Yes I know its been a long time, there is no excuse. I will let all my readers know that I will be leaving for a great long while January 8th to join the military. Skyrim is of course not mine.

Chapter Four

Dread arrived at Whiterun a day later, close to dusk. It had been an uneventful journey from the ruins, but he didn't mind it very much, it gave him time to think of what he would do after he delivered the tablet to Farengar.

As he pushed open the massive wooden doors of Dragonsearch he was again hit with the sheer magnitude of the keep. Dread ascended the stairs to the dining area, and moved to the area closed off for Farengar and his studies.

A woman stood leaning over a table examining something and talking to Farengar. She wore leather armor and a hood, which obscured all of her face except the lower half. From what Dread could see she looked athletic.

"Ah, I see you made it back, I knew you would. And here is the Dragonstone." Farengar stated as he took the stone tablet from Dread.

"What of my reward?" Dread asked.

"You will have to speak to the Jarl about that, or Avericci." Farengar said turning to the woman, "So your information was good after all the Dragonstone was there."

The woman looked at Dread before saying, "You went to Bleak Fall Borrow and got that? Good work."

Dread left without another word, wandering over to the Jarl to collect a possible reward. As he passed Irileth Dread heard her speak to Farengar about a dragon sighting.

"Dread, the Jarl wishes to speak to you," Irileth stated.

Dread nodded and proceeded to follow Irileth the Jarl, who was talking to one of the guards.

"So, Irileth tells me you came from the western watchtower?" Balgruuf asked

"Yes, my lord." The guard replied.

"Tell him what you told me, about the dragon." Irileth commanded.

"Uh…. That's right" the guard started, he seemed as if he couldn't believe the tale he was about to tell, "We saw it coming from the south. It was coming fast…faster than anything I've ever seen."

"What did it do? Is it attacking the watchtower?" Balgruuf asked.

"No, my lord. It was just circling overhead when I left. I never ran so fast in my life… I thought it would have come after me for sure." The man replied, a tremble in his voice.

Balgruuf laid his hand on the guards shoulder.

"Good work, son. We'll take it from here. Head down to the barracks for some food and rest. You've definitely earned it." Balgruuf said before turning to Irileth, "Irileth, you better get some guards there."

"I've already ordered my men to muster at the main gate." Irileth replied.

"Good. Don't fail me." Balgruuf said, before turning towards Dread and saying, "I want you to go with Irileth and help her with the dragon. You survived Helgen, so you have more experience than any one of us. But I haven't forgotten the service you did for me. As a token of my gratitude I have told Avenicci that you are now promitted to purchase property. And please, accept this gift from my personal armory."

Balgruuf handed over the object.

"Thank you, my lord." Dread whispered.

"That is the Hide Armor of Minor Illusion," Balgruuf stated, "I am not one for magic."

"Thank you again, my lord." Dread looked at the armor with a little apprehension as he walked away.

As Dread walked through the keep he heard a piece of conversation between two servants. He walked closer to hear what they were saying.

"-Black Sacrament." One servant said.

"But he's just a boy isn't he?" the other asked.

"Yes, but Aventus Arentino lost his mother and was orphaned, and then put with Grelog the kind. There's the motivation enough to attempt the Black Sacrament. Anyway that is just from my cousin in Windhelm." The first servant said.

Hmmm, well I should check that out after I get done with the dragon, Dread thought. Leaving the servants to their jobs Dread exited out the main door and began making his way to the main gate.

Dread arrived at the gate only to be greeted by Irileth's cold stare and a few guards trailing behind her.

"About time, we need to hurry." She said, turning on her heel and walking through the gate.

I think she likes me, Dread thought to himself sarcastically before following.

The walk to the watchtower was made in silence, at least until it came into view. The very structure seemed to be about to give way, rubble and debris surrounded the once proud tower. Smoke and some fire were the only movement that came from the tower.

