Much more action as promised. Enjoy!
The walk to Bleak Falls Barrow was long, wind and snow battling against her in the last part of her journey as she climbed higher into the mountains. Despite the frigid danger swirling around her, the scene had a certain frozen beauty to it. The sky was a pale blue at the horizon, and white snow clouds clustered together above her as flurries of snowflakes burdened the towering trees that dotted the ground. Fallen snow glittered, the iridescence highlighting the beauty.
Panting, Kyra struggled through thigh-high snow as her breath crystalised in front of her. Her time in Morrowind meant she was unaccustomed to the cold and although her Nord blood gave her some protection, it wasn't enough to prevent her fingers and toes from numbing.
Reaching a rise, she heaved a sigh of relief as her destination broke through the falling snow. She headed towards it, grateful that the walking part of her journey had come to an end, but a flash of movement from within the ruins had her crouching behind a snowdrift and drawing her bow in one fluid motion. Glancing over the top of it, she saw two bandits chatting with each other, almost obscured by the heavy snow - lookouts.
She crept slightly closer, taking care to find shelter behind trees until she was close enough to use her bow. Her fingers were clumsy from the cold, but she managed to draw back the arrow. She narrowed her sight, took a breath and let an arrow fly.
It flew true, whistling through the air before hitting the taller bandit with a dull thunk. He fell with a cry, and the other whirled around, drawing an axe. His face was a mask of anger. He started running towards the direction the arrow had come from, but before he could reach Kyra, she drew her bow back again and let another arrow fly. This one took him on the shoulder and he staggered before falling to the ground, axe tumbling out of his grasp.
Kyra stood warily and made her way over to him. The bandit was still alive, blood streaming sluggishly from his shoulder from between his pale fingers. His mouth worked but no words came out. Kneeling down beside him, she drew her sword and lay it on his throat. She felt no pity as she sliced it across in a smooth motion. She would never feel pity where bandits were involved.
The steps up to the Bleak Falls Barrow were slippery with snow and ice but she trod lightly. She still held her bow in her hand, but her swords, slung across her back in a V-formation, were within easy reach.
As she neared the iron door, she felt a weird sensation, as though the interior of the ruins was emitting some sort of power. She shook her head and the feeling faded as she pushed open the door and stepped into the gloom.
Silence clung to the air like silk, stifling and peaceful in equal measures. Dust hung over every surface, seemingly undisturbed, but she knew there were people, probably bandits, in the next room. She wondered how she knew that.
She crept along, her bow at the ready. Footsteps alerted her that they were close and she ducked behind an urn, spotting them not ten paces off. She killed one of them when his back was turned to her, a swift, fluid motion. The other was so preoccupied with polishing her sword that she didn't even realise her comrade was killed until he failed to answer a question. An arrow met her shortly after.
Kyra continued deeper into the ruin, staying in the shadows and picking off bandits when she came across them. Gradually, the ruin became darker as she ventured down deep into the ground. She was carefully avoiding an ancient trap when she heard a pitiful whine, the sound of a human, wavering in the air. She stayed cautious but carried on at a faster rate, readying her swords.
She entered a clearing and barely had time to register a man trapped in a tightly spun web before a shadow fell over her as a monstrous spider descended from the ceiling, all eight eyes fixed on her. It landed in front of her, and waved its legs in a sort of provocative manner. Kyra took a step back, catching her bearings before she threw herself at this new threat.
In the end, it was surprisingly easy. All it took was a few slices to the numerous legs before it was wobbling around, unable to walk, let alone attack her. A quick stab through the chest and Kyra was wiping off her swords as the spider died. Frostbite spider blood could be corrosive if it was left on too long. She remembered her mother telling her that.
She walked over to the man attached to the wall, wondering how he came to be so deep into this ruin. Without having to assess him, she knew he was full of deceit and lies. She could smell it on him.
His eyes were bloodshot and darting, and his beard was matted. Had this been any other circumstance, she would have avoided him, but perhaps he would know something about the tablet.
