Hey, people. This is a collaboration between donotlookatdiagram and geminicursed.
Disclaimer: Neither of us own the Elder Scrolls Series. That belongs to Bethesda.
The Dargonborn and the Princess of Theives
Chapter 1- Break
The sound of hooves on the path was unnerving. The bound prisoners were silent leaving the loud clacks to ring out through the forest. The Argonian looked around at the other prisoners. They all looked terrified, just as terrified as he was. Was he going to be driven back home to the Black Marsh? Was it such a crime to run away? He didn't think so. Maybe it was. It didn't matter. He was a prisoner now and he was in the mercy of the soldiers.
The prisoners soon began to whisper to one another, but the Argonian prisoner did not want to hear their words. It was just gossip about factions he did not care for and about corruption within Skyrim. He already knew that, but he just wanted to look forward to the future, look beyond this. He turned slightly to look past the other prisoners, noticing one who did not seem to belong in the criminal line up.
She was a young girl, a Khajit, and out of all of them, she was the only one who didn't seem scared. She seemed almost happy in a way, out of place in a situation like this. Her yellow eyes were fixated on the skies, as if there were something coming to save her. Her dark ash- colored tail swayed back and forth, ears twitching on occasion. She was strange, and that's what unnerved him.
Abruptly, the cart stopped and she looked up at the Argonian. "The end of the line..." one of the Nords spoke. The prison guard rounded up all the people in the cart and led them one by one to the warden. She was a stern woman and her voice made his blood run cold. Thats when he realized the Khajit was behind him. His heart practically stopped at that moment.
The warden spoke, and the poor Argonian watched as one by one the prisoners were either beheaded or tried to escape, brutally being shot down and stabbed. There was no honor in dying either way, but there was no honor in committing a crime, which he did not commit. The tiny cat crept up beside him. "They're all foolish to run from it." she whispered in a quiet and gentle voice. This was definitely not a person he felt belonged here.
The warden called to the Argonian and he stood there as a priestess read his final rites. His eyes looked up to the skies as he thought of his home, the Black Marsh. Would he be missed? Obviously, his wife would be looking furiously for him, someone needed make money in that household. He had no intention of going back anytime soon. Unless his wife could somehow have made it to Skyrim before he had, he was safe from her. Suddenly, a roar flared out through the town. The next thing he knew, a dragon was perched on the watch tower and nearly the whole village was a blaze. Bound and defenseless, he knew he was done for. He closed his red eyes, knowing his end. With a snap, the ropes were undone and he was free. "Come on, Argonian." The Khajit called to him. He watched her as she ran, arrows raining from the sky.
He had no choice. It was stand here and be eaten by the dragon or follow the Khajit and risk being shot. He moved his powerful legs and chased after the cat. She was much quicker than him, nimble and swift. Many times she stopped to make sure he was still behind her. Then she'd sprint on ahead until she was at a barracks of some sort. He was unfamiliar with the area so he could only assume she knew the way. The doors swung open and they two scrambled inside.
"Thanks for saving me." He said in a deep, husky voice. She looked to him, inspecting his tough body over.
"You were the likely choice. Powerful, yet innocent." She replied. "If I was going to save someone, I need a powerful ally." The Khajit looked at him with those strange yellow eyes and held out a paw-like hand. "We need each other to survive for now. Until I can get equipment and back to where I need to be, I need someone like you. Partners?"
He knew he could not refuse. This girl saved him. He had to repay the debt. He took her hand and shook on it. Strange how delicate yet strong her hands were and how powerful his own were, but he was gentle enough so he would not break anything. "But I don't even know who you are..."
"Akita." She said abruptly, interrupting him. He looked to her confused and she let out a quick huff. "My name is Akita. And you are?"
"Blaarfengar..." The Argonian said, almost embarrassed by his name. She nodded and glanced around the barracks. "So, what were you in that line up for?"
"Now is not the time for that. We need to get out of here. Then we can talk." She said. The girl was right. Now was no time for talking. There was a dragon out there and they needed to get out before it got hungry again and destroyed the building too.
"How do we get out of here?" Blaarfengar asked, looking around the stone building. Suddenly he felt the stone walls shake.
"Follow me." Akita said, her voice frantic. She made her way to a door on the other side of the room, finding the door to be locked. Almost instinctively, the Khajit reached into her pocket, producing a lock pick. She quickly picked the lock within a few seconds, the door swinging open. "Come, Blaarfengar. We've only got a little time." Akita nimbly made her way through the door, leading to a room, with two Nords in it. One was slumped over the other Nord's bloodied, motionless body.
The Argonian followed Akita as silently as he could, so as not to trip the dragon's exceptional hearing.
"We'll meet again in Sovngarde, brother..." the Nord said to the body. Standing up, he noticed the Khajit, jumping at the sight. He drew his axe, a weapon that obviously had killed many people in its lifetime. Blaarfengar made his way into the room, making the Nord sheath his weapon, but still his hand remained on the axe's handle. "You were on the carriage with me. Is this Khajit your friend?"
"She calls me an ally." Blaarfengar said calmly.
Akita inspected the Nord carefully. He had an axe which while powerful, was slow. One blow could take her out, but she was much quicker than they expected. She may be able to take him, but not without weapons. "If you didn't notice, I was there too." She said cooly and calmly. "Though, I guess you never took the time to notice."
The Nord eyed Akita with suspicion, eventually coming to the conclusion that she couldn't cause him any harm. "I'm very sorry. What were you on the line for, Khajit?"