"No signs of the dragon, but I bet he is still close by." Irileth observed, "it looks bad, but we still need to check for survivors, and attempt to figure out where the dragon could have gone. We need to know what we are dealing with.

The small party of guards fanned out and began searching in the rubble. Dread following behind, looking at the sky for the dragon.

"No! Get back! It's still here somewhere!" A guard from the tower shouted, "Hroki and Tor just got grabbed as they made a run for the keep!" The guard was hysterical, but Dread could tell he was telling the truth.

As if on cue the dragon let out an enormous roar. Everyone tensed waiting for the beast to show itself.

Dread saw a gigantic object split off from the side of a neighboring mountain and fly towards the group.

"Dragon! To the south!" Dread shouted while pointing.

The dragon circled above them for a moment before diving at them, spewing fire at an unlucky guard. Dread retrieved his bow and began sending arrow after arrow at the dragon, each arrow aimed at the dragon's wings. As the arrows began piercing holes in the dragon's wings, the dragon knew it would need to land soon or fear crashing to the ground.

"Watch out!" another guard shouted

Dread moved the bow to his back and began sprinting towards the dragon, the guards followed as close as they could to the sprinting elf. As Dread closed in on the dragon it unleashed a giant fireball straight at him. Dread didn't slow down or move away but instead, sprinted through it while casting a small ice spell to disintegrate the fire.

The dragon seeing his fireball destroyed by the tiny elf shouted "Fus Ro Dah"

Dread hearing the words quickly rolled out of the way. Unfortunately the blast hit a guardsman and sent him flying, end over end, into the stone tower. Bones could be heard breaking as the guard made contact with said tower. Dread leapt into the air to grab a hold of the dragon, but to no avail, as the dragon swept his wing and knocked Dread away.

Dread tumbled to the ground but soon rolled out and began sprinting to the dragon again. He arrived soon after the guards, and watched as the dragon grabbed one man in its jaws and ripped him in half. Irileth could be seen stabbing the dragons side, while the other guards were slashing away at its wings and head. Dread jumped onto the tail of the dragon and ran up its back before unsheathing his sword and stabbing the dragon between the scales, and into the back of its skull. The dragon only seemed to become more infuriated and twisted its head throwing Dread off of it once again. As Dread picked himself up once more he noticed that the sword was still stuck in the dragons scales. Dread calculated his chances of retrieving his sword, and decided against it. As much fun as it was being thrown to the ground by a pissed off dragon, he figured it would be better to not have to heal as many bruises after the fight.

Dread dodged a boulder as it came flying at him, the dragon using its tail had hit it at him. Dodging the dragon's tail as it swung back at him, Dread slid under the dragons belly, and using the same technique from the last dragon shoved his paralyzed and flaming hand into the dragon. The dragon let out a screech as its belly began to disintegrate. Dread forced his hand to become hotter, almost to the point where its glow rivaled, and began shoving his hand farther and farther into the dragon. Blood poured onto Dread, covering him completely.

Dread pushed one final time in the dragons gut, and pushed the remaining magicka he had left into his hand. Something unexpected happened next. As the final burst of flames moved to Dread's hand the overload of magicka made a medium sized explosion. It was enough to burst the dragon in two and throw blood and other things into the air. Dread fell to his back looking at his hand, it was still there. All fingers accounted for Dread let out a small, and sharp, laugh. That was until he saw the remaining guard and Irileth look at him with puzzlement and awe.

Like before the dragon began disintegrating. Everything started burning away even the blood on Dread's clothing, though the flames didn't burn the clothing itself.

Wow, I like fighting dragon's now. Less cleaning up to do afterwards, Dread thought to himself.

And like the first dragon, the fiery winds began entering Dread's chest, filling him with warmth and energy.

This continued for a few seconds and as the last of the wind entered Dread, he looked over at the survivors.

"What?" He asked as he saw the amazed faces of Irileth and the guard.

"I can't believe it! You're… Dragonborn!" the guard shouted.