"Hey there! Yes you, the adventurer. You're looking for the tablet, aren't you?" She cocked her head and he must have noticed her sudden interest for he continued, talking faster as though racing to convince her of his lies and half-truths. "I know how to get to the tablet. You need a claw, a golden one. I can get it for you. You just need to cut me loose."
Kyra nodded, pretending to think. "Hmm yes. You see, I could let you down. And then you'll run away without giving me this claw and I'll have lost my chance. And what a shame that would be. Or, I could simply kill you and be done with it. But I'm in a good mood right now. You give me the claw now, and then I'll let you down. No one needs to get killed. What do you say?" She smiled pleasantly.
He swallowed visibly. "Alright, alright. Th-there's no need to be so hasty. I can't reach the claw now, my hands aren't free. J-just let me down, I promise I'll give it to you." His voice grew more and more high-pitched as he spoke, and he nodded as though that would help get his point across.
"Fine. And please don't try to fool me. You see, I really need that tablet."
She cut away the web surrounding him, stepping neatly to the side as he tumbled to the ground. She politely held out her hand for the claw, but instead of offering it to her, he breached all the unspoken laws of decorum and spat into the dirt as he swore. By the nine, I hope he doesn't kiss his mother with that mouth, Kyra thought in vague amusement. But her amusement quickly dwindled when the man, the thief, suddenly leapt to his feet and sneered at her, his face twisting. Then he started running, disappearing from sight through the doorway. His voice floated back.
"Ha! You'll never catch me! The treasure is mine! It's my precious!"
Kyra sighed. Some people just never learn. She took off after him, but slowed her pace slightly when she heard signs of a combat in front of her.
Cautiously glancing through the entrance, she saw the thief trying to fend off three draugr and failing miserably. He had no skill with his rusty dagger and roared when a particularly dead looking draugr pierced him through. The thief fell to the ground with a soft thump, the golden claw tumbling from his pocket.
She must have made some sort of sound - perhaps she was breathing too loudly - because one of the draugr swung round and roared, eyes glowing and fixed on her. She heaved another sigh as all three came charging towards her, weapons brandished high.
She ducked beneath the first swing, and jabbed out, impaling the closest one. Blocking another blow, she swung her swords in a quick succession as she spun, easily beheading one and loping off the arm of another. Its weapon clattered to the floor and the arm fell beside it a second later. The draugr just looked at her, its expression a little gormless and confused - as much as a dead face can hold expression anyway. She put it out of its misery with a quick slice and its head fell to join the arm.
She quickly picked up the golden claw from beside the thief's body, tossing it in her hands and admiring the way it glittered despite the dimness of the interior.
Wary now, she continued deeper into the crypt as she pulled out her bow. The draugr became more numourous but she hid in the shadows and picked them off one by one. Their hollow roars echoed deep under the ground. They weren't much more difficult to kill than the bandits and probably had similar intelligence, if she was completely honest with herself. She settled into a routine, the familiar motions of drawing a bow almost a comfort.
After what seemed an age filled with draugr, she finally entered a long corridor barred by a circular door at the far end. The walls were covered with intricate markings. Stepping closer, she saw they depicted ancient battles, and heroes long past. She would have loved to stay and and uncover the lost knowledge but she had a mission.
The door at the end of the corridor looked as though it was comprised of three separate parts, each with an engraving of an animal. Exactly the same as the ones on the claw. She quickly worked out how to open the door and slid each section so the markings were matched up. With a dull rumble, the door gradually slid open, a guardian moving to reveal its secrets. She stepped inside, drawing her swords.
The inside was much larger than she had expected. The interior was essentially a large stone cavern, stretching as far as the eye could see. The far distance of the cavern was hidden from view, obscured by a misty vapour that twisted and twirled in the still air. Towering stone pillars held up the ceiling, like giants holding up the sky. It was as cold as a tomb, and perhaps it was.
She edged her way inside, and the mist cleared to reveal an impressive structure that looked as though it had been carved directly into the stone. A small flight of stairs led up to an oddly shaped wall. She felt some sort of power emanating from it, similar to the power she had felt when she first opened the door into Bleak falls Barrow.
