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Chapter Three
The white tundra of Eastmarch had given way to a hot marsh land, full of hot springs and plenty of dust. Ren's feet had begun to ache under the weight of his pack on his shoulders, but the Dragonborn continued as if he had unlimited energy. The night before, they stayed at Gretti's house. Ren was forced to sleep in a room with the Dragonborn. Their beds were simply small cots on the wood floor, which seemed to be rotting away. Every time Ren turned in his sleep, he was awoken by the creek of the floor. The Dragonborn hardly slept at all and was gone most of the night, leaving Ren alone in a house filled with women. When morning came, the Dragonborn had come back and woken Ren up, making him pack his things and hit the road when the sun was just above the horizon. He didn't know what possessed the Dragonborn, but he decided that they were going to travel the rest of the way on foot, without stopping. The dust from the dry path was creating clouds of dirt around his feet and he shuffled along behind the Dragonborn. Ren looked up to see he had stopped, looking up at the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun, seeming to search the sky for a moment before shrugging and continuing on his way. As they moved along, small spurts of grass began to stick out of the cracks in the pebbles of the road and trees sporadically lined the trail. The Dragonborn looked up at the time several more times, causing Ren to feel more uneasy each time.
"Sir, may I ask why it is you decided to walk the rest of the way?" Ren trotted a little to catch up next to the Dragonborn. This seemed to make him smile and step a little slower.
"I enjoy the freedom of walking. We can go where ever we want. We can discover new places, fight new demons," He stretched his arms above his head and looked over at Ren who was staring at him. "Freedom, my friend." answered the Dragonborn. Ren nodded to himself and looked back down at his feet as the dust puffed around them.
"Then may I ask yet another question?" He looked up at the sky, to see if maybe he could see what the Dragonborn was seeing.
"Please, feel free. You have freedom of speech when you're with me," Ren looked back at the Dragonborn who was also looking at the sky yet again.
"Why do you keep doing that?" Ren questioned.
"Keep doing what?" The Dragonborn's tone was full of confusion.
"Why do you keep looking up at the sk-"Before he could finish, the Dragonborn covered his mouth and pushed him against a rock that was off the path a little ways.
"Did you hear that?" He whispers, his lips by Ren's ear. Ren shook his head, eyes wide in fear. What had he heard? A wolf? A bear? A giant? He shivered at the thought. Just then, a large shadow glided over them. The Dragonborn pulled out his bow, moving his hand from Ren's mouth and crouching behind the stone. Ren followed behind him, wondering if he should ready a spell. What in the world was that thing?
"I look at the sky to find things like this," The shadow slid over them again and the Dragonborn jumped out from behind the rock, knocking an arrow and pulling it back, aiming at the sky. Ren followed the aim of the arrow and froze in fear. A dragon. Shaking his head, Ren shook both of his hands fire burning from each of them. He wasn't adept at Destruction spells, but he was a good enough aim to be lethal. The Dragonborn release his arrow and it went flying, hitting the huge green creature in the chest. It screamed into the air and flapped its wings, flying away only to circle back and land not far from them. Ren forgot everything for a moment, time stood still. The beast was beautiful. Its fierce nature made it look strong and foreboding, but its eyes shown intelligence and wisdom. The dragon's scales seemed to dance along his body as it snaked their way towards them, using its wings to claw at the ground. Ren snapped back into reality when he saw a light forming in the back of the dragon's throat. He rolled over the stone and tripped to the ground, fire scorching the spot Ren was only second before. Ren balled up the fire between his hands and shot as best he could at the dragon, hitting it in the side of the face, leaving a burn mark on his scales, but leaving it seemingly unscathed. Ren got up off the ground, slipping a little in the dust and running behind another rock. He shook out his hands, the flames dousing themselves. Think, Ren, think. The Dragonborn had gone missing, Ren felt he was on his own. In his mind, he ran through a list of Illusion spells that would help him, but nothing was coming to mind. His fear was winning against his wit. From the other side of the rock, he heard the dragon scream and felt the wind of its wings against the ground and watched as it took to the sky once more. As if appearing out of thin air, the Dragonborn grabbed his shoulders and shook him a little.
"You need to focus. It's just a dragon. A simple dragon. Wait until you meet its big cousin!" He yelled over a roar from the sky. His smile was wild and his eyes were bright with excitement. Ren shook his head and took a deep breath. "Be ready, he's landing again!" Ren shook his head to clear his mind and then shook out his hands, preparing his energy for a Harmony spell.
