A/N: In order for proper 'racial' balance, I had to throw in the other races as well.
It adds more life to the story so why not? They aren't part of the main group but will appear from time to time.
Skyrim Adventures
Chapter 7
Furballs
It hardly seems to be an appropriate time for anything with this group. He stroked his furred chin as he mused at how this little band of mismatched, over powered people seem to get things done while still having problems trying to stay together. It wasn't as though they couldn't work together, rather it was their individual personalities that made this little group all the more interesting.
"So, M'Kuir, any news on latest Dragon sightings?"
Sigfrid asked, poking the camp fire with a stick to stoke the flames.
"Not at this moment, my friend."
He replied coolly. Sigfrid Nibelung, the newest Harbinger of the Companions. Not many know of the Companion's Inner circle being made up of Werewolves but he knew that the Harbinger had things under control. He is, after all, a control freak.
"Don't go poking around for bad news when we don't need it."
Thayran muttered, peering over her large grimoire to glare at the Harbinger. Thayran, the Archmage of the College of Winterhold. Her short stature being the result of some failed experiment that made her revert back to her younger self and she had stayed that way for the many years up to now. No doubt the envy of many women around Tamriel. However to the Archmage it was merely a limitation on her own power and her fuse was just as short as she was.
"Eh? Did you say something you little furball?"
She glared at him with one of her gloves igniting in flames.
"N-no! Not at all!"
He quickly said, making the mage narrow her eyes at him while putting away her flaming hand.
"Ha ha ha! Serves you right for pissing her off! Well, it just takes the focus off me being the target practice all the time."
Kevex laughed, leaning back on the fallen log he used as a back support. Kevex, the newest Guild master of the Thieves Guild. It wasn't a large secret that he, Bryjolf and Karliah were also Nightingales. Shadow Agents sworn to protect their guardian deity, the daedric Prince Nocturnal. Though their identities were not a secret, it was still not known the extent of their abilities as Nightingales, nor was it known how they were chosen or what their duties were suppose to entail as the three never seem to ever go to the Twilight Sepulcher where Nocturnal's shrine was. What sort of guardians of a daedric prince were they if they never went to protect the shrine in the first place?
"You're still going to pay for the damage you did to my alchemic set."
Thayran muttered, snapping her fingers and setting Kevex's hair on fire.
"Ah! My hair! Again!"
As the dark Elf began running around again, a usual scene for this band, he turned his eyes to the Assassin, who was sleeping soundly on top one of the lower brunches of a nearby tree. At this point the Assassin would usually do something to the thief that would make him fall into the ground. Alexia, the Dark Listener of the Dark Brotherhood. Silent, deadly and shrouded in mystery. Not many know just how the leader of the legendary Assassins looked like under her hood as she constantly kept her face hidden as much as possible. This group of 'merry' comrades had probably seen her without her hood and mask before but he could not say the same for himself. She rarely revealed herself to others and usually when she did, that person wouldn't live long. But other than that, she was a rather easy going person, contrary to what people may think of the Assassins of her order. Okay, so she is an extremely oddity in that category, but her skills are unrivalled, that much he was certain of.
"... Has she been sleeping all day up in that tree?"
He asked the others.
"Hm? Oh, yeah. She finished some contract the night before and came back in the morning all tired and covered in mud."
Thayran muttered, scribbling down some notes in her book.
"Mud? Did she fail her contract? How rare."
He mused, stroking his furred chin once more.
"Nah, she probably didn't fail. She just fell into a mud pond on her way back."
The mage replied.
"Ah, the usual."
"Yup, the usual."
He was sure that the Assassin simply fell asleep on her way back and slipped off her horse. It wasn't like the Listener to simply fall off her horse even when she was asleep on horseback, but it had happened before. Not everyone was perfect.
"Huh? Aren't you M'Kuir?"
A young sweet voice made him turn. Stepping into the small clearing of the camp site were two individuals. An Elf unlike any elf he knew of, and a Nord clad in full iron armour.
"Ah, what a sweet sight to see you once more, my fair maiden, lady Sylvian."
He got up and gave a little bow to her as she walked up to him. Without warning, she gave him a rather tight hug.
"Ah! This fur! It's so soft to touch!"
She squealed, nearly giving him a death choke if it weren't for the Nord who pulled her off him, shaking his head to her actions.
"Aww, but it's so nice to touch!"
She sulked, still having her hungry eyes on him. Or his fur, whichever it was. He sighed, having gotten some breathing room at last. Her death grip was painful each time she saw him but he did not really mind. He was proud of his fur, after all.
"Ahem, s-so, where have the two of you gone? Scouting, I presume?"
