began to shudder, alerting them that it wasn't safe to stay in there too long.
"Come on!" Ulfric yelled out, gaining the attention of the few within the structure, "Up the tower, now!" he ordered.
Being seated at its steps, Colbran and Shuraja were the first ones to run up there with Ralof behind, though both were wondering and questioning the Jarls logic behind climbing up the tower. Wouldn't it have been safer to try to stay on ground level or even better, underground?
There was a warning sound at the wall as the dragon came to hold on the other side, a warning that Colbran caught on and was quick to grab Shuraja and pull her back and pressed against the inner wall just as the outer wall ahead of them was broken open and a jet of fire shot inside. The blood roaring inside of Colbrans ears was louder than the dragons, and if it heard Shuraja's scream, it ignored it, quickly flying off to another target.
"T-thank you," Shuraja whispered, eyes wide as she stared at the spot she had been at moments ago, a spot now under a pile of rubble. If Colbran hadn't pulled her out of the way, she would have been dead.
He just flashed her a wiry smile, half-forced under this stress. That had been close, far closer than he would have liked. The flames had licked at his skin, and the heat certainly was uncomfortable at this close range and high intensity, but the most damage suffered was a few scrapes from flying stone. He had reacted quick this time to prevent anything worse from happening.
But, it would look like they wouldn't be going up any higher, the rest of the stairs was blocked off by rubble, and a few larger pieces had tumbled down, blocking the path downwards too. It looked like it could be climbed over, but it was far too risky to try.
"See that inn over there?" Ralof yelled, gesturing to the hole the dragon had left in the wall, and Colbran peered over to it at the building. Its upper floor had been nearly completely destroyed, leaving the roof gone and several holes in the floor down to ground level. "Jump to it, I'll catch up to you!" he yelled to them before running down the stairs to regroup with the others.
It wasn't too far of a jump, but it was also still risky, especially with the beams that still jutted out from the roof. It felt like a suicidal idea, but it was the only one they had that could be used.
"I'm starting to wonder if they're just throwing us to the wolves so they can escape," Colbran said as he turned to look at Shuraja, forcing himself to look as amused at the situation as he could, "But hey, not the first time someone's done that to me." His attempt to make her smile didn't work, so he took a step towards her.
"Are you okay?" he asked, now serious. "Will you jump?" It wasn't as though they had any choice, but if she didn't jump and stayed here, it was dangerous. Between the dragon and Imperials who may be looking for the escaped prisoners, she would be in danger if she stayed here.
Shuraja took a step backwards but then stepped forward again. She wanted to run, this was a crazy idea and they were going to die, but now wasn't a time to run, besides she had nowhere to go but the in. So she gave a small nod in confirmation, "I…I can… I'm good a-at jumping," she mumbled the simple, voice breaking a few times with her own fear. But Colbran just gave her a smile.
"Good! Then, on the count of three," he said, focusing on the inn for a moment to make sure that this would work, and then turned his attention to her once again, "Once we get down there, follow close to me, we'll try and find Ralof or an exit to this city, whichever comes first," he explained, and his insistence that they stick together must have surprised her so he flashed her a smile, "I'm not going to leave you to the soldiers or dragons, so don't worry. I'm planning on sticking with you until the end, I've got a good feeling about you."
He lived his life trusting his instincts, and his instincts were saying that the girl was someone he should stay with. His instincts were right most of the time, and now was not a time to doubt them.
Shuraja blinked and quickly looked away, "O….okay?" she said, or rather asked, unsure what the proper way to respond to that statement was considering he was a stranger.
But focus shifted back to their landing spot and Colbran felt his muscles tighten and relax, "Alright… One…. Two….three!" he shouted, springing off the ledge. The fall lasted only a second or two before he tumbled against wooden flooring, receiving a few scrapes and bruises but for the most part alright. Shuraja landed a few moments later, sliding against the floor and right into him.
Wincing at the light sting his legs felt, Colbran stood up and held a hand out to help her up, "You okay?" he asked the Nord as she took his hand, pulling her up to her feet.
Shifting her weight from one leg to the other, Shuraja made a sound of affirmation, nodding her head, "Y-yeah… I think so at least."
It was a good enough answer and Colbran nodded, looking around for a way out. Looked like the stairs were destroyed, so jumping through the holes would be their only way of getting out of the inn. Thankfully it wasn't that far, a shorter jump compared to the one they had just made at least.
"Come on," he said, gesturing for Shuraja to follow as he slid down the hole. When she came down, she stumbled, nearly falling if he hadn't helped steady her. But as expected, it was easier than the first one.
