Chapter 6:
"Excellent! You've come a long way, Shura!" Alvor praised the God Slayer as he presented him with the steel armour he had just finished forging. "You're doing pretty well for a beginner!"
"Thanks," Shura nodded, smiling a little. It had been a while since he had received any praise at all for his deeds, the ordeal with Truffle Village in Earthland not counting. "You're a good teacher."
He had decided to meet up with Hadvar's uncle, Alvor, for some tips in forging. He'd realised by now that he needed to earn some money quickly, as well as help develop more weapons for himself to use.
"Well, I think we should stop for now." Alvor said, his face becoming grim. "I... have a favour to ask of you."
Shura frowned, contemplating if he should follow the request. While he wasn't fond of doing grunt work for people, Alvor had helped him in teaching him how to forge. "Go on."
"I was sure that by now the Jarl or Whiterun will have sent some guards to reinforce Riverwood's defenses, but none have arrived." Alvor said, scowling. "I need you to go straight to the Jarl and request he sent help. Balgruuf and I share some history, if I were to ask, he wouldn't ignore it. However…".
"You can't go yourself. I understand, I'll do it," Shura agreed. "I'll leave tomorrow morning."
"Good man," Alvor thanked, patting his shoulder.
That night, Shura chose to relax rather than train as he had for the past few days with his magic and weapons. He simply sat at one of the tables in the inn and took a sip from his wine every once in a while, having gotten used to the taste. From what he could tell (he had started shamelessly eavesdropping on people, for the simple reason that he was bored), one of Faendal's (who was a Bosmar archer) old flames, an extremely beautiful redhead half-elf named Tamaria Soul-Tamer, had arrived in Riverwood as they had agreed a while back, only to find that her lover was head over heels for another woman, a human at that.
Shura didn't think of himself as a professional in the matters of the opposite sex, but even he could tell that Faendal had made a rather stupid choice. While he would admit that Camilla Valerius was quite pretty, there was absolutely no contest with the exotic Tamaria. After all, while the half-elf was a bit lewd and had some anger issues, she at least wasn't a wallflower like Camilla. The fact that Sven was also lusting after Camilla only made things worse. Shura just laughed at the entire thing, glad that he didn't have to deal with stuff like this.
Of course, his amusement died down later that night when a drunk Tamaria publically dumped Faendal before deciding that she would leave town with the only person within reach. Which just so happened to be Shura, whom she pulled and tried to crush against her chest. Thankfully, she had taken off her armour so rather than smash against steel, he found his face pleasantly squished between her bountiful breasts as she only wore what appeared to be a skimpy leather bra under her armour.
So soft, Shura mentally thought to himself, blushing madly. It took him a bit of effort to get out of her grip – partly due to his hesitance since she did not appear to mind letting him fondle her breasts which he did quite a bit of during his attempts to free himself (by accident!) – but eventually he managed it and carefully retreated to his room.
Shura sat down on the bed, recalling the experience. His face heated up to massive proportions as he remembered the soft sensations of Tamaria's breasts.
Damn, he mentally thought to himself. That was amazing. Too bad nothing like that's going to happen again.
As if to punish (or bless, really) he had just fallen asleep when his door slammed open and a drowsy Tamaria strode in, tossing pieces of her armour as she walked in, followed by her clothing, eventually reaching the bed, completely naked and climbing in on top of Shura, glomping and even rubbing against him to warm up better.
At least give me time to recover! he mentally yelled to whatever god had decided to place him in this situation. After a while of struggling to remove himself from Tamaria's surprisingly strong grip, he sighed. Screw it. He commanded the shadows nearby to close the door. He then hesitatingly placed his hands on her ass, soft yet firm to the touch. Hopefully, I'll be able to get laid, was Shura's last thought, before he drifted asleep.
XXX
Waking up to a knife at his neck was a new experience to Shura, especially since the one holding it was his bed partner, but then again, the situation before them was very misleading. Add that all that they had done together was share the bed, and things began to make more sense, especially considering that Shura's hands were still holding Tamaria's ass.
I get slammed into her breasts and get forced to sleep with her against my will. Yet the one time I ask to get laid, I get denied?! Shura mentally raged. That is bullshit!
"You have ten seconds to-" the red-haired beauty began to threaten, before Shura placed a finger against her lips. Surprisingly, she didn't attack him for that.
"Shh, let me enjoy the mental picture for a moment," Shura said, inspecting her scene of her naked body. After a while, he nodded. "Okay, image enjoyed. Now. You were drunk, barged into my room, got into the bed on top of me and refused to let go." Shura removed his fingers. "Now, while I'm not complaining, you have a knife pressed against my neck. You should consider yourself lucky that you didn't wake up as a bloody stain on the floor next to my bed."
"Ugh…!" she groaned as she pulled the dagger away before pushed off him, setting in a standing position straddling him.
"... I'm liking where this is going. Please, don't stop," Shura said in a flat tone, enjoying the bounce of her large breasts, or that her left one had a gemmed piercing through her nipple.
