-Chapter Three-
Ivan ran along the road to Whiterun, completely unaware of his audience. An inky blackness hung in the sky, unnoticed against the blackness of the sky itself. The rift acted as a window, through which the Daedra were watching. Hermaeus Mora was nearest to the rift, watching Ivan carefully from his eye wreathed in grotesque tentacles.
"That's The One. Right over there." he said in his deep voice.
"You sure? He doesn't look like much. He's just a kid!" Malacath growled.
"I think he's perfect." Namira said sweetly. "He looks... delicious."
"So can we go mess wiv' 'im or wot?" Clavicus Vile asked. "You said 'The One' would give us the most fun we've 'ad in centuries!"
"Patience, all of you!" Hermaeus Mora commanded, pushing them away from the rift with his tentacles. "He's no good to us yet. With time, he will realize his true purpose, as the servant of the Sixteen Daedric Lords!" The others nodded. If Hermaeus Mora could smile, he would have. Secretly, he wanted The One to not only serve him in life, but in death as well. He suspected that the others would want the same thing, he simply needed to get to Ivan first.
"He won't do your bidding, monsters." Meridia said spitefully. "He has a good soul. He will be my champion alone!"
"I don't care how good his soul is." Molag Bal said in a bored tone. "I can always just force him to do what I want."
Hermaus Mora glared at them. The fight over The One had already started, then. He closed the rift.
"A black dragon, you say? This is indeed troublesome." Jarl Balgruuf sighed tiredly. "Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse... Irileth, send a detachment of guards to Riverwood, immediately."
"Yes, my Jarl." Irileth bowed and left. The Jarl turned back to Ivan after rubbing his brow.
"You've done my people a great service. For that, you have my gratitude." he said, looking wearied. Ivan bowed and turned to leave, but the Jarl stopped him.
"Also, if you're interested, I have something else I need done. My court wizard will give you the details."
"Well, actually Sir, I-"
"Good. Farengar, I've found someone to run your little errand for you!" Jarl Balgruuf sat down heavily in his chair with a deep breath and waved Ivan away. Ivan gritted his teeth as the court wizard came to meet him.
"The Jarl picked you?" Farengar said with some surprise, which Ivan resented. "Well, you'll have to do I suppose. I need you to help me with a little research project of mine."
"Could I come back later?" Ivan pleaded. "My parents near Solitude, I have to-"
"Oh, so you warn us about the dragons returning to Skyrim, but you refuse to help us learn how to fight back? I see how it is." Farengar said spitefully. Ivan sighed, defeated. At this point, the wolves had most likely beaten him to the bodies of his parents anyways. Ivan swallowed hard. Some kind of son he was.
"Just tell me what you want me to do." Ivan said quietly.
"To the point. I like that. I'm somewhat of an expert when it comes to dragons, really. I've been researching the prophesies and history for years. If the dragons really are coming back, we're going to need the Dragonstone." Farengar said the last word with a tone of reverence. Ivan simply stared at him, still waiting to be told what he needed to do. Farengar cleared his throat.
"Long story short, the Dragonstone is key to unraveling the mysteries of why the dragons are returning, and what we can do about it." he continued. "I need you to go to Bleak Falls Barrow and return with the Dragonstone."
"Bleak Falls Barrow?" Ivan repeated, a chill running down his spine.
"That's not a problem, is it?" Farengar asked, raising an eyebrow to Ivan. Ivan immediately shook his head.
"No! No problem! I'm on it!" Ivan drew his bow and ran out of the room. Farengar turned back to the woman in the corner of the room.
"You're sure this Dragonstone is what we need?"
"I'm sure."
Ivan was back in Riverwood. The sun was rising, and the townspeople were already going about their daily business. Ivan yawned, but shook himself awake. He didn't have time to rest. The sooner he got the stone for that jerk, the sooner he could head to Solitude. He at least had to try and find his parents. Gerdur spotted him.
"You're back! Thank you for asking for the guards to come. I feel safer already." she said with a smile. "But you look exhausted! Come, I have a spare bed in my attic." Ivan considered this. He finally shook his head.
"I wish I could, but the Jarl has me doing something else for him, now. I really should get going." Gerdur patted his arm.