Now that they were at ground level, they would have to be careful and get through without being attacked. Difficult considering all the soldiers, but their attention seemed fixed on the dragon, and the dragon on them. Then again, it could be just as true that the dragon was focused on anything moving and breathing, so that would make them fair game to it as well.
As they made their way out of the inn, Colbran quickly shoved Shuraja against a wall to hide her, pressing himself against her as well before peering over the wooden structure they hide behind at the dragon that had landed. They would have walked right into the battle zone if he hadn't acted so quickly.
As the dragon flew off, he made note of the remaining soldiers who were firing at it still, recognizing Hadvar as one of them. The latter was carrying a child who had also hidden when the dragon touched down to fight, making his way through the streets to either to find the childs parents or to get the kid out of there.
"You know? I kind of hope that captain got eaten," Colbran said as he lead Shuraja out of the inn and between the buildings as quickly as they could. Thankfully it was just as he thought, the soldiers didn't even care about the two as they attacked the monster, "She was just awful, and mean, I think she deserved it if she did get eaten, don't you?"
"Don't say that," Shuraja mumbled, even if she had been rather hostile to them, no one deserved to be killed by a dragon. Right?
Instead of verbalizing a response, Colbran just shrugged. It wasn't worth arguing over, "We need to get out of here," he said as he scanned the air for the dragon, "And find Ralof if we can, I hope the man is still alive."
All around them was chaos, dizzying so even. Soldiers were yelling commands, civilians were crying out, dragons were roaring. All together it just mixed into an unrecognizable blur of noise. Colbran scrunched up his face as the smell of burnt flesh reached his nose and didn't even dare to look at the burnt corpses they were running past. He had to not let his fear show as he guided Shuraja out of the warzone. The smaller figure was, on the other hand, showing all the fear he refused to. Her body shook as she fought back tears caused either from the terror or the smoke, possibly both, as she followed close behind him.
"It's going to be okay, we're going to get through this, Shuraja," Colbran assured her.
But as a large shadow flew over them, he quickly and instinctively pressed his back against the stone wall, Shuraja doing the same.
They both look up in horror when the shadow didn't go away and the wall shuddered against them. The dragon had landed on it, letting out a bout of fire directly at the people in front of them. So close were they that the heat was unbearable against their skin. Before it flew off to terrorize another part of the town it had glanced down. Shurajas heart had frozen when it look right at them, but it had quickly looked away and flew away.
"Did it…it… it…" She whispered, knees shaking as she peeled herself away from the wall.
But Colbran began running once more, forcing her to chase after, "Don't think about it, just keep running!" he yelled, passing by just as many dead and dying soldiers as they were passing living ones. No one seemed to notice or care that they were escaping, but then again Colbran didn't care if they did. He just wanted to get out of there alive.
"There you are!" Ralof yelled, and had he not done so they would have run right past him, but sure enough they slowed and began making their way to him. "Follow me, into the Keep!" he yelled, pushing the heavy door open for all of them.
The two slipped in behind him, and Ralof quickly shoved the door shut.
The room was completely barren minus a single Stormcloak corpse lying on the ground. One whom Ralof was quick to be at the side of, after identifying who it was and confirming the death, he spoke his soft good bye.
While he did that, Shuraja and Colbran leaned against a table, panting for breath and exchanging multiple glances to confirm that the other was indeed still there. Neither could really believe their luck, though could any of this really be considered luck? They had avoided execution, narrowly in Shuraja's case, but then at the same time they had to escape a dragon.
Avoid one dire situation, only to be thrust right into another.
"A dragon…. A bloody dragon," Colbran breathed, the events that had just happened were finally taking effect and that mixed with the adrenalin coursing through his body, he began laughing. Ralof and Shuraja watched with concern as he bent over, hands over his stomach as he laughed. His body was shaking, crying out in pain from the exertion, "Oh Gods, this is just… this is a nightmare! We survived, this is a nightmare and we survived!"
"Don't count this a victory just yet," Ralof warned, looking at the door. The battle outside was still loud, the dragons roars deafening even through stone. "We still need to get away from Helgen, thankfully there is a tunnel through here that'll get us out." He then took in the apparel of the two and gestured to the corpse, "Take his gear, he won't be needing it any longer and you two will need it more."
Nodding, Colbran knelt before the deceased and began rummaging through him, working to get the weapons and sheaths unhooked, handing the helmet to Shuraja, "You want the armor?" He asked.