"How do I know it's what you say it is?" Tamaria narrowed her eyes at him, showing that - hung over or not - she was not letting her guard down entirely.
"If I wanted to do anything to you, I would've done it while you were asleep and vulnerable," Shura explained, making Tamaria slowly nod at the fact laid out. "Now, seeing that I'm not going to get laid, I can get rid of that hangover for you."
Tamaria eventually got off, Shura using his Healing Magic to get rid of her hangover. She sighed in relief.
"Thanks," she said. "So, how else did I embarrass myself last night?" She made no move to get dressed and merely watched as Shura put on his steel armour, which he had already placed Runes on it to keep it sturdy.
"Well, you dumped that Faendal guy and shouted that you would be leaving town with me," Shura absently replied. He then paused to give her a suspicious look. "How did you know I'm leaving today, anyway?"
"I didn't," Tamaria commented, rubbing her forehead. She had a grimace on her face. "I probably didn't even hear what was coming out of my mouth. It tends to happen when I drink too much cheap booze."
"So, what are you going to do?" Shura asked as he raised an eyebrow in mild curiosity.
"I'm coming with you, of course!" Tamaria declared happily. "I won't go back on my word! I said I'm leaving, so damn well I'll leave! No point of staying here if that fool is lusting after that human girl."
"Joy, another half-breed," Shura sarcastically muttered.
"Yeah." Tamaria frowned, finally truly focusing on him properly. "You feel… well, not like an elf… not as a Daedra either… just what are you?"
"Complicated," Shura replied. "Also, I'm on a quest to save the world."
"Really?" Tamaria asked with obvious disbelief.
"Really," Shura nodded. "Apparently, a random deity decided he should make me Dragonborn to clean up his mess. Oh, and I'm from another world." Shura didn't need to hide anything from her, feeling that she could be trusted. Plus, it was unlikely that she'd believe him anyways.
"… You know, I'm still leaving with you regardless of what fancy stories you tell me," Tamaria told him flatly.
Shura sighed. "You sure? I work well alone."
"I'll stick with you for a while. You tell good stories, at least," Tamaria decided. "Plus..." She smirked. "You're a decent bed warmer."
"Fine. Just remember to hold your own. Plus, I hope you know Skyrim better than I do," Shura finally said, relenting. It wasn't like he had any problem coming with her. And that had nothing to do with the fact that she was currently naked. ... Nope, not at all.
XXX
As Shura had suspected, travelling with Tamaria was entertaining to say the least. Sure, she still maintained her seductive yet snarky rude behaviour, but it was something easy to get used to. Plus she was a fountain of information about both Skyrim and the rest of Nirn as well, including the Thalmor high elves, whom she apparently held a great dislike for, something that she wouldn't tell him yet.
Shura smiled a little. It was very different travelling with a companion, rather than being alone. It was... nice in a way. At least he didn't have to worry about Nifrit interfering.
It only took them a day to reach Whiterun, and even then it was more due to some interference along the way in the form of a number of a group of Companions fighting a Giant, which ended when a well-aimed arrow from Shura (who had managed to practice his archery) pierced the creature's eye and brain, killing it within moments. Apparently the leader of the group, a beautiful red-brown haired woman wearing war paint named Aela the Huntress, found his actions both cowardly – because he chose to attack from a distance while they were distracting the giant – but praiseworthy, due to his perfect aim, and suggested that with that kind of skill he could join the Companions.
Shura was slightly conflicted. On the one hand, the Companions were both respected and skilled. On the other, he would eventually have to turn into a werewolf, and he wasn't planning on dealing with anymore curses.
Both him and Tamaria moved out of range, discussing whether he should join. "So, do you plan on joining?" Tamaria asked as soon as they were out hearing range of the Companions.
"I don't know," Shura said, contemplating the choice.
Suddenly, Tamaria looked nervous, actual fear across her face. "You know, there are some rumours about them..."
"Is it the fact that they're werewolves?" Shura questioned, seeing her head snap towards him.
"What?" she hissed in shock.
"It's true," Shura nodded. "But I don't plan on joining them. I have my own plans to enact, and I'd rather not deal with with learning to partner up with some unknown group. Besides, I've got enough curses to deal with."
"What, being an furry animal not appealing to you?" Tamaria asked, partly teasing and also curious.
"I can already turn into an animal. A flying lizard," Shura clarified. Seeing her confused look, he elaborated. "There's this magic in my world called Take-Over Magic. In simple terms, you can take a soul of a sentient being and temporarily become them."
"Think I could do it?" she asked bluntly.
"I don't know." Shura admitted. "On the one hand, it might be restricted to those of my world. But it could be possible." He shrugged. "I can look into it, I have the instructions for the process somewhere in my head. We can see if you can get a soul and we can go from there."
"Great! Now pick up the pace, we're close!" she pointed at the walls surrounding the city.
Soon enough, they were passing through the city gates after the two had discretely snuck inside past two guards, who were rather reluctant to allow them entry. Apparently, word of Helgen's destruction had indeed arrived, but nothing about the dragon so far.
