Brother and Sister in Arms Ch. 3
Almost immediately after reaching the top of the steps, the siblings were set upon by more of the thugs. This time, there was no offer for mercy, real or fake. Garth leapt in front of his sister, just as one of the bandits drew her arrow and fired.
With a solid thunk, it hit the metal shield and ricocheted to the ground. "Thanks Garth," Robyn said, turning to arc a bolt of electricity at an enemy. The warhammer he was holding grew hot, and the smell of his hands burning on the metal handle filled the air, only to be lost in the wind.
"Stay beside me Robyn. They may not seem tough, but we still don't know how many there are."
"Okay."
The two archers continued firing a barrage of arrows at the older brother, but his shield and reflexes was more than a match. When at last they'd run out of arrows, they drew axes and rushed towards him.
With a swipe of his own axe, Garth snapped off the arrows embedded in his shield, only just in time to block a swipe from a bandit. Garth put all of his weight into his shoulder, smashing the heavy metal plate into his foe's nose.
The other bandit, however, took her opening. With a swing, she embedded her weapon into his side, but the edge struck bone. It wasn't a lethal blow, but it still hurt when she cruelly ripped the axe free.
"Brother!" Robyn cried, before glaring at the woman. One of her hands ignited in burning flames. The jet was powerful enough to ward the bandit away, while her left hand glowed with a white light.
Where there was once a deep gash, Garth's flesh knit itself back together. Better than that, even his sore muscles felt relief from his little sister's magic.
Satisfied that her brother was safe, the younger sibling added her second hand to the fire stream. The jet turned into a massive fan of flames that engulfed the two bandits he'd been fighting, turning them into a pile of ash and bone.
However, she didn't notice that the man she'd electrocuted before was now advancing on her from behind. Garth, however, did see him, and so he wheeled about, throwing his axe end over end.
Robyn let out a shriek, hitting the ground as the axe whizzed past and embedded its blade into the man's face. When he fell to the ground, Garth put his foot on his chest and retrieved his weapon before turning back to his sister. "Are you okay?"
"Am I okay?! You just threw an axe at my head!"
"Not at yours, at his. You were fine."
"Maybe I should start shooting fireballs by your ears and see if you think it's okay!"
"Must you argue about everything?" Garth complained. "How about saying 'Gee brother, thanks for saving my life. I know you do it all the time because I'm a total ditz, but I'm still glad anyway.'?"
The young woman grit her teeth. "Don't call me a ditz! I saved your life too. I healed your wound, didn't I? And then...then...what about that time in Helgen? I saved you then, too!"
The two just stared at each other as she clenched her fist, trying to come up with more arguments. Her brother always pushed her around, and now he was demanding that she thanked him for it. It made her furious!
She just wanted to jump on him and throw him down in the snow and tear his clothes off and...Robyn shut her eyes and took a deep breath. Now was not the time for fantasizing. Instead, she just dropped the subject and headed for the entrance.
Her brother followed, going into a crouch so he could sneak inside. The door moved silently, despite its weight. Immediately, the two were assailed by the feeling of warmth. "Looks like they set up a camp here," Garth whispered.
"What is that smell?" Robyn asked, trying to cover her nose. Whatever they were cooking, it had the scent of burnt rubber.
Her brother sniffed the air for a moment. "Skeever."
"Skeever?!" she squeaked. "That's so gross!"
"Food is food, sis."
Just as she was about to protest, her stomach gave a grumble. "Come to think of it, we haven't eaten anything since last night," she murmured. Her stomach gurgled again, this time even more impatient. "And I was fasting yesterday," she whined.
"Well then, looks like we should get you something to eat," he surrendered. "Keep low, and follow me."
The two crept closer to the campfire where, sure enough, a pair of bandits were now munching contently on their meal. Robyn had to cover her mouth to avoid gagging. She'd seen Skeevers literally nest in giant piles of dung before. There was no way she was eating one that had been locked in a cairn for who knows how long.
That's when she noticed a bright color out of the corner of her eye. When her brother continued moving, she instead went to inspect the new discovery and found it to be an apple. Fresh produce? Here? Lifting it, she examined it carefully to find that it looked clean. In fact, there weren't any signs of rotting at all.
Her lips curled into a huge grin. Opening her mouth, she took a large bite, causing the juices to drip down her chin. It was so sweet, too! Unfortunately, in doing so, a loud CRUNCH echoed in the otherwise quiet chamber.
"What was that?" one of the bandits asked, turning to see Robyn standing there, with bits of apple on her face.