"Stand clear," Ren shouted to the Dragonborn. The wind from the dragon's wings as it landed making him fall off balance a little bit. Before he could think, he shot the spell at the dragon. The purple hued ball hit it square in the back. The dragon froze for a moment. He had done it! He had successfully cast a master level spell on something other than a damned troll! He smiled to himself in silent celebration, but before he could fully applaud himself the dragon turned its head to look at him, its irises once green were now black. Ren's smile disappeared in an instant. He saw the Dragonborn coming up from its blind side duel dagger's, but failed to notice the dragon's tail which had hit Ren in the side and sent him flying. He hit his head on a stone before blacking out completely.
When Ren came to, the Dragonborn's face was just above his, his eyes squinting at him. When Ren fully opened his eyes the Dragonborn jumped to his feet and began digging in his pack. Ren attempted to sit up, but a sharp pain in his side kept him from doing so. He could hardly manage a groan and put a hand to his side. It was soaking wet and pulled his hand back to look at it, it was drenched in a crimson color. Blood. Ren began to feel faint, but not because of the pain. The Dragonborn came back with a triangular yellow thing in his hand and his fist balled up around something else.
"Here, eat this," He handed Ren the yellow thing and Ren sniffed it.
"This is hardly the time to eat cheese," He wheezed.
"Just eat it," The Dragonborn took out a mortar and pestle from his backpack and dropped something black into the bowl.
"I don't see how cheese is going to help the situa-"
"I said eat it you idiot! Before you bleed out," He began to crush what was in the bowl.
"Enough of your games! I'm not eating your damn cheese!" He put down the mortar and pestle and took the cheese from Ren's hand. He ripped off a hunk if it, grabbed Ren by the jaw and shoved the hunk down his throat. Ren coughed and swallowed hard, managing to get the cheese down. The Dragonborn repeated this a couple more times before Ren ripped the cheese out of his hand and finished it off. Ren lay on the dusty ground, staring dizzily up into the sky. He was going to die now. He knew that. His life with The College was over. All because he was sent on a ridiculous mission with a man claiming he could absorb dragon souls. He had begun to accept his fate when he noticed the pain in his side subsiding. He placed his hand on his side and felt slightly jagged skin. When he pulled his hand back and looked, no new blood was there. He slowly sat himself up and looked at the Dragonborn, disgusted.
"What have you done?" He stared at him and then looked at his side. The skin was a smooth light grey again, but there was a bloody hole in his robes.
"I healed you," He finished grinding up whatever it was he was grinding and then handed the bowl to Ren. "Eat this."
"I'm not going to eat more of your shit," Ren crossed his arms in protest, but the Dragonborn simple grabbed his jaw and shoved the bowl to his face. Ren tried to push him away, but was unsuccessful. "Alright! I'll eat it! Damn you!" The Dragonborn sat back and handed him the bowl. Ren took it and poured the dust into his mouth. It tasted like nothing. Almost immediate after he began to feel more lively and was able to get to his feet.
"Feel better?" The Dragonborn pack everything back up into his bag and got to his feet. "You missed the epic finale when I jumped on top of him and stabbed him right through the eyes!"
"You mean to say you killed it?" Ren laughed and shook his head. "Maybe you are the Dragonborn," He laughed to himself.
"Of course I killed it. Took me less than a few minutes after he knocked you out, His face fell a little and he became more somber. "Sorry your spell didn't work."
"It was my own fault for thinking I could own the mind of a dragon," Ren laughed humorlessly at himself.
"You can. I'm sure of it. We'll just need practice," He smiled at Ren and clapped a hand on his back. Ren flinched a little, remembering the cheese he shoved down his throat.
"What was in that cheese? I've never had cheese that's done that before," Ren said, more annoyed than curious.
"Doesn't all cheese do that to you?" The Dragonborn looked at him, confused. Ren slowly shook his head. Never in his life had cheese been so powerful. It's always just been… cheese. The Dragonborn looked off into the distance as if trying to figure out the mystery of the cheese. Ren walked back to where he had lost his pack and was taken aback by what he saw. The dragon that once had the beautiful scales and the wise eyes now lay dead and was simply a yellowed skeleton. He felt inclined to gasp, but he was too in awe. The elf really was the Dragonborn after all. He had to have been. No normal mortal could have done anything close to what lay in front of him. Quickly, he picked up his bag and hurried back next to the Dragonborn who had already started down the path. Ren took one last look back at the bones. Incredible.