Unfortunately, as it was already nighttime when they arrived at the Jarl's palace, Dragonsreach, so gaining entrance would be useless if the Jarl was already sleeping so they were turned away and told they could try again in the morning. As such, they retired for the night at the local inn, The Bannered Mare, where Shura wasted no time renting himself a room even before getting some dinner. Unsurprisingly (he just had a funny feeling that it'd happen again) , by the time Shura had even ordered, Tamaria was already downing her second bottle of mead. Though he noticed it was not as potent as the one she had been drinking in Riverwood. Deciding to not stick around to see what mess she would be causing this time, he retired to his room early.
Again, (un)fortunately, having gotten used to the pathetic locks that the Riverwood inn had, Shura forgot to lock the door and not an hour after going to sleep he woke up to the sound of it opening to allow entrance to a tipsy Tamaria Soul-Tamer who closed and locked the door behind he before proceeding to undress.
"Is this going to happen often?" Shura asked as she pulled the sheets.
"Oh, you're awake." She blinked in surprise before giving him a grin. "Why, you don't want me in your bed?" She crawled onto the bed, proceeding to get on top of him again, hands trailing towards his boxers.
"If this is happening," Shura muttered, grabbing her hand, "you need to know a few. One, this is my first time, so don't expect an amazing experience. And two..." Shura flipped Tamaria on her back, staring down at her lustfully, "I'm on top." With that, Shura claimed her lips in a quick, rough motion.
*LEMON WARNING*
Tamaria quickly reciprocated the kiss, arms wrapping around his body. The two continued their actions, small moans coming from each other, mostly from Shura. He disconnected, making a beeline for Tamaria's breasts. He placed his palms on them, squeezing them gently.
"Wow, you really are a virgin," Tamaria bluntly commented, making Shura look up at her. "I'm not made of glass. Be rougher. If you're going to be too weak-willed, I'll go somewhere else, and- AH!" She moaned near the end, as Shura removed his hands and used his mouth, catching a nipple into his mouth. Glaring up at the woman, he bit down on her nipple, hard. "AH! That's it!" Tamaria moaned, holding his head against her breasts.
Shura removed her hands and pushed his head forward, his face smothered in the amount of boob flesh. He licked, sucked and bit on each part of her breasts, making sure not to leave any part out. Tamaria kept on releasing breathy moans and pants, apparently liking. "Yes! That's it! Rougher, rougher!"
Shura removed himself from the heavenly tit flesh and bit down on one of her breasts, leaving bite marks on her skin. He then leaned back, quickly removing his boxers and revealing his dick. The organ sprung out, a full seven inches pointing in Tamaria's direction. It was quite veiny, and the head was slightly red at the amount of blood flowing through it.
He placed his cock near the entrance of her pussy. Grabbing her hips, he angled himself gently. Then - without warning - he slammed himself, deep into her vagina. "Oooh," Shura moaned, his cock feeling like it was enveloped in a glove... that was several sizes too small.
Tamaria was of a similar fashion. "Ooooooh," she moaned loudly, feeling the force Shura used. "T-That's it! Fuck me!"
"With pleasure," Shura grinned, a lustful expression on his face. He then reared his hips back, the tip of his dick the only part that was still inside her pussy. He then slammed back into her, both of their hips meeting. Shura gritted his teeth, repeating the action several times.
"Yes," she moaned. Her hips thrusted in tandem with his. "Yes, yes, yes, yes! Harder! Faster!" Her pussy was squeezing him as he moved, feeling like an incredibly warm, moist tunnel that he didn't want to leave. Shura moaned loudly, the sensations incredible. Sweat shined their bodies as the two fucked.
The half-Etherious leaned forward, kissing Tamaria roughly as they continued to thrust their hips together, loud slapping sounds echoing across the room. The two moaned inside each other's mouths, tongues slobbering against each other. The two separated, Shura kissing her neck, doing his best to give her pleasure.
"Oh, baby," Tamaria moaned, her tongue hanging out of her mouth. Shura mewled, taking her two breasts in his hands and squeezing them almost painfully, the softness driving him crazy. He growled, eyes alight with lust as he continued his actions, thrusting rapidly into her and playing with her large breasts. He kissed and sucked on them as he toyed with them, enjoying the sounds that the half-elf was making.
"Use me! Fuck me!" Tamaria screamed, Shura doing just that. He started to savagely thrust into her, getting an idea. He grabbed her neck and squeezed slightly, making it hard for her to breath. For some reason, the sight of her like this spurred something in Shura, making his thrusts faster, his features darkening. His other hand grabbed her thigh and squeezed it tightly, marking it with bruises.
"So... tight," Shura moaned, the bed creeking and shaking rapidly in response to their fucking. His hips crashed into hers with furious succession. Shura pushed himself down onto her, breasts squished against his muscular torso. His balls smacked against her pussy as he furiously thrusted into her, addicted at the feel of her tight caverns. Of her skin pressed against his, and especially at the sight of her pleasured face.