"Um...h-hi?" she stammered nervously.
One grabbed her bow, taking aim, only for Garth to come charging from the shadows. The woman turned a second too late as he slammed into her with his shield, sending her falling into the fire.
She began to scream as her partner struggled to decide between helping her or defending himself against the new attacker. As one would expect from a criminal, he chose the latter.
Drawing a warhammer, he raised it high over his head. Garth wouldn't be able to block it with his shield. The force would be enough to snap his arm like a twig. His sister began to weave magic together with one hand, while taking another bite of her apple.
As she cast, vines raced up her brother's body, covering his flesh with their thick bark and absorbing the blow of the hammer. "What in the…?" was all the bandit managed to get out before the older sibling cleaved his skull in two.
"Seriously?!" he hissed at his sister. "How can you possibly be so thick? We're sneaking."
Robyn turned as red as her apple. "Umm...apple?" she offered, holding out the uneaten half. This time, she knew she didn't have a leg to stand on. It was best not to beat the dead argument.
Walking up to her, he snatched the fruit from her grasp. Without breaking eye contact, he finished it off, before tossing the core onto the burning corpse of the dead thief. And so, they pressed onward. Not, however, before Robyn managed to find a few more fresh fruits to bring with her.
"Seriously, where are you even finding all of those?" Garth asked, after she'd managed to acquire nearly a dozen of them.
"I dunno. Just laying around really," she commented. "I found this one in an urn. Oh, and this one was in a chest. And this one was in an empty sarcophagus. Maybe it's the Divines watching out for us."
A voice echoed through the halls of the cairn. "Hello? Is anyone there? Please, help me! Boris? Natasha? Is that you?"
"Someone's in trouble," Robyn cried. "We have to help them."
"Are you out of your mind?" her brother retorted. "Clearly, he's one of the bandits. Heck, we should just wait and let whatever has him save us the trouble."
"But...what if he knows where the claw is?"
The warrior took a deep breath, rubbing his temples. "Fine. Let's go save the stupid thief."
The voice continued to cry for help, even when they came across a doorway covered completely by spider webs. Garth began to hack away at them with his axe, tearing down strands one after another.
"How in the world did he manage to get through these?" he wondered out loud.
However, the moment he stepped foot into the room, the answer became apparent. Those webs were fresh. His eyes widened as a spider, with legs nearly six feet long, descended from the rooftop. At the other end of the room, was the bandit, strung up in a massive web.
"Wait. You aren't Boris and Natasha! Who the heck are you two?" he demanded.
Robyn slapped her brother on the back. "Garth, you handle the spider. I'll go rescue that guy!"
"What?!"
The spider began scurrying towards him. He cried out, turning around to book it away from the arachnid. Damn it, his sister knew he hated spiders! And he'd never even seen one this massive before!
Just as the spider lunged at him, he kicked off the wall, flipping over its back to flee once more.
As the young sibling began to work at the webbing that held the man, she gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Mister. I'll get you out of here in a jiffy."
"Yes! Yes! Let me down, please!"
That's when she noticed the glittering object at his waist. "Is that the golden claw?" she asked, pointing to it.
"Seriously? You're asking questions now?" When she put her hands on his hips, he quickly changed his tune. "Yes! I know all about the claw, okay? The treasure, how to get in, the whole shebang. Just let me down and I can split it with you, alright?"
With a cheerful nod, she ignited her hands in fire and burned away the rest of the webs, causing him to drop to the ground. "There you go. Now let's help my–"
"Ha! As if I'd share the treasure with a ditz like you!" the bandit cackled rushing away down the hall.
Robyn blinked in surprise. "Ummm, Garth? The bandit got away."
"Oh come on, Robyn!" he shouted, severing one of the spider's legs from its body.
The enormous bug let out a hiss, mandibles pointed at the older brother. Charging up it's venom, it spat it straight into his eyes. It burned so badly! Garth cried out, stumbling away from the creature.
He swung his axe wildly, unable to see through his blurry vision. Robyn, however, quickly turned the tide. With one spell, its hairy body ignited, causing it to make the most awful screeching noise she'd ever heard.
Distracted in trying to put itself out, she rushed to her brother's aide and helped rinse out his eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Can you see?"
"Y-yeah," he stammered, blinking away the last of the venom before stepping up to the massive beast.
It made one last attempt to lunge at him, but Garth forced his shield into the creature's maw and chopped into his head over and over again. Soon, it collapsed, leaving them victorious once more.
"Come on," he urged his sister. "We need to catch up to that son of a bitch."