"You're a good young man, Ivan. Just don't push yourself too hard. And stay safe!" she said before returning to her work at the mill. Ivan smiled at her before turning to survey the town. He was running low on arrows, and if what Ralof said about the Barrow was true, he was going to need some. He spotted the general store and walked in.
"But we can't just do nothing, Lucan! It was a family heirloom!" a woman said.
"A thousand times no! That place is dangerous! Let's just be grateful the bandits didn't want anything else! Oh! A customer." The shop owner turned to Ivan with a forced smile. "Sorry about that. What do you need?" Ivan approached Lucan.
"I need some arrows." Ivan said. As Lucan turned to gather and display his stock of arrows, Ivan glanced at the young woman.
"Um, is everything okay?" he added.
"Oh, nothing to worry about." Lucan grimaced as he laid out his stocks of arrows on the table. "We had a bit of a break-in, but the bandits only wanted one thing. Our family's Golden Dragon's Claw. They have a hideout in Bleak Falls Barrow."
"R-really?" Ivan piped. "That's actually where I'm headed now! I could get your heirloom back for you."
At this, both the young woman and Lucan stared at Ivan. The young woman flew to his side.
"You would do that for us? That would mean so much!" she bubbled.
"Calm down, Camilla." Lucan said. "That's very kind of you, Sir. If you were able to get it back for us, of course I would pay you for your trouble." Then he turned to Camilla. "There. Now you don't have to go gallivanting off and getting yourself hurt! Happy?"
"Well..." Camilla said, obviously searching for some way to go along. "I think he needs a guide! Come on, now! Let's not waste daylight!" Camilla marched out the door. Ivan turned back to Lucan, who looked after his sister with a sigh.
"Don't let her cross the bridge, and you can have all my arrows in stock for free." he said to him. Ivan nodded, donning the stock of arrows.
Ivan caught up to Camilla as she reached the edge of town.
"Now, the Barrow is up this path, but it snows on the mountain, so we'll have to keep an eye out for the markers." she was saying.
"Camilla, wait!" Ivan said, pulling out his bow. She turned to him with a defiant look.
"You're going to tell me to go home too, huh? You don't think a woman can fight? Well, I'm not just going to sit idly by and let some bandit make off with the claw!" she said boldly. Ivan smiled.
"That's not what I was going to say." Ivan answered. Camilla's expression softened at this. Ivan pulled out an arrow.
"It's true that it's dangerous, and it's true that I need to send you home, but that doesn't make you weak. Your brother cares about you. Crouch down for a minute." Ivan said, as he crouched himself. Camilla silently did as she was told. Ivan drew his bow back and aimed at a deer on the other side of the river. He held his breath, clearing his mind like his mother taught him. Then he released. The arrow struck the deer, and it died. Camilla gasped.
"That... That was a good shot!" she exclaimed.
"My mother taught me to shoot. It's the only way I know how to fight. If you went with me into the Barrow and something attacked us, I... I don't know if I could protect you." Ivan explained. Camilla nodded.
"I understand. I'll be waiting back at the shop, then." she said. Ivan smiled gratefully.
"I should be back by sunset." he said before leaving.
The hike up the path was fairly simple. There were a few wolves, but nothing he couldn't handle. As he neared the curved structure marking the entrance to the Barrow, he could suddenly hear voices. Ivan crouched into a nearby bush, and silently wished the sun wasn't hanging high overhead.
"Ready for another ambush?" A man said to his friend.
"Sure, but let's wait for nightfall. There's plenty more houses in Riverwood to loot, so let's just take our time. Besides, I think they're on to us. There's more guards now than there used to be."
So these were the bandits that stole the claw. They were using the Barrow as their hideout. That explained the lights Ralof spoke of. If he could just sneak past them, he might be able to find the claw, and get inside to search for the Dragonstone. Ivan was about to move, but stopped as one of the bandits spoke.
"Has Arvel figured out how to use the claw, yet? He said he could do this!"
"Beats me. It's been- wait, I think we have an audience!" The bandit drew his weapon and started coming toward Ivan.
"Oh, blast!" Ivan panicked, drawing his bow. He quickly shot the closer bandit in the shoulder. That gave away his position entirely, but it slowed down one of the bandits, at least. As Ivan drew a second arrow, he silently wished he had thought to bring along a close-range weapon. Not that it would've done him much good. He was as good at using close-range weapons as he was at using magic. It just didn't happen. As the bandits ran towards him, swinging their weapons, Ivan shot both of them point-blank until they died.