"Yes, that's it!" Tamaria shouted. "Fuck me, Shura!" Her lower body shook with the power of the thrusts Shura gave, a grunt following each one. His balls tightened as his eyes widened. "Tamaria, I-I'm gonna-"
"Do it!" she yelled. "Inside!"
Grunting and groaning, Shura roared as he gave one final thrust, cumming inside her sore pussy. After the release, Tamaria followed, her own cum leaking out of her pussy and mixing with his own. The two panted harshly as they stayed connected, Shura falling on top of his partner. He kissed her, the half-elf reciprocating the action. After they separated, they were silent, enjoying the sensations. After a few minutes, Tamaria looked at Shura, grinning. "Want to go again?"
Grinning, Shura nodded. And so the two continued their sexual dance, wrecking the room in the process as they did so.
*END LEMON*
XXX
The next morning, Shura awoke to a most pleasurable sensation. Slowly opening his eyes and glancing along his body, his eyes settled on the sight of Tamaria's head bobbing up and down on his crotch, his morning wood disappearing between her ruby red lips. Noticing his gaze, she almost let him out of her mouth, keeping just the head in and using her tongue to tease it, a taunting look in her eyes.
Shura's eyes narrowed and he growled before his hands snapped and grabbed the sides of her head and pushed it down, forcing her to take more and more of his dick into her mouth and throat. Holding her there for a second, he then pulled her head up and then down again, effectively beginning the process of fucking her face.
Looking in Tamaria's eyes, he knew that she was anything but opposed to his actions. It had not taken him long the previous night to find out that while she was indeed a forceful and very sexual being, she also preferred being dominated by her partner. As such, he was not in the least surprised that when he pulled out to let her breathe properly. Rather than focus on regaining her breath, her priority was to begin smothering his dick with her large breasts, rubbing her nipples along his length to provide further stimulation for herself, leading her to orgasm a bit before Shura finally erupted, spraying her face and breasts with a few white streams of cum, which she quickly gathered and devoured greedily.
"T-That... was... amazing," Shura panted harshly, eyes almost rolling into the back of his head at the mind-blowing sex he had experienced last night.
"Good," Tamaria nodded, smirking. Her breasts bounced as she looked at him, Shura looking at the bite marks all over them. "Because there's more where that came from. But we have a job to do, remember?"
Reluctantly, Shura got himself dressed, staring at Tamaria's bare ass as she changed. Eventually, the two cleaned and bathed themselves, followed by checking out and heading straight for Dragonsreach to meet the Jarl. Along the way, Shura had a large grin on his face, which increased in size once he saw Tamaria limp a bit as she walked.
Thankfully, this time they were allowed entry, though it appeared that the Jarl was busy arguing with one of his advisors from the look of it. It took only a few words from the man's, Proventus Avenicci's, mouth for Shura to instantly dislike him. He was a power-hungry spokesperson, who wouldn't hesitate to stab someone in the back, if only to benefit himself and his goals.
"Halt!" a female Dunmer commanded once Shura and Tamaria got within ten feet of the Jarl's throne. "The Jarl is busy. What business do you have with him?" she asked, eying them - especially Tamaria - suspiciously.
"I bring word of the attack on Helgen from Alvor of Riverwood," Shura spoke up instantly.
"The blacksmith?" the Dunmer questioned, seeming to relax slightly. "Very well, the Jarl will want to see you," she said, before quickly moving to the Jarl's side and informing him of the new arrivals.
"What is this? You bring news from Alvor?" Jarl Balgruuf the Greater enquired. His eyes focusing on Shura as he stepped forwards. "About Helgen?"
"About the dragon attack on Helgen, yes," Shura corrected. "The Imperial soldiers had captured a man named Ulfric Stormcloak, and were holding an execution for him and the other captured rebels. A black dragon flew into Helgen and attacked, burning down almost everything. I'm pretty sure that General Tullius and a few of his soldiers had escaped, most likely on their way to Solitude if not there already. Ulfric most likely escaped."
"I see… so that was what happened…," Balgruuf sighed, before turning to glare at his advisor. "Well, Proventus? Shall we wait until Riverwood is ashes as well before we do something?" he asked sarcastically.
"W-We s-should send guards at once, my Jarl!" the whimpering politician instantly replied.
"Go arrange it," the Jarl ordered and Proventus left. He sighed, shaking his head.
"Jarl Balgruuf, while sending guards to Riverwood is all well and good, you should prepare for a possible attack on Whiterun as well. After all, the dragon could simply fly over Riverwood and come here. And it's definitely a bigger target then Riverwood," Shura suggested.
"Yes... Yes, you have a point." Balgruuf mused, stroking his chin. "Any suggestions?"
"Foot soldiers will be useless unless the dragon is on ground. Archers could be very effective. Though, dragon scales will be very tough to pierce," Shura suggested, thinking about the situation in his mind.
"Indeed…," the Jarl muttered in agreement, eyeing the God Slayer speculatively, before turning towards the Dunmer woman. "Irileth, please arrange to have our best archers to begin standing guard on the walls. And for the other guards to begin training their skill with the bow. Our friend here is right; our swords will not reach the dragon."