She hurried closer, feeling as though she was being pulled towards it. Heart hammering in her chest and blood pounding like drums, she climbed the stairs, but she stopped in confusion a few feet from it when she realised she was actually hearing a sort of undulating sound similar to a drum. It wasn't her thundering blood, or a bard (although she did look around to check). No, it was coming from the wall.
Frowning, she paced closer, the pulsating beat becoming louder and louder as she did. As she approached the source of sound, her vision seemed to narrow. A section of the wall seemed to be glowing so she instinctively moved towards it until the glow resolved itself to form engravings of some sort, a language. Then the words grew brighter still, almost blinding her.
Eyes shut, she clenched her teeth, but she could still see them. They were imprinted on her mind, etched into her soul. And for a second, for a split second, she understood them, truly understood what they meant and everything they embodied. But that second passed, and with it the drums gradually faded, leaving her feeling almost alone.
She slowly opened her eyes, half fearing to be blinded again but the markings were no longer glowing, leaving the whole scene with an unmistakable feel of unreality. She felt as though she had imagined it. Surely she had imagined it. In fact, she probably would have convinced herself of it had she not been able to recall the markings with perfect clarity. It felt as though they were part of her now, firmly embedded within her.
There was also the fact that she was now buzzing. Her body felt as though it was quite literally on fire, warmth flowing through her and lightening sparking inside her. It wasn't painful, it was the exact opposite. She felt euphoric, her eyesight sharp and acutely aware of her body. But as she stood there, savouring in the sensation, the feeling slowly faded from her and she was left feeling cold and sluggish.
She let out a breath and moved forwards, but as she did, a door to a tomb she had overlooked in her haste flew open and fell to the ground. Dust rose from the cracked floor. A draugr overlord slowly sat up and turned its dead gaze on her. She cursed.
Battle instincts returning to her, she unsheathed her swords and brought them down on the overlord's shoulders before it could properly climb free from its stone prison. It staggered but showed no other sign of the damage as it pulled an axe out of, well, out of somewhere.
She ducked under its swing and kicked out with her leg. The draugr stumbled and she swung her sword, blocking a blow with the other. It bit into the overlord's chest but didn't go deep - stopped by the rib cage. But she hadn't expected it to. Kicking out again, harder this time, she smashed her foot into the same knee and felt bones splinter from the force. The overlord roared as it fell to one knee, but manage to raise its axe to block her supposed finishing blow. No matter. She raised her sword again to finish it, but as she did, the overlord opened his mouth, and some sort of force leapt from his mouth and caught her unawares.
She was tossed backwards helplessly, her path ending when she hit the wall. Crumpled on the ground, she gritted her teeth and was promptly forced to roll to the side to dodge the overlord's axe. The draugr was standing, but favouring one leg.
Huh. I hadn't thought that draugr could feel pain. You know, being dead and all. Her musings were cut short when she had to dodge the axe again. Right. She has to finish this.
Leaping to her feet, she lashed out with both swords, feinting with one but driving the other forwards. The draugr backed off and she attacked in a whirlwind of slices and blows. The overlord was driven to its knees again and she drove a sword through its chest. The draugr let out a groan as it crumpled to the floor, becoming an inanimate body once more.
Chest heaving, she stretched, feeling her muscles ache. It was a good pain.
She spotted something lying next to the draugr's body. It was a rectangular piece of rock - the dragonstone, perhaps? She picked it up and examined it, but aside from some markings on one side, there was nothing to distinguish it from any other stone. Still, Farengar would have to accept it. There was nothing else that even resembled a dragonstone - whatever one of those even looked like.
So, all she needed to do now was return the tablet and find out whatever happened with the wall and the words. But first, she thought as she spotted a chest, she needed to grab any useful loot.
She snapped out of a trance and opened the chest, which was thankfully unlocked. Nestled within lay two ebony swords, both with a frost enchantment. There was also a spell book for summon bow. Perfect. They were just what she needed. She quickly read the spell book, absorbing knowledge of it, before testing out the ebony swords. They were perfectly balanced, able to respond to the slightest twitch of her hand. She was tempted to go through a few sword maneuvers to properly get a feel for them, but she had no inclination to spend any longer in this ruin. She felt unclean.