Garth and Robyn stood there, slack jawed. "So...how exactly did he…?" the older one began before scratching his head in confusion.
"Miss the giant spiked gate?" Robyn suggested.
"Yeah, that." After another moment of contemplation, Garth crouched down to the floor. "Look here," he commented. "A pressure plate. I bet this is what triggered it."
"Yeah, but I mean, look at it! It's pretty obvious. How did he not see it?"
"..."
"Well, at least we have the claw back, now," Robyn tried, lifting the relic off his body.
"Great. Now we can get out of here," Garth replied, taking out the man's journal and browsing through it. "Wait a second…"
"Hmm?"
"This says the claw is the key to a great treasure!"
"Oh! Right, he did mention something about that when he ran off screaming," his sister noted, placing her finger on her cheek. "Too bad we'll never find it once we give the claw back."
"Robyn, why wouldn't we find it?"
"Duh! How are we going to open the treasure without the key? Once we give it back, we won't have it anymore," she lectured.
Garth stared at her expectantly. "Look around you."
The young girl did as he instructed. "What?"
"Where are we right now?"
"The Cairn, but what does that have to do with, oh…"
The older sibling sighed, pinching the bridge of his knows. "How can a girl be so stupid and so smart at the same time?" he grumbled.
"I'm not stupid!" she protested. "At least I didn't wet the bed until I was eight!"
Her brother however, made no comeback. Instead, he was staring past her. When she turned to look, her eyes widened.
"Garth…"
"Yeah?"
She backed slowly towards him. "I think I found what distracted the thief from the gate."
"You don't say?"
With a groan, the mummified draugr shambled closer. In her hands, she clutched a great sword. Soon, more corpses began to shift in their alcoves, moving to stand and pursue the trespassers.
Robyn and Garth continued moving back until they were pressed against the far wall. "How do we kill them?" Robyn asked. "I mean...they're already dead, aren't they?"
Just as they stepped closer, Garth had an idea. He grabbed a heavy stone and tossed it as hard as he could, right onto the pressure plate. There was a twang as the mechanism activated.
It swung so hard that it launched the zombies into the wall where they fell into a crumpled heap. This time, they did not get back up. "Huh. Looks like we can just do what we normally do."
Pressing onward, the siblings were careful to not make any loud noises, lest they awaken the undead guardians. Every now and again, the dust in the air would cause Robyn to sneeze, and the two would have to fight, but for the most part, it was smooth sailing.
It wasn't until after they defeated a particularly tough one that they came to a large stone door with three stone rings. In the center was an impression that looked as if it'd fit the dragon's claw perfectly.
"This must be the treasure!" Robyn squeaked excitedly. Without a moment's hesitation, she pushed the claw into the indent, but nothing happened. Her smile quickly faded. "Why isn't it working?"
"Hmm...according to the journal, the answer 'lies within the palm of your hand'."
Robyn took out the claw, and looked at her hand. "What do you think that means?" she asked.
"I don't know. Maybe it means something like 'the key was believing in yourself all along' or something dumb like that. You know how these ancient Nords were. They could never just come out and say what they wanted to."
Robyn placed her hand in the indent and pushed. When nothing happened, she shook her head. "No luck."
"Wait...look at these rings," Garth commented.
"What about them?"
Placing his hands on the outermost one, he pushed on it and with a grinding sound, it spun, revealing a different symbol than the one previous. "It's a combination!" he declared proudly. "We just need to figure out which symbols to use."
"We could just test them all," Robyn suggested.
Garth shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe that's what it means by in the palm of your hand."
And so, the two began to test every conceivable combination. Thankfully, each ring only had three possibilities, meaning that there were only a total of 27 potential combinations. After going through about half of them, they finally found one that worked.
The door gave a groan and slowly sank into the ground. The two siblings cheered, hugging each other tightly. When Garth realized what they were doing though, he separated himself from his sister.
"Well, we're finally in. Let's see if we can find that treasure."
"Roger!" Robyn grinned, happy to have gotten the brief hug. It meant that despite himself, her brother really was at least semi-enjoying their adventure. Even if he denied it. Turning the dragon's claw over to put it in her pack, that's when Robyn noticed the three symbols that rested there. "Oh! I figured out what it meant by in the palm of your hand."
"A bit late, don't you think?"
"See? The combination was in the dragon's palm all along," she beamed, showing her brother.
"That's stupid. It's supposed to be 'your' hand, not the dragon's. Though I guess you were technically holding it in your palm."
"Wait...do you hear something?" Robyn asked.