"By your will, it shall be done, my Jarl," Irileth responded. She bowed before swiftly leaving.
"As for you, you have my thanks, both for the warning and for the wisdom you bring." Balgruuf smiled, signaling to a guard who brought a few pieces of steel armour, and from the glow on them they were enchanted. "Please accept this as reward for your efforts."
"Thank you, Jarl Balgruuf," Shura thanked, before accepting the armour and storing it in his backpack. Noticing the surprise of the Jarl at the large pieces of armour disappearing in such a small container, he explained, "A bit of magic I learnt back home."
"Oh, you're knowledgeable in magic then?" Balgruuf asked, eyes lighting up. "Perhaps you would be interested in doing a few errands for me and my Court Wizard? We could use someone of your skills."
Shura frowned, wondering if he should take the offer. Well, he had nothing better to do now, so he might as well. "Very well, I have no plans right now so a few errands would not hurt," he shrugged.
"Good, good. Come with me," Balgruuf nodded as he stood up from his throne and led the two to a room connected to the entry hall. "Farengar, I found someone to help you with your dragon research."
Farengar was a hooded man, whose face was hard to discern from his cloak. "Really? He does not look like much. Pretty young too," the hooded mage commented as he gave Shura a one-over before his eyes moved to Tamaria, narrowing suspiciously. However, he held his tongue.
"He was able to escape from the dragon attack on Helgen, so he's certainly capable. Plus, he has knowledge of magic; that must count for something in your book, right?" Balgruuf argued.
"Very well, he'll do," Farengar sighed, and with that the Jarl left to return to his business.
"So, what's this errand you need us for? The Jarl said something about dragon research?" Shura spoke up.
"Yes, yes, I need you to go pick up a stone tablet from Bleak Falls Barrow. It's likely in the final chamber," Farengar explained.
"So we'll just have to fight your way through an army of Draugr," Shura concluded, shoulders slumping. "Fantastic."
"Oh, you already know about that?" Farengar asked, blinking.
"Yes, but thanks for the warning," Tamaria spat, glaring.
"My apologies, but at least you know of what you are to face ahead," Farengar said, unapologetic, before turning away.
"Actually," Shura said, making the mage look at him. "Before we leave, I'd like to take a look at your magic."
"Hm, I do have a few things for sale, and not just books," Farengar mused.
"Show me," Shura asked. After a who;e. after emptying the mage's entire stock, Shura was leading Tamaria out of Dragonsreach.
"Did you really need to buy all that asshole's junk?" Tamaria complained.
"Yes," Shura answered, inspecting the potion ingredients, spell books and other enchanted objects in his backpack. "The guy's a complete dick, but he did have good stuff. Besides..." Reaching into his backpack, he brought out multiple gold coins (septims, he mentally corrected) that he showed to Tamaria. "I managed to swipe a bit of money from him in addition, almost his entire profit. A win-win, if you ask me."
Tamaria grinned. "I knew there was a reason I stuck with you."
"I thought it was because of sex," Shura replied jokingly.
"That too," the half-elf stated, her grin widening.
In no time at all - considering they were both now riding horses - the two of them reached the mountain in which Bleak Falls Barros was dug within. Though, to their annoyance, they had to part from their horses after ascending said mountain up to a certain point. It was not the it was snow, nor the poor quality of road at fault, but rather the numerous animals, mainly wolves with the occasional bear, that attacked them. And while both he and Tamaria had good aim with both their spells and their arrows, the fact was unless they were willing to set the whole mountain on fire, they could not keep away all the packs of predators from their horses. As such, after leaving them enough food and water stored in his Requip space, they had tied the horses to a tree and continued on their way.
Their advance slowed, both from having to travel on their own feet and the winds that seemed unwilling to let them progress further. By night time they had reached the Barrows, also taking out a small group of bandits along the way.
Shura stabbed his sword through the throat of one of the attacking bandits, titling his head to the side to avoid the arrow Tamaria shot, which pierced the head of another. "The leaders of this group should be inside. That's likely where the stone tablet is."
"As well as their gold," Tamaria added with a grin.
Shura smiled as well at that. "That too." Pulling out his bow and arrow, he quickly sniped some look-outs that got too nosy, making them fall of their advantage place. With that, they were able to step in.
Sensing the surrounding shadows, Shura quickly found the remaining bandits and - more importantly - the few hundred undead that were either asleep or already wandering the lower levels of the Barrow.
He signalled to Tamaria to deal with certain targets, while he went after others, the bandit leader among them. Setting the bow on his back, he drew a Steel Dagger and snuck up to the bandits, one by one, covering their mouths with one hand and slicing their throats with the other As he did this, he absorbed each of their souls, gathering information. Apparently, the bandit leader was the only exceptional one here, as he had been restless and surprised Shura. This forced the him to engage him in close combat. Despite his decent speed, the bandit leader was no match for Shura, who pulled out his Violent Fierce God Slicer (at low power, otherwise the mountain would probably split in half), cutting him from hip to neck. Shura absorbed his soul, gathering the knowledge that he had.