"We can explain that later." She said, avoiding the question. "That dragon is still out there and this place could come down any minute." Her tail twitched and ears perked up. "Someone's coming." She turned to Blaarfengar. "Hope you can fight, Scales." she said, reaching down her bra for a dagger she had concealed.
The Nord turned to Blaarfengar. "Here. Take this man's armor. He's not going to need it anymore. He's also got an axe."
Blaarfengar turned to the body and awkwardly worked the armor and weapon off of the dead Nord's body. He quickly put the armor on, and sheathed the axe on his hip.
"You ever fought, Argonian?" The Nord asked.
"No." Blaarfengar timidly said. Back in the Black Marsh, he never had to want for anything: the farm next door provided everything an Argonian could want. Only trouble was his wife, which is why he was in this damn situation in the first place.
Akita's tail twitched. "I chose wrong..." She muttered under breath before glancing to her newfound Argonian ally. "Now's the time to learn then, Scales." The room quickly was filled with soldiers.
"The prisoners!" The leader shouted.
A smirk appeared on Aktia's face. A few stormed in using heavy swords and axes to come at her while others shot with arrows. Akita nimbly dodged the axes and swords, but the arrows were another story. A few sunk deep into her flesh, making her turn. The archers were going to be her problem. "Get the others. I got the archers." she called to the two before dashing towards the arches, avoiding any arrow she could.
The Nord and Blaarfengar drew their axes. Blaarfengar gave a few clumsy swings to his opponent's heads, taking a few hits himself, his Argonian blood spilling onto the enemy's sword. After giving his opponent several blows, he landed a fatal blow to his opponent's neck, causing the eneny to collapse into a limp heap. The Nord was fighting another person, and Blaarfengar tried to land a few hits on her, ignoring the pain from his wounds.
Akita quickly ran and lunged at the archers, sinking her dagger deep into ones chest. One more arrow dug deep into her back, but the cat wasn't down without a fight. While the archer recocked the arrow, Akita moved behind and slashed the dagged across the front of the neck of the archer. Gripping her tightly, Akita covered the archer's mouth so she could not scream for help. To ensure there was no recovering, the dagger plunged itself deep within the archers heart. Her golden eyes looked to her allies. Though wounded she charged and attacked the other soldiers.
The Nord expertly swung his axe at the opposing soldier's head, lodging it in her skull. The solder collapsed, leaving only two more soldiers, one of which Blaarfengar had been swinging at. The soldier kept blocking Blaarfengar's attacks, but was quickly becoming tired from the Argonian's constant swinging. The Nord took this opportunity to strike the soldier in the back with his axe, killing the soldier.
Akita took care of the last one, lodging her dagger in his back. She looked to her tired friends, the pain slowly setting into their own bodies. She ripped out each arrow with care and inspected the dead bodies. With a thief's care she stripped them of their valuables and even took one of the soldier's armor. She worked her way over to the dead archer and ripped the bow from her dead fingers, slinging it over her shoulder. "We need potions if we want to get any further. There will be more of them. I'm going to look around. Don't worry about me." she said as she slunk out on her own. She wasn't going very far though.
Blaarfengar began to feel lightheaded from the blood loss he had suffered. He sheathed his axe and held his right hand to a large gash on his left bicep, the cut hindering his arm's movement. "You feeling alright, Argonian?" the Nord asked.
"I'm feeling dizzy, that's all." Blaarfengar then looked off to the passageway that Akita had disappeared into. "We should probably follow her just in case she needs something."
The Nord picked up two swords that were used by the soldiers, handing one to Blaarfengar. "Here. Use this instead of the axe. It's lighter and longer." The Argonian sheathed the bloody axe on his right hip, and sheathed the sword on his left. "Just be careful with it. Don't cut yourself." The Nord cautioned, sheathing the other sword.
Akita searched the next room, weary of her surroundings. She was weak from losing blood, but she knew how to work with this from her many years of battling. She crept along in the shadows, looting anything she could from the dead guards. No one there. Her ears perked up as she heard the door open, dagger drawn. But it was just her new allies. "Don't scare me like that." She said to them, sheathing her dagger. "I found a few potions around here. Not too much around here... Nothing of interest anyways." She said, tossing a little vial to the Nord since she doubted Blaarfengar could catch it.
The Nord examined the potion, finding it to be a healing potion. "Give me your arm, Argonian." He commanded the less experienced fighter. Blaarfengar uncovered the gash on his forearm, blood still spilling out. The Nord uncorked the bottle, pouring a small amount of the cool liquid onto the Argonian's wound. The wound almost immediately began scarring, to the Argonian's amazement. "Just relax. We should be safe, at least for a few minutes. Those imperial soldiers might attack us again, but we should be safe for a while, at least." The Nord poured a few drops of the liquid on his sparse wounds, relishing the relief the potion caused. "Do you need anything, Khajit?" he asked, offering the bottle to Akita.
"No. I found another. I just used it, actually." She lied. The last thing she needed to do was get attached to these people, especially Blaarfengar. Poor thing would probably get killed by a wolf, if his performance in battle was anything like she thought it was. This Nord man was much better at fighting, obviously a well- trained soldier. "How'd Scales here do?"
"Better than most first- time fighters." The Nord replied. "The fact that the man is still alive should speak volumes."
Akita smirked. Maybe this wasn't such a mistake after all...