"Dragonborn?" Dread asked.

"In the very old tales, Dragonborns would slay dragons and steal their power." The guard said, "That's what you did, absorbed the dragons power."

"I think you might be right." Dread whispered.

"There's only one way to know, Try to shout. It is said that only the Dragonborn can shout without training, like the dragons do." The guard said.

Dread looked at him like he was crazy, but then thought back to Bleak Falls Barrow, and decided to try the word he learned there.

"FUS!" Dread shouted, into the air.

The wave of movement left his mouth, and moved into the air before dispersing.

"By the gods, you are Dragonborn. Born with the soul of a dragon, much like old Tiber Septim himself." The guard explained.

"I've never heard of that." Dread spoke apprehensively, superstitious mumbo jumbo.

"It's not well known because there weren't any dragons back then. They're just coming back, for the first time in…. forever. But there are tales of a Dragonborn who can steal their powers, you must be one."

Irileth, who had been quiet until then, state "Here's a dead dragon, and that's something I definitely understand, as long as we know we can kill dragons we don't need a Dragonborn. Just having someone who can put down a dragon is good enough for me."

Ouch, Dread thought.

"You wouldn't understand housecarl, you ain't a Nord." The guard said.

This must have offended Irileth as she coldly replied, "I've been all across Tamriel. I've seen things just as outlandish as this. I'd advise you to trust in the strength of your sword arm over tales and legends."

Now that's cold, Dread thought to himself.

Dread could see that the guard was conflicted and angry at Irileth's complete disregard of Nordic legends.

"Do either of you know how I can get to Windhelm?" Dread asked trying to change the subject.

It seemed to have done the trick as the guards face became less red and he said "there's a carriage back at Whiterun that should be able to get you to Windhelm. But if you let me see your map I'll mark it for you."

"Aren't you going to report to the Jarl Balgruuf for a reward?" Irileth asked.

"I don't need a reward; the dragon's power was more than enough." Dread replied absentmindedly.

Dread handed over his map and watched as the guard drew a small fort shaped emblem and write the name Windhelm over it. Dread sighed a little at seeing the distance from their current location to Windhelm.

Could be worse I could be on the other side of Skyrim, Dread thought.

Dread calculated that it would take at least two days to get to Windhelm on foot.

"Do either of you know how much the trip will cost if I take the carriage?" Dread asked, while looking through his meager supply of coins.

"It shouldn't co-" the guard was interrupted by a massive burst of sound, resonating from the mountains.

"What was that?" Irileth asked.

The guard looked in awe, "That must have been the Greybeards!"

"Greybeards?" Dread asked.

"A small group of old men, who train themselves to use the shout." The guard answered, "They are located on High Hrothgar. I'm sure they would love to see you Dragonborn, here allow me to put the location on your map."

"Uh…. Ok." Dread answered.

The guard took the map again and put the location of High Hrothgar.

"So, a lot of climbing for me?" Dread asked

"No, when you arrive at the base of the Throat of the World you should see what we call the 7,000 steps, it will take you to the Greybeards." The guard said.

"Ok." Dread answered.

The Greybeards can wait I want to find the Dark Brotherhood, Dread thought.

"So long. I'm heading off," Dread announced.

"Goodbye Dragonborn may the Divines be with you." The guard answered back.

It was almost night by the time Dread arrived at Whiterun. He looked for the carriage he would use in the morning to ride to Windhelm.

After talking with the carriage driver Dread was able to attain a ride and was able to sleep in the carriage for the night.

Tomorrow, I'm going to start my search for the Dark Brotherhood, the thought made Dread cringe. He did not enjoy being in the Dark Brotherhood and pretending to worship Sithis, but after Martin died, his fame soon followed, and his loneliness grew.


Dread had been drinking too much, his thoughts were muddled. As he wondered the streets of the town.

Dread stumbled around until he came into a dark alley.

"Hey Dunmer, are you ok?" a soft voice came from behind him.