"That was a close one there," Tamaria teased him as she approached, having eliminated her last target just before he had engaged the leader.
Shura dismissed his magic sword, rolling his eyes. "Next time, I'll do better. I just didn't think I needed to try for some weaklings."
Smirking, she led the way down into the Barrow. A few minutes and a couple dead bandits later, they found themselves before a locked door and a lever surrounded by a puddle of dried blood. Quickly locating the Nordic puzzle columns, it took them all of a look around the room to see the correct combination carved on tablets, leaving them rather confused at how easy it was to figure it out.
"Do Nords actually find this challenging?" Tamaria asked in disbelief.
"Guess the rumours of them being hard-headed are true," Shura commented, agreeing with Tamaria. He shook his head. "Oh well, our gain, I guess."
They walked through the now open door and then down a slight of spiralling stairs, killing of a few Skewers along the way, before reaching a chamber. While there, Shura and Tamaria located the Frostbite Spider, something that creeped the half-elf out. It was near the ceiling, watching as he and Tamaria advanced into its territory – but he decided to ignore it for the moment as they approached one particular bandit that was trapped in a web at the far edge of the chamber.
"Is... is someone coming? Is that you Harknir? Bjorn? Soling?" the bandit called out. "I know I ran ahead with the claw, but I need help!"
"Claw?" Shura asked the man.
"What? Who are you? Oh, never mind. Cut me down before that thing gets us!" the bandit begged.
"Not until you tell me about this claw," Shura shot back. If the bandit was eager to find it before, then it had to be something of value.
"Help me down, and I'll show you. You won't believe the power the Nords have hidden there!" the bandit tried to tempt him.
"Uh, Shura?" Tamaria spoke up. It was then that Shura sensed the Frostbite Spider moving towards the ground.
"No. Not again. Help!" the bandit shrieked. "Get it away from me. Get it away!"
Shura simply summoned a spike of darkness, skewering the Frostbite Spider. "Now then, about that claw…" Shura smiled, as if he hadn't taken down the massive spider.
"Does it look like I can move? You have to cut me down first," the bandit protested. Shura raised an eyebrow.
"You can't simply tell me?" Shura asked, seeing the bandit gulp. Shura nodded. "Oh, I see. You were planning on keeping this claw to yourself. See, that's just something I don't like." With a simple gesture, Shura used the darkness to snap his neck as he absorbed his soul. Apparently, the Golden Claw was worth 500 septims. While not a large amount, it was still considerable.
The two continued walking, hacking and slashing at any Draugr that came upon them. These were much different than regular humans. Draugr were much more faster and stronger, but had the instincts of animals. They had no strategy, only trying to swarm them and take them down. It was that weakness that made them easy prey to Shura's and Tamaria's blades.
Tamaria managed to step on a pressure panel that managed to trigger some spikes on the walls to home in on them, about to skewer the two. Luckily, Shura quickly wrapped themselves in a cocoon of shadows, protecting them. A few traps, including pendulum blades that were easily stopped with Shura catching them and crushing them with his brute strength, followed by a few dozen Draugr later and they found themselves before the Nordic puzzle that required the Golden Claw. Setting the combination at Bear, Moth and Owl as per the instructions on the Claw, and the wall opened allowing them passage.
It was there, in the final, innermost chamber, of the crypt that Shura's power began to pulse in concert with the thrumming sounds that reached his earns only, a certain word on the Word Wall at the back of the room glowing with power as it acknowledged his approach. Remaining cautious however, he checked the other few coffins in the room and smiled grimly at the sight that only the one before the Word Wall remained active.
"Cover me," Shura quickly instructed as he drew his Steel Sword and cautiously approached the Word Wall, closing his eyes for a few moments as a wave of euphoria hit him as the knowledge of the word Fus was inscribed in his very being on top of what he had already seen and experienced from Alduin's Unrelenting Force Shout, deepening his connection to it.
Seconds later, he snapped out of it and turned his attention fully to the coffin whose lid exploded upwards once he was close enough, allowing the Draugr Overlord within to rise… only for a few blood bullets to pierce its body and splintering it, while allowing Shura to put his sword through its skull almost simultaneously, rendering the corpse just that, a corpse. It was the work of seconds to loot its possessions, which included the tablet they sought, the Dragonstone, as well as a decent amount of gold and a couple of gems.
Looking through the chest a few feet away rewarded Shura with a few spell books, some elven and Nordic armor, but most importantly a white crystal shaped roughly in a spherical shape that he immediately recognized as Meridia's Beacon.
"You have found my Beacon, mortal," a powerful female voice resounded through his mind. "Return my Beacon to me on Mount Kilkreath and you shall be rewarded."
"… Please tell me you heard that as well," Tamaria said nervously.
"If you're asking if I just heard Meridia, the Daedric Prince of Life and Lady of Infinite Energies, commanding that we return this thing to her at her Shrine on Mount Kilkreath west of Solitude… then no, I didn't hear a damn thing," Shura shot back sarcastically.
