An unseen force hit everyone in the courtyard, sending us flying backwards. I personally flew off the block and back into the wheel of a wagon. I breathed in deeply, trying desperately to regain the air I had just lost, when the headsman's axe flew right next to my head, slamming into the wood wheel only inches from my ear.
Okay, I'll admit it; I shrieked. But honestly, given the circumstances, who wouldn't? I stood up quickly, deeming this area no longer safe. I looked around, trying to see where to go, when I spied Ralof dashing into a tower. I ran after him, dodging over rocks as I went. Eventually I found myself in the tower, and just in time too, for Ralof had slammed the door after me, just in time. "Boy!" he exclaimed, exhausted and happy to see another soul alive. He turned back to Ulfric as I wandered to the stairs, climbing the tower. "Jarl Ulfric!" he exclaimed, "Could the legends be true?" Ulfric stretched his arm as he spoke, his gag since removed. "Legends don't burn down villages." I made it to the second floor and saw a Stormcloak desperately trying to pull away collapsed rocks that led to the top floor. "We've got to get out of here…!" he shouted as he dug.
Suddenly, he was thrown back by the force of something ramming into the tower, destroying the wall. That thing was the dragon from before. The Stormcloak, injured but not dead, tried to stand up and run away, but was caught in a torrent of flame. Call me insane, but I thought that the dragon spoke again as the flames shot out.
"Yol, Toor Shul!"
Fire danced along the walls, burning the man to nothing more than a charred skeleton and some melted chainmail. I stared at the dragon, unbelieving, as it seemed to stare back at me. "Ni los hi…" it boomed, widening its eyes slightly before flying away, spraying the town with fire. I looked out the hole, watching the dragon fly off, as I spotted an inn right next to the tower, with parts of its roof burned off. "Stendarr, preserve me…" I mumbled as I stepped back one, two, three steps, and then launched myself through the air.
I hit the roof with a thud, the straw collapsing beneath my feet. I rolled across the ground, somehow remaining coordinated enough to get back up on my feet. I dashed to the far end of the inn, swinging from a support beam and out a broken portion of the wall as I did. I landed outside, next to Hadvar and an older man. "Hamlet! You need to get over here, now!" A little boy sprinted away from his dead father who laid in the road we had rolled down only minutes before, just barely dodging the dragon as it landed atop his father. "Yol…" the dragon began to speak, and I knew what was to come next. "Gods!" I shouted, grabbing Hadvar and dragging him back with Hamlet. "Everybody, get back!" "...Toor Shul!"
Another jet of flame roared through the streets, splashing against a pile of wood that had fallen earlier. The dragon roared again and flew into the sky, its great wings flapping and sending out winds to very nearly blow us over. "Still alive, prisoner?" Hadvar asked. "Keep close to me if you want to stay that way!" He turned back to the old man who held onto the boy, Hamlet, and said as he drew his sword, "Torold, take care of the boy. I have to find General Tullius and join the defense!" As I ran after Hadvar, I heard Torold shout to us from behind. "Gods guide you, Hadvar!" We ran behind a house, for the main road had been blocked from that point.
Hadvar looked up and threw himself against the stone wall that protected our backs. "Stay close to the wall!" I followed his lead, and sucked in a deep breath as the claw of the dragon dug into the wall beside my head. An Imperial archer spun at the noise and took name at the dragon. The dragon made a noise - was it laughter? - and shot another stream of flame at the archer. He was dead on the spot, his body burned to nothingness. The dragon flew away, and Hadvar dashed towards a partly destroyed wall. "This way, prisoner!" I leapt after Hadvar, following him through the wreckage of the building before coming out to the main gate.
"Hadvar!" I heard Tullius shout from somewhere by the gate, presumably behind the makeshift wall that had been formed from a rogue wagon. "Into the Keep, soldier, we're leaving!" Hadvar nodded and dragged me with him, under a stone arch when I spied a familiar face. "Ralof!" Hadvar and I shouted at the same time. "You damned traitor; out of my way!" Ralof sneered at Hadvar and rotated his arm which held a war-axe within its grip. "We're escaping Hadvar. You're not stopping us this time!" Hadvar shouted in anger and frustration. "Fine, I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!"
Ralof and Hadvar each ran into different doors on the keep, and each one kept shouting at me to follow them. "Come on!" Ralof roared over the dragon's fire, "The gods won't give you another chance!" I glanced between both of the soldiers, not choosing which had helped me more; without either of them I'd most likely be dead by now. It was choosing who could help me get out of here alive best.
As I was deciding, I spied a lone figure out by the gate. It was a woman, wearing muddy clothes, and she was currently pinned to the ground by a rogue rock. "Fiore!" I shouted. Abandoning Ralof and Hadvar, I sprinted towards her, skidding across the gravel ground and digging my hands underneath the rock. "You…" she said as I dug the rock off of her, "You're that boy from the cart…" "Nrr!" I shouted, trying to lift the rock. "Can you talk later? I need some help right now!" She stared at me, shocked by my tone, before nodding and beginning to push on the rock. Honestly? I was shocked by my tone as well. I was usually quiet and reserved, but I guess running for you life from a dragon tended to change your personality a smidge. "Rrragh!" I shouted, rolling the boulder off of her body, gasping for breath after I did. I heard a roar from behind us as the dragon landed behind us. "Zu'u los Alduin!" it shouted at us, and we backed away. "Fus…" the dragon roared. I recognized the shout from before and threw Fiore to the ground. "Brace yourself!" I shouted as the dragon spoke the last two words, and I was thrown back again by some unseen force. I hit the wall, hard, my head slamming against the stone. I collapsed to the floor, my vision darkening, and my strength fading. "Fiore…" I gasped as I struggled to remain conscious, and then my vision blacked out, and I surrendered to fate.