. . .
The fauna and flora of the Rift had Ren in a fulfilled mood. He almost felt like he was in the right place. He smiled as a young doe crossed their path.
"Just beyond that lookout is Riften," The Dragonborn seemed more tired now, less peppy than before, his eyes still constantly slipping to the sky.
"What's our game plan for Riften, then?" Ren was looking around him, enjoying the cool breeze and fresh smell of greens.
"I'm going to introduce you to the crew, then we're going to deal with the rat," Ren turned around and looked at the bright orange leaves on one of the tree, almost not hearing what the Dragonborn said. "Are you alright? You seem… Dazed."
"I've never seen such a lush forest before," He smiled and inhaled.
"You must have been around forest before, right? You've at least seen the forests around Falkreath?" The Dragonborn seemed vexed.
"The farthest I've ever gone is Whiterun," He felt the leaves of a tree as they passed. "I was left at The College when I was ten. My mother and father were poor farmers and couldn't take care of me. So, they figured The College was the safest place for a young Dark Elf to go," He looked at the Dragonborn who was staring at him intently, watching him as he talked.
"You're not mad that they left you?"
"No, its better that they did. My life would have been full of pain and starvation if I were to have stayed with them," Ren stuck his thumbs under the straps of his bag. "And I've stayed there ever since."
"You've learned a lot, though. Gotten to know many people in high up places," Ren nodded at his words. The Dragonborn was right. He had skills in nearly every magic form and was good friends with many court wizards that came to visit the college. "Ah, there she is. The keep of the Rift." Ren looked ahead of himself and saw a stone wall come into view. There was a small stabled outside of a large pair of doors. Two guards with the Riften symbol in their shields stood watch on either side of what Ren assumed was the entrance. The Dragonborn nearly sprinted to the doors, only to be stopped by the guard.
"There is a privilege tax- Oh, sorry sir. I didn't realize it was you." The guard backed away from him and stood back at his post.
"What was that about?" Ren said quietly to the Dragonborn who pushed open one of the doors.
"I own this city," Was all he said before he fully opened the doors to reveal the hidden city behind them. "Welcome to your new home, Ren." He smiled brightly at Ren, placing his hands on his hips. Ren slowly took in the city, not able to see much from where he was standing. The path was paved with sturdy cabin looking buildings on either side of him. In the distance, he could see a bridge that lead off to the right and a street that lead to the left with a few more walls and buildings beyond.
"This is Riften?" Ren raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. A Nord woman came walking up the path, smiling at the Dragonborn, pleasantly surprised to see him.
"Dragonborn! It is so good to see you! You have been gone for some time," She came over and slapped him on the shoulder. She was taller than he was and very, very blond. Her armor seemed clean and shiny, almost brand new. She hasn't seen battle in a while.
"Mjoll, it's good to see you, too," The Dragonborn hardly flinched under her hard slap. "This is my friend, Kyren." He motioned to Ren and the woman's smiled never faltered.
"Any friend of the thane is a friend of mine," She out stretched her hand and he took it. Her shake was stiff. "A pleasure."
"So tell me, what is the news of the town?" The Dragonborn crossed his arms and looked up into the sky, again. Mjoll's smile seemed to fade.
"Those damned thieves have been causing a ruckus down there. There was shouting coming from the Ratway entrance," She jabbed a finger behind her. "It just seems like more and more of these characters keep showing up, going in and out of the Ratway." The Dragonborn, and now also thane of Riften, shook his head in disbelief.
"We'll have to deal with that right away. Seems I've been gone too long and I haven't been able to keep these brigands in check," He crossed his arms over his and sighed. Mjoll agreed with him. What was he playing at? He claimed to be the leader of the Thieves Guild and now he was calling them brigands. This elf was just a twist of confusion, but Ren kept silent at his side, deciding that saying nothing was better than saying anything at all.
"Please, do, thane. It'll be the greatest help to this city," With that Mjoll bowed her head and walked off behind us, through the doors.
"What was that about?" Ren hissed to the Dragonborn.
"What was what about?" He gave him a wicked smirk. "I told you, I own this whole city."