"Oh, good, for a moment I though you would be heading there and drag me with you," Tamaria deadpanned.
"Looks like Meridia hates the undead," Shura noted. "If we do a few errands for her, we may learn some magic effective against undead – which would be damn useful considering how many ancient crypts there are in Skyrim. Also, I'm not dragging you anywhere. You tagged along on your own."
"…Fine, we can go there… but let's meet up with my sister first before heading there, okay?" Tamaria sighed not even bothering to argue.
"…You have a sister?" Shura asked, surprised. Tamaria seemed too free-spirited and more of a lone wolf to seem to have a sibling.
"Yeah, Miosotis Soul-Tamer, my older sister. She's more in touch with the Divines then the Daedra, unlike me, though." Tamaria shrugged. "The only Daedra she seems to tolerate are Azura and Mephala."
"Well, we can drop by Azura's Shrine as well. Help get her favour, plus it'll help repay her," Shura replied.
"… What is it with you and Daedric Princes?" Tamaria raised an eyebrow. "Never mind. As long as it doesn't get me killed, I'm more then eager to cause some chaos and kill some idiots."
"Great, but before that we have a few things to deliver," Shura reminded her as he headed towards the exit in the back of the Barrow, the darkness parting for him.
"Then why are you going that way?" Tamaria asked.
"There's a way out this way. We won't have to go through the whole Barrow again," Shura explained as he led her and soon enough they were outside, looting a couple more chests and several burial urns on the way.
"Che, we're in the wilderness. It'll take a while to-" Tamaria began as she looked around.
"I have a suggestion," Shura offered. "Take hold of my arm. And don't let go."
"… Okay?" She gave him a confused look but followed his directions. A second later, the two disappeared in a burst of shadows. Then, she was on her hands and knees on the grass, emptying her stomach of all its contents.
Shura blinked at her, confused. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.
"What in Oblivion was that?!" Tamaria almost shrieked, somewhat regaining her bearings.
"My method of travel," Shura explained. "I can bend the shadows to allow me to teleport quite quickly to a given location. Haven't given it a name yet."
"And why, pray tell, didn't you warn me about it?" she asked angrily.
"I've never taken anyone that way before," Shura said. "You were the first one to go through apart from me."
"You didn't know what was going to happen to me?" she growled, glaring at him.
Shura scoffed. "Tamaria, I control darkness itself. I would never hurt you, so there was no harm."
"You're a bastard," Tamaria grunted, though she was somewhat calm at the explanation. "Still, that was uncomfortable!"
"You'll get used to it," Shura waved away, before he grinned. "I'm just experiencing all kinds of firsts with you. The first person I travelled with, the first person who I teleported, my first time-" She jabbed him in the ribs, making him grunt.
"Quiet," she told him, smiling a little. "Now what?"
"Now we get out gold for the Golden Claw from Lucan Valerius," Shura shrugged and began walking towards Riverwood, making Tamaria realize they were very close to the town and it was only a large boulder that was keeping it out of her line of sight.
Three hours later, they were leaving Riverwood from the other side of town, each a thousand septims richer and in much better moods. Lucan didn't even need that much convincing, as he was very grateful for the Golden Claw. Though Tamaria's skimpy attire also helped considering the looks he kept sending her.
His sister, Camilla, had been extremely thankful on her own and, after a minor argument with Tamaria where she cheered up the half-elf greatly be revealing to be in a relationship with Sven, the local bard proceeded to drag Shura away from her distracted brother and into her room to demonstrate how thankful she was for her services.
"Stop grinning," Tamaria scoffed at Shura, who still had a grin on his face, along with a red lipstick mark on his cheek and scratch marks on his back.
"Can't, still enjoying the joy of sex," Shura responded, grinning. "And I didn't even have to ask."
"Virgin," she commented, only to jump as Shura smacked her ass.
"Not what you were screaming last night," Shura commented, smirking.
As such, both of the travellers had good reasons to be in higher spirits… up until Shura reminded his companion that their horses were waiting for them halfway up the mountain, which led to another bout of teleportation. Though thankfully, Tamaria kept her lunch this time. After that, they had travelled at a relatively relaxed pace and reached Whiterun close to sunset.
They were allowed entry into Dragonsreach, however, and they quickly sought out Farengar to hand over the Dragonstone to him. Though not before Shura absorbed enough magic from it. As he had expected, Delphine was already there and try to intimidate Farengar into helping her further, however his and Tamaria's arrival put a stop to that and soon enough the court wizard to begin explaining that the Dragonstone revealed the burial places of the dragons slain in the past. This was until Irileth ordered Farengar to come speak to the Jarl, her tone indicating an emergency.
And an emergency it was. What else could one call a dragon attacking? Shura was unsure how, but he found himself traveling with Irileth and a group of soldiers to the Western Watchtower, where the dragon had attacked, to assess the situation, rescue the survivors and, if possible, slay the dragon.
"You know, before I met you my life was much quieter," Tamaria remarked, not looking troubled in the least – rather, she seemed quite excited to be able to face a dragon.