Shuraja gave a hesitant shake of the head, "T-thank you but, I can… I'm not a close combat person…. I mean I'm n-not a combat p-person I've never fought before but, I," she continued to fumble over her words as she tried to explain herself, "I u-use magic… I w-wont n-need it" she finally mumbled. It was a partial truth, she wouldn't mind using the armor and with her lack of experience in fighting she would need to protect herself better but that would require two things she wasn't comfortable with; stripping and defiling corpses, and stripping to her own undergarments in front of two men she barely knew.
At least they seemed to accept it and Ralof even raised an eyebrow at her explanation, "Mage, eh?" he asked and she nodded a quick confirmation.
Colbran just shrugged, it didn't matter either way to him so long as nothing was wasted. The armor was more his size anyways, it would have been baggy on Shuraja, they would have to pay attention to the size. So, without further delay he began to strip himself of his own rags, not minding that he was in the presence of a woman. Though Shurajas face was quick to turn red as she turned to look away as he put on the armor, not turning until he let her know he was decent.
Picking up the axe, he began giving it a few practice swings to test its weight and his own handle on it, "Nice weapon, not the best but it's decent in appearance and it's blade is sharp enough to deal enough damage," he murmured, running his finger along the blade. He could fetch a fair price on this if he sold it. Which he probably would once they got out of there, there was always a need for money and he would need better gear.
While he had been doing that, Ralof had gone to work trying to open the doors to get them out. But there was no way out from where they were, one end opened from the other side, and the other door was locked, they would need a key.
Thankfully their key to getting through was just coming in.
"Imperials!" Ralof hissed quietly, quickly moving to the side and out of sight of those coming to the doorway, "Attack when they're in, one of them might have a key," was the whispered command as Colbran slide to the wall on the other end of the door and Shuraja scrambled after him.
Sure enough, they could hear the soldiers speaking to each other, barking orders and unaware of what was in the next room, least of all the ambush they were about to walk into.
When the door opened and the two had stepped in, Colbran and Ralof sprung to action. For Colbran, it was a stroke of luck that one of the two just happened to be the Imperial captain that he had grown to resent in such a short time. Their axes bearing down on the soldiers without mercy, and thought they were able to deal a good amount of damage initially due to their advantage for surprise, the other two were quick to retaliate and fight back just as hard.
Steel clashed against steel, calls and insults were hurled as blood splattered against the ground. All the while Shuraja had fallen back into a corner of the room trying to stay out of the fight. Ralof and Colbran may have been seasoned and experienced fighters, but Shuraja was not. Even if she could use magic to fight, she was not nearly confident in her own ability to use it in a fight and not strike her 'allies' in the process too.
The last thing she wanted was to hurt them while trying to be of use, in fact she felt she was doing everyone a favor by not involving herself in the fight.
While Colbran and Ralof quickly attacked, their axes baring down on the two soldiers, it was over before the Imperials knew what had hit them and the two bodies fell limply to the ground with blood pooling around them.
"That's over with," Colbran said as he looped the axe around its sheath on his hip and knelt before the body. At first Shuraja wasn't sure what he was doing, but as he began rummaging through the corpse and removing pieces of armor she got the idea. As he slipped on a piece of the captain's armor, Colbran pursed his lips in annoyance, "To small. Figures. Shuraja, you can wear it," he said tossing the piece of steel at her.
She awkwardly caught it as he continued to strip the corpses of their valuables, "W-what?" she asked, looking down at it and then up at him, "Why are you, w-why are you taking f-from them?"
He didn't bat an eyelash as he finished stripping the captain to her undergarments, nudging the armor to Shuraja before he set to work on stripping the other soldier. "Imperial armor is better than Stormcloak armor, no offence," he added to Ralof and gave a shrug. This time the armor was more his size than the other so he could put it on unlike the captains, "Besides, you need armor too, more so than we do it looks. I don't care if you disagree, you're wearing armor."
Making a noise torn between disagreement and giving in, Shuraja tugged at the edge of her shirt. Was she supposed to strip off her rags or did she put the armor over it, not as though she wanted to strip in front of the men but Colbran wasn't going to let her say no to the armor. Giving in, she slipped the pieces on over her clothes as awkward as it may have been.
Why was armor so uncomfortable to put on and wear, though she may have just been putting it on wrong.
When she had the armor on, Colbran tossed her a sword for when her magicka ran out, not that it would be of much use, she was as inexperienced in swords as they came.
But Colbran gave her a look of approval, nodding as she gave it a few practice swings- it was far to awkward for her to handle- while Ralof took the key found on the corpse of the captain and unlocked the other gate.
"Ready to finally escape from this accursed town?" Colbran asked as Shuraja sheathed the sword, "This time we'll be able to fight for our lives."