"Yer I'm ok." Came Dread's reply

"Here let me help you, do you have a place to rest?" The person asked.

"Nope, who needs sleep." Dread stuttered.

As the person grabbed Dread, stumbled a little.

"Let go of me," Dread sputtered out.

"You need help," The person turned Dread around.

"Damn, either I'm drunker than I thought or you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." Dread bellowed.

"Please be quieter," the woman, who was one of the most stunning High Elves to grace Cyrodiil

"Don't tell me what to do." Dread retorted.

"Ooo, boys what do we have here?" another voice appeared.

"Looks like, we have a drunkard, and his wench." Someone answered him.

"Hey, I'm no wench," Dread retorted in his slurred speech.

"We didn't call you one, dumbass. Anyway both of you hand over your coins." The first thief commanded.

"No, over your dead body." Dread proclaimed.

"Don't you mean your dead body?" The second thief asked.

"Something like that," Dread sputtered before erupting in laughter.

"Drine, please kill this fool." The first thief said.

Drine, was a muscular wood elf, who unsheathed a knife and began walking towards Dread.

"Do you know who you are dealing with?" Dread asked.

"Some drunk Dark Elf who doesn't hold his mead well." Drine answered.

"Yeah! Wait, no!" Dread corrected.

Drine swiped at Dread only to have his wrist caught by the drunken elf.

"Well it looks like you are in a pickle." Dread observed.

Drine tried to kick Dread, only to have his wrist bent and his own arm block the kick. Drine dropped his knife and stumbled back nursing his hurt arm.

"Oh come on, you can't even beat a drunken elf?" Dread taunted.

Drine looked up at the first thief, "Want to help?"

"No." Came the thief's reply, as he suddenly whistled.

Movement came from the back of the alleyway where Dread had come and more came from straight ahead.

"Well that's not fair." Dread pouted.

"We're thieves we don't know what fair is." The thief answered.

Now Dread and the High Elf woman were surrounded by at least eight other people, all brandishing weapons.

"We'll take your money, and then you may leave." The thief offered.

"My money is my own, go get your own." Dread replied.

"Fine I'll take it from your corpse. Men."

As the eight men surged forward Dread fumbled for the knife in his boot. Before he could retrieve it the first man was upon him, swinging with an ax. Dread fell flat narrowly dodging the fatal attack only to kick out with his leg and catch the man in the groin.

Dread giggled at that as the next man came in swinging down with a sword. Dread countered by rolling out of the way.

"You know, you guys are a lot of fun." Dread stated as he stood.

"Kill him!" The thief yelled.

Dread went for the knife in his boot again and this time got it. As soon as he stood though, he threw it. It hit the leading thief in the thigh, making him stumble and let go of his weapon, which Dread caught.

Now armed with a sword, the drunken Dread systematically slayed the remaining thieves, until the first one was the only one left.

"Please don't kill me." He pleaded.

"Why not? You were going to kill me? Why should I show you mercy?" Dread questioned.

As Dread raised his sword to end the thief he felt a hand grab his shoulder. Instead of thinking he spun away from the hand and swung his sword at the same time. Too late he registered that it was the High Elf woman from before, too late he tried to stop his sword. Her head fell to the ground followed closely by her body.

"No…." Dread whispered in dismay.


"Hey elf, you still here?" the carriage driver asked.

"Yes." Dread replied opening his eyes to the rising sun.

"And how was your night out under the stars?" he asked.

"Better than some worse than most," Dread replied nonchalantly.

"Well we better get moving, the day isn't going to wait for us." The driver declared as he jumped into his seat.

Dread sat up from his makeshift bed, "How long is the ride?"

"Oh maybe half day's ride." The man answered.

"Great." Dread whispered.

As the carriage began moving Dread looked back only once at Whiterun Keep.

Maybe, just maybe I shall see this keep again, Dread thought to himself before sitting back and looking into the sky, hoping for an answer.