He asked, changing the subject. The Elf nodded her head as she sat down by the fire. This Elf, if one were to call her that, was unlike any race he had seen in Tamriel, and he had seen a whole lot of races in his travels. Her young, soft and smooth features complimented her well shaped figure that was outlined by her thin travelling clothes that hugged onto her skin tightly. She had a presence of such tranquillity about her that nothing else seemed to matter. But while she may look like she came directly from the Divines themselves, her behaviour was... somewhat odd. Her understanding of Tamriel was limited at best but he guessed it was mainly due to her recent arrival on the continent that resulted in her not knowing some basic customs. Like wearing undergarments. Did her people really choose not to wear them?
"There were some ruins up ahead and I wanted to make sure there wasn't any form of danger coming out of it to attack us in the middle of the night. Tonight will be a peaceful one."
She replied, reaching over to her pouch and grabbing out a small wooden flute that she probably carved. She placed the flute to her lips and closed her eyes as she slowly played a tune. The song she played was a soft, peaceful song yet held a strange sense of sadness to it. All in the camp stopped their activities to listen to her song. The peaceful tranquillity washed over them, sedating their anxieties and soothing their pains. Even the sleeping Assassin, Alexia, seemed to be awake to listen in. Indeed, this elf's presence and ability was a complete mystery. Her prowess with a bow was unrivalled and her dexterity in handling her own twin thin swords was nothing to laugh about. As he leaned back in his position on the forest floor, listening to the song, his mind wondered to the reason why she had come to the continent. She would not say exactly what, but merely claimed to be searching for something. Or someone.
"How much further, M'Kuir?"
Sigfrid asked him, to which he turned around, seeing how the rest of the group were all following behind him in an organized line, all shielding themselves from the strong harsh winds of the mountain tops. He pulled down the scarf that covered his face, letting the cold air frost his breath.
"Not much further, my friends."
He replied, heaving his backpack up for better support.
"Just how accurate is your information?"
Kevex asked out loudly, making him curl the sides of his mouth slightly up.
"As accurate as you would like it, my friend. You've trusted my information for all of your heists, so why doubt them now?"
Kevex wanted to say something back but stopped himself. Satisfied, he smiled and pulled the cloth back over his mouth. The cold air wasn't good for his nose. They trekked up the mountain path till they reached a giant complex carved into the mountain.
"Now that's something you don't see everyday."
Thayran muttered.
"You don't see much of anything carved into mountain tops anyway."
Kevex replied smugly whilst reaching into his coin pouch and grabbing a few coins, grudgingly handing them to Alexia, who happily pocketed the gold.
"Well then, so stop wasting time and head inside."
Sigfrid said, taking the lead to the entrance. As for him, he would most rather stay near the back at this point in time. The kind of fights in store for them inside would be best suited for the professionals. He could hold his own if he wanted to, but why waste effort when you can let others do the work for you?
"... What are you really planning, M'Kuir?"
Thayran asked, standing behind him.
"Hm? Whatever do you mean?"
He asked innocently, but she did not buy it.
"... Telling us of this hidden Temple of a Dragon Priest and even leading us to it. You're after something in there, aren't you?"
As expected of the Archmage, she was sharp.
"... Fine, we'll find out at the end anyway."
She muttered, walking ahead of him.
"... Yes... we will find out at the end."
It wasn't long after the group entered the temple that it became apparent to them that this temple was home to no ordinary draugr. Armed with elaborate armour and weapons, the draugr seemed to be well trained, even if they were simply undead husks of former men. Tougher, stronger and well armed. These sorts of combinations were usually a sign of something very powerful within.
"The draugr get tougher the further we head in."
Sigfrid said, pulling out his two handed axe from the corpse of a fallen enemy.
"Well, that is to be expected. But they don't seem to be carrying anything of value."
Kevex replied, squatting down next to one of the draugr bodies and became searching it for loot.
"They're dead warriors, Kevex, not some merchant dressed up in fancy armour."
Sigfrid shot back, unhappy with the way the thief was treating the dead but did not say anything on that matter.
"These are ceremonial armour. With these patterns I would say that they were some form of honour guard."
Thayran muttered, studying the bodies.
"Honour guard? For who?"
Sylvian dared to ask while she pulled out an arrow from a corpse but noticed that the arrow tip was broken so she tossed it away.
"Most likely a dragon priest. And a very powerful one at that. These symbols would represent the ancient Dragon they worshipped. However with these other set of symbols, it would contradict the theory that they were serving a mere dragon priest-"
Thayran went on ranting about more things that did not really register with the rest of the group so they merely ignored her for that moment, though maybe not Sylvian as the elf seemed to take a keen interest in listening.