It was dusk by the time she managed to struggle outside. There was no way she was travelling during the night to Whiterun so she camped a little way off, having a surprisingly decent meal of rabbit roasted over an open fire and some berries she had managed to scavenge.
Nibbling on a berry, she thought over explanations for the weird occurrence with the word and the light. Looking at it logically didn't help her come to a conclusion, and strangely enough, neither did throwing one of her new swords at a tree in frustration. She felt guilty as soon as it left her hand but it had sunken into the tree like silk and was undamaged.
An idea struck her and she dug out the Dragonstone, holding it close to the firelight. Maybe it could give her some information.
The engravings seemed to show a map of some description, with scattered crosses at seemingly random areas. She tilted her head to the side, trying to decipher a meaning, but didn't come up with anything. And she had a feeling Farengar wouldn't want to share his secrets with her. Especially her.
Maybe Whiterun had a library. It was unlikely there would be anything useful to her there, but it was worth a try. Besides, she would have nothing better to do once she delivered the Dragonstone.
She reached Whiterun the next day, managing to keep up her good spirits. She had the tablet, two perfect swords and no more obligations to carry out. Well, aside from meeting up with Adrianne, but that wasn't really a chore.
Fervent words hurried from the mouth of the priest of Talos as she hurried towards the stairs. He fixed her with an intense stare but his following shy smile suddenly made him seem…well, less mad.
The Jarl was having a muttered conversation with Irileth as she entered. Irileth fixed her with a glare but she ignored her, instead heading to the side room where the court wizard was sure to be found.
He wasn't alone when she entered the room - there was a lightly armoured figure bent over a parchment of some description. Kyra tried to listen unobtrusively but couldn't get much information, only that they were talking about the dragons and the return of them, before Farengar noticed her.
"Oh, you didn't die then?"
Kyra closed her eyes briefly and recited through all the reasons why it would be a bad idea to attack him. Most important on her list was that she would likely die from the guards trying their best to kill her.
Sufficiently calmed, she fixed him with a glare and placed the Dragonstone down on the table with a little more force than necessary. He glared at her in return and she raised an eyebrow at him. Their little staring match would probably have continued had there not been a commotion at the door.
"Jarl Balgruuf needs to speak to you," Irileth said, addressing Farengar. "There's been a dragon sighting nearby." Farengar suddenly brightened, looking as though all his dreams had come true.
"You'd better come too," Irileth continued, speaking to Kyra now. Sure, why the hell not, she thought sarcastically. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
Seeing Irileth look at her impatiently, she nodded and hurried after her, hearing Farengar just behind. Balgruuf was waiting for them, his arms folded and face creased with worry.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice, my friends. I-" He was cut short by a guard bursting in, gasping for breath.
"I'm sorry for interruptin', my Jarl. I-I've come from the Western Watch Tower." His voice was muffled by his helmet.
"Yes soldier. What was the dragon doing when you left?"
"Nothin' much, it was just circling in the clouds, as though it was waiting for somethin' to come," the soldier gasped. His chest was heaving.
"Which direction did it come from?"
"The south. I swear, I've never seen anythin' move so fast in my life."
"Thank you soldier. Go and rest, you've certainly earned it."
The guard hurried off, still breathing heavily as Balgruuf turned to Farengar.
"I know you've always wanted to see this, but I can't allow you to go." When Farengar started to protest, he cut him off, but not unkindly. "You're simply too important to be put at risk. I'm sorry Farengar but that's my final word."
Farengar grumbled under his breath but gave in, walking from the room. It seemed as though he was already thinking of his next project.
"Irileth. Take some guards, get them down there. We need the best on this. I'll not have my town put in danger."
"Already done, my Jarl."
"Good. Now, Kyra. You have more experience than anyone else when it comes to dealing with dragons. I want you down with them on the front lines."
Kyra laughed at first, and then sobered, realising he was serious. "What? I've seen a dragon once, that doesn't mean I'm suddenly a dragon slayer. Sorry, but it just isn't going to happen."
I actually had great fun writing this chapter. It was originally half this length but I tagged a bit on the end :) See you next time!