"You'll get over it," Shura smirked.
"Be quiet!" Irileth hissed angrily. "We need to focus on-"
"On that dragon right over there coming right at us," Shura blandly interrupted, pointing over her shoulder and towards the damaged Watchtower from behind which a dark bronze scaled dragon appeared, roaring in challenge at them.
"Yol - Toor - Shul!" it Shouted, unleashing a torrent of fire straight at the group of soldiers.
"Fo - Kran - Diin!" Shura Shouted in response, causing a powerful mist to occur from the elemental attacks. "Aim for the eyes and wings!" Shura yelled, Requipping Dragon Slayer and launching himself towards the dragon.
"Shadow Sable!" he yelled, darkness coating his sword as he swung upwards, unleashing an arc of dark destruction towards the dragon. The creature managed to narrowly avoid the attack, but that was a distraction. Shura burst into shadows and reappeared above the dragon, swinging Dragon Slayer down and cutting deep into the dragon's spine.
The dragon roared, a mix of pain and anger at having its blood being drawn. "Thuri du hin sil ko Sovngarde!" it snarled, trying to shake Shura off. Growling, Shura stabbed Dragon Slayer into its spine again, dragging the blade along and carving into the flesh as he ran towards the dragon's head.
"Fus - Ro - Dah!" Shura Shouted near its head, disorientating the winged creature and cracking its skull. It fell down, plummeting towards the ground. Its massive body hit, producing a shockwave that pushed everyone but Shura back, snow flying everywhere. Not being deterred, Shura raised Dragon Slayer high in the air, slicing downwards and beheading the dragon, its blood coating both the ground and the sword as it died.
Shura quickly acted, absorbing the soul of the dragon. He hissed in pain, the reeling experience of absorbing a soul with several millennia's worth of memories. Luckily, he quickly adapted, having gotten used to such a thing. The dragon soul broke into little particles, being absorbed into Shura, empowering him. The dragon's body also broke down, specifically its flesh and organs.
Shura quickly stepped forward, thrusting his hand into the dragon's fading chest, pulling out a massive beating, bloody heart. The dragon heart slowly pumped, before it died down, the blood coating Shura's hand. Discretely, Shura Requipped the heart away, saving it for later.
Finally turning his attention towards Tamaria and the Whiterun soldiers, he realized they were debating whether he was truly Dragonborn, some arguing as it being only a legend while others swearing that they just saw the real thing.
"Shura, can you Shout a little and put this to rest?" Tamaria asked in annoyance.
Shura sighed. "Fine." He turned towards a nearby boulder. "Fus!" he Shouted, blasting it a few feet away, but the demonstration was enough to convince even the disbelievers amongst them.
"Great, now let's head back to the city," Tamaria demanded. "I was already tired even before this mess, and I want to get some fucking sleep sometime tonight!"
"Sure, just give me a minute," Shura said, approaching the skeleton of the dead dragon, which still had some scales on it. It took a while, but he managed to shove the whole thing inside his Requip space, panting a little at the amount of magic needed.
"Handy," Tamaria quipped.
"Oh, I'm just getting the hang of shoving large, hard objects inside holes," Shura responded, smirking. "Big holes, small holes, tight holes, none are safe from me."
"Don't I know it!" the half-elf cackled as they headed towards the city, leaving Irileth and the Whiterun soldiers to return at their own pace.
As they entered the city a while later, however, the sky rumbled with one world: "Dovahkiin."
Shura frowned, turning his eyes towards the Throat of the World, where High Hrothgar awaited. "The hell was that?"
Think I'll stop here. Should be a good place.
Hope y'all liked the chapter, as well as the lemon. It was quick because Shura was a virgin, and I'm not going to have him go for extremely long periods of time. Though, maybe after some experience.
What else, what else... oh, yeah! An explanation!
Something I forgot to mention, the reason Shura can use magic in Skyrim with no Ethernano present is because Akatosh and Azura were the ones to gift him with magic. The Skyrim 'magic' allows Shura to use the Shouts, and in addition, his own magic.
And don't worry. When Shura goes to Edolas (which he will, by the way) he won't be able to use magic there. Laws of Skyrim and Earthland won't work there without specific outside help.
Also, just to let you all know: some y'all reviewed that the previous chapter (probably this one as well, I guess) is very similar to fg7dragon's story 'The Otsutsuki Transmigrant'. I just wanna let you know: I'm not copying his story. Hell, until someone pointed it out to me, I didn't even know that it was similar.
I already have a couple chapters written up in advance, so you may see some similarities (I had the story in my Favourites as well, before I got bored and deleted it). But I promise, I didn't copy it. I'll edit the chapters so they don't look too identical, but I'm not changing almost the entire thing. Already spent too fucking long on writing these chapters. I'm not changing the entire direction or plot. Just to calm all y'all asses down.
Anyways, hope you're enjoying the arc. I might do three, maybe four more chapters until its finished. Although, that's just an estimate. Don't know specifically how long it'll take.
Anywho, Read and Review!