Garth froze. Sure enough, there was the faint sound of pounding drums. Looking around themselves, there was no possible source. When they tried to track it down, they ended up coming to a large stone wall emblazoned with an ancient script they didn't recognize.
"Look, that one is glowing." His sister pointed to the bright blue symbols.
"Is that what's making the drums?" he wondered. As they both leaned forward to read it, there was a loud rushing of wind all around them. The light brightened as the drums grew so loud that it began to make Garth's head hurt.
Then, as quickly as it came, it was gone. The light had vanished from the runes, and the drums had fallen silent. "That was weird," the young sibling said.
"Agreed. I hope that shoddy concert wasn't the treasure. I swear, if the treasure is something stupid like 'the gift of music', I'm going to burn this place to the ground."
With a loud boom, the sealed coffin behind them exploded open, revealing a large draugr. This one was dressed head to toe in metal armor, and he held an axe in one hand. The other glowed an icy white.
The other sibling rushed forward. "No! Garth, wait!" Robyn cried, but it wasn't fast enough. The draugr turned towards him and fired a frigid blast straight at him.
As the icy wind stung at his flesh, Garth held up his shield to protect himself. It began to freeze over as the zombie advanced closer and closer. Soon, frost began to creep up his legs, and the older sibling found his feet frozen in place. He was so cold, he could barely swing his weapon at his attacker.
The monster had no intentions of letting the opportunity slip. He batted aside Garth's shield before sinking his axe right into his chest.
Robyn was horrified. The last wound wasn't fatal, but she was certain that one would be. When her older brother collapsed to the ground, blood oozing from the gash in his armor, she crouched down beside him.
"No! Garth! Don't die. Don't die," she pleaded. Both of her hands flooded with divine magic, pouring into his body. She wasn't sure if she could save him, but she had to try!
Garth was breathing heavily, but he tried to get back up.
"Stay down!" she commanded.
"I'm fine," he wheezed. "It's just a scratch. He knocked the wind out of me is all."
The draugr advanced again, bloody axe in hand. Still, Robyn wouldn't stop trying to heal her brother. The monster raised his weapon high over head, ready to deal the final blow. Garth, however, had just managed to get enough feeling in his arms that he was able to grab his axe.
He leapt to his feet, knocking his sister away and catching the axe's handle against his own. "That was a dirty trick with that ice," he growled at the mummy. "I thought you Nords were all about honor."
The hollow eyes of the mummy stared into his as it opened its mouth as if to speak. "Fus…"
"What?" Garth barely managed to get out.
"Ro Dah!"
A concussive blast sent the warrior flying so hard that when he hit the stone wall it cracked. He gave a groan, as Robyn once again rushed to his side. "Still okay?" she asked.
"Will you just burn the thing?" he snapped. "Damn."
"Jeez. Sorry for being concerned," she huffed.
Raising her hand at the monster, he in turn released a blast of ice at her. Her flames collided with the ice, stopping it dead in its tracks.
"And they call me a ditz. Everyone knows fire beats ice." Adding her second hand to the first, she intensified the blaze, quickly overtaking the mummy and bathing him in fire. It let out a shriek as it began to crumble into dust. Soon, it lay there, with nothing but its helmet and axe left over.
The two siblings rose to their feet. As they stood over the pile of ash, Garth picked up the creature's axe. The edge was sharp, but otherwise unimpressive. The helmet, however, was much nicer than the leather Imperial one.
Tossing away the old head piece, he replaced it with the new horned one. His sister, however, had moved to a chest that rested beside the coffin. Opening it up, she let out a low 'ooooh'.
"What? What did you find?"
"Check it out," she grinned, turning to face him. "An enchanted sword, some shiny gemstones, and whatever this thingy is." She held up the old stone tablet for her brother to see. It was a different script than the wall, but looked a bit like Nordish.
"Weird. Maybe it's worth something. We can check it out when we get to Winterhold. I'm sure the mages know something about it."
Robyn frowned. "So you're still going to try to leave…?" she asked.
"Yes...what would make you think that plan's changed?"
His sister bit her lip, looking down at her feet. "It's just...I thought you were having fun. You've been so excited today, I just thought…"
"This isn't a game," he chastised. "The only reason we're here is to get the stupid claw so we can go home. This isn't some silly fairytale, Robyn. This is real life and real danger. Honestly, only an idiot would have fun doing this."
With that, he brushed past her, taking the axe and heading for the exit. His sister sighed before following after him, head hung low in disappointment.