Ivan breathed heavily. He would have to do better at sneaking in the future if he wanted to stay alive. He drank a health potion to escalate the healing of the scratches he had received, and pressed on, entering the Barrow.
There wasn't much to look at inside. Dimly-lit torches dotted the passageways through the ancient burial site. Ivan gritted his teeth and started forward. As he snuck his way deeper into the Barrow, Ivan suddenly had the feeling of being watched. He stopped and waited. Sure enough, a figure in the darkness began to move. The hairs on the back of Ivan's neck rose as he realized what it was. A dragur.
Ivan had heard stories about the cursed dead who violently protected their place of rest. Its hollow, glowing eyes searched the darkness, falling upon Ivan. The forever-smiling teeth plastered on its face opened to a gaping mouth full of cobwebs. It shouted at Ivan in a language he didn't understand. Ivan was frozen with fear. So Ralof's story was true. As the dragur began to stumble towards him, Ivan jolted into action. He drew an arrow and let it fly. One shot to the head sent the dragur sprawling on the ground. Ivan did his best to calm his nerves as he watched and waited. The dragur didn't move. Ivan inched towards the monster, half expecting it to jump up and attack again, but it didn't. Finally, Ivan was able to move on, delving deeper into the Barrow.
Several dragur encounters later, Ivan felt like he was getting the hang of reintroducing these creatures to death. Suddenly, he heard a voice.
"Is anyone there? Please, save me!" Ivan poked his head around the corner to see a room full of spider webs. A dark elf hung in the webbing on the far wall, clutching the golden claw in one hand. So that was Arvel. Ivan started forward, noticing too late the mass of hairy legs descending upon him. Ivan cursed under his breath as he shot the giant frostbite spider repeatedly until it died. Ivan then fell to his knees, his vision blurred because of the spider's venom coursing through his veins. He stumbled towards Arvel.
"Cut me loose! I can show you the secret of the dragon claw! The- Hey!" Arvel suddenly shouted as Ivan dug through his pockets and pulled out a Potion of Cure Poison. Ivan drank it quickly, feeling the effects immediately. He straightened, smiling.
"Consider it a thank you for saving you from the spider." he said, still breathing heavily. Arvel wrinkled his nose.
"I still don't appreciate being searched while strung up like this! Get me down! We can share in the Nord's treasure together!" he said, growing excited.
"I don't trust you as far as I could throw you." Ivan answered. "But that spider nearly killed me, so if you and I work together-"
"Of course! Of course! Whatever you say!" Arvel said quickly. Ivan took Arvel's dagger and began cutting him loose from the webs. As soon as Arvel was free, he took of in a run.
"Ha! You think I'm going to help you? Just-" Arvel fell to the ground, an arrow in the back of his head. Ivan quietly put his bow away, having guessed at exactly what Arvel would do once free. Ivan took the golden claw and pressed on alone.
After a while, Ivan found himself in a large, cavernous room. After making sure he was alone, he took some time to look around. He whistled through his teeth.
"These Nords weren't messing around! This place is gigantic!" Ivan commented. He suddenly tensed as he heard voices. He drew his bow, scanning the area. He couldn't see anyone. As he neared the curved back wall, the chanting grew louder. Ivan turned to the wall in disbelief as he realized the chanting was emitting from the wall itself. He took a few steps back and jumped as a coffin beside him suddenly burst open. A large dragur emerged from the coffin. Ivan fought as hard as he could. After an arduous battle, the dragur finally lay still.
Ivan staggered, legs shaking, to the coffin. Inside was the Dragonstone. What normally would seem easy to carry, felt extremely heavy in Ivan's weakened state. Ivan clutched the Dragonstone and the golden claw in his hands as he looked once more at the chanting wall. It seemed to call to him. Ivan noticed one particular etching in the wall that began to glow. As Ivan studied the ancient writing, it suddenly seemed to brand itself into Ivan's memory. Ivan's vision blurred, but the word itself remained bright and crisp to his eyes. Ivan felt the last of his energy ebb from his body. His knees buckled, and he was unconscious before he even hit the floor.