"Hey, M'Kuir, aren't you here for something as well?"
He looked up at the call of his name. Kevex was done looting the corpses and now looking through the pots and burial urns.
"... What makes you say that?"
He asked.
"I may not be as smart as Thayran, but I know a catch when I see one."
The thief replied, tossing out the dirt that was inside an urn only to find two pieces of gold. Well, he did not expect his goals for this expedition to go completely unnoticed forever. This group was, after all, the strongest band of adventurers Skyrim would ever see. The leaders of all major factions in one place? Travelling together? To not mention the legendary Dragonborn and an Elf of unknown origins and strength.
"Hmm... Well, there is something I heard about this place so I was hoping to find out more about it."
He admitted.
"By 'something' you mean 'something of value', am I right?"
Kevex smirked, to which he merely smiled back politely.
"It is of value, but not in the manner in which you are familiar with."
"Hmm... So that means that there is something that is either important, or powerful."
This thief is sharp. Like he said before, he may not be smart but he is sharp. He expected no less from the Master of the Thieves Guild.
"You got me there, my elvish friend."
He sighed, raising his hands in defeat. Kevex smiled and nodded.
"So, mind telling us what exactly is it you're looking for?"
By now Alexia and Sigfrid had joined in on this conversation, stepping forward to surround him. They did not look all too happy.
"I guess I will indulge you. A few weeks back, I perchance upon an ancient scroll. On it detailed the location to this very location. I do not know what exactly is in here but the scroll did point to something of great magical power and importance to the Dragons."
"Dragons? Not Dragon priests?"
Sigfrid asked, to which he nodded.
"Yes, to the Dragons themselves. I have no idea what is it that is kept hidden in these ruins but I plan to find out. And since your little group is considered Skyrim's foremost experts on Dragons, I figured it would be best to get you all into this expedition as well."
The three who stood around him looked to one another, before nodding.
"Alright, since this is about Dragons, we can deal with it. But why didn't you tell us about it before?"
"I assumed that your quest for the World Eater would overshadow any other small detail. Besides, I did say that I am uncertain on what sort artefact, if any, are in here. It may have been robbed centuries back and I would not know for certain."
He admitted.
"Well, it's not like we would completely ignore it, since it is linked to the Dragons. Anyway, how 'leader' here would most likely take on your strange request. He's that sort of person anyway."
Sigfrid glanced over to the Dragonborn's direction. He followed the Harbinger's gaze for the moment before smiling.
"Yes... I see now that I was wrong to conceal my motives. For that, I apologise."
He tipped his head low for a while as a gesture. The Harbinger for the Companions sighed as they got something out of the way.
"Well, now that that's done, let's hurry up and carry on- Kevex... are you seriously planning on bringing along so many items?"
The group fought their way through the draugr infested ruins as they headed further in. The temple seemed to be built deep into the mountains and it went much further than what the others expected.
"Just how deep does this place go?"
Kevex wondered out loud as he knelt down to inspect the floor before the group. He traced his finger along the tile before pressing it down. The corridor before the group suddenly had giant axes swinging from the ceilings.
"Did you have to trigger the trap?"
Thayran asked, annoyed by his actions.
"The last few times I outlined the location of a trap, our dumb muscle brain here still manages to activate them. Might as well trip them now so that everyone is aware of what may happen."
Kevex merely replied, getting up to his feet. He looked at Sylvian and nodded in her direction. The elf, seeing how it was her turn, stepped to the front of the group and drew her bow. Taking an arrow from her quiver, she notched it and drew it. She aimed it straight down the corridor of swinging axes and it did not even take her a second to release the shot. The arrow flew straight and true, flying through the corridor, flying pass the axes just as they swung by harmlessly. The arrow flew clear of the trap and hit a lever at the other end. The arrow flipped the lever and with a loud click, the trap was disarmed.
"Phew, as expected of an elite ranger."
Kevex whistled with a smile. Sylvian smiled while keeping her bow.
"It's nothing. But you would think that they would keep the lever for disarming traps in a less conspicuous place."
The elf replied, walking over the disabled trap and casually walked down the corridor.
"I'm more confused by what you did. Seriously, can you really disable a trap just like that with an arrow? Those levers are stone! Not wooden crates or barrels, stone!"
Thayran said, having a slight existential crisis.
"I think your existence, being a half mix of two races and ending up as a three quarter mer is something that needs more believing."
Sigfrid muttered off handedly. Thayran glared at him, raising a finger and touching his armour, sending a small amount of electricity into the Harbinger.
"Ow! What was that for? !"
"For something extremely unnecessary coming out of your mouth. Besides, if you're on