Just as Garth opened the door to the Riverwood Trader, Camilla pounced on him, slathering his face with kisses. "My love! My darling! My everything! I'm so glad that you're safe and unharmed. You won't believe what happened while you were away. That cad Faendal came to the shop, and he told me that he wrote the letter. Can you believe that?"
"He did write the letter," Robyn growled. "We told you that."
But as typical, Camilla ignored the younger girl completely. "Did you find the claw?" Lucan asked excitedly. "Please tell me you found it."
"Safe and sound," Garth told him, breaking away from the clingy woman and setting it on the counter. "Now for our agreement."
"Right, right. Listen, I really appreciate what you've done for us. I swear, I'll never forget it. Here's your septims as promised. If you need anything, please, just let me know. You'll be doing us a great service."
The older sibling scooped up the coins and shook his head. "No, but thank you. It was a pleasure doing business. Farewell, Camilla, Lucan." He nodded to each one, moving for the door, but the shop owner called after him.
"Wait."
"Something wrong?" Robyn asked.
"Yeah. There's been talk going around the town," Lucan said. "They say that Helgen was destroyed by a dragon." The siblings exchanged glances that spoke more than if they'd said the words. "So it's true then."
"Afraid so," the younger one replied. "He flew off past the mountains though."
"If that's the case, then I have another favor to ask of you. Riverwood is a small city, so we don't have guards or the like that patrol the roads. If there is a dragon about, then we need help. I know you're off to get a carriage ride to who knows where, so you'll be stopping by Whiterun anyway. While you're there, can you report this dragon to the Jarl?"
"That shouldn't be too much of a problem," Garth agreed. "Consider it done, Lucan. Good luck."
"Stay safe, my friend," he called after the pair as Camilla came rushing out of the shop.
"No, my sweet Garth! Please don't abandon me so soon! I'm so very frightened. What if the dragon swoops down and swallows me up?"
The older brother turned back to her before jerking her thumb at the elf who was now sitting on the porch of the tavern moping. "This guy is the one who wrote the letter," he stated. "And honestly, you're not really my type. Nice meeting you, though."
Camilla was stunned silent. Robyn turned back to stick her tongue out at her.
When they'd left the city limits, they once again found themselves in the woods. "Man, that woman was crazy," Garth sighed.
Robyn was surprised by his declaration. "Really? I thought you were really enjoying yourself with how she fawned all over you. It certainly seemed like it."
"While the prospect of a blowjob does sound appealing, I've learned to never stick my dick in crazy. Besides, there are already two guys fighting over her. Thanks, but I'd like to not be part of some sort of crazy love triangle."
It wasn't long before they emerged from the woods, finding themselves on a hill overlooking farmland. In the distance was the walled city of Winterhold. That's when Robyn saw a giant in one of the fields, stomping its feet and swinging a massive club.
"Garth! Look, those people are in danger!" she cried. "We have to help them."
"Are you nuts?" he replied. "I'm not tangling with a giant."
"Fine! Then I will!"
He swore under his breath as she took off. It seemed he wouldn't get to have very much in the way of rest. As they approached, the giant continued to bellow his anger.
"Hey you bully! Stop right there!" Robyn demanded, firing bolts of electricity at him.
The giant, which was distracted by the other group of warriors let out a roar, and wheeled on Robyn. She continued to assail him with her magic, but her mana was dwindling quickly. He was just too strong!
"Robyn, look out!" Garth shouted. The giant swung his massive club, but Garth jumped in front of Robyn, shield raised just in time. With a loud crack, he was hurled against the small stone wall that surrounded the farm. "God, why does that keep happening to me today?" he complained. "Oh yeah, because my sister is an idiot."
While Garth drew his sword, the other warriors managed to slice the tendons in his legs, driving the giant to his knees. Better yet, with his back turned to the older brother, it gave him the perfect opening.
Garth put one foot on the giant's back, jumping into the air. The giant gave a grunt of confusion, looking upward. The older sibling's sword sank straight through his eye, straight into his brain.
When Garth ripped the sword from its fleshy sheathe, the giant shuddered before collapsing with a heavy thud. His chest rising and falling, he shook the blood from his blade as the warriors suddenly flocked around him.
"That was impressive!" the redguard woman declared.
"Indeed. You've got quite the arm," another said, this one with dark hair, dressed in bulky armor.
That's when he felt a hand on his shoulder. When he turned to look, his eyes found the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life. The red-headed beauty gave him a grin that sent his heart racing for an entirely different reason. "You know, you'd make an excellent shield-brother," she said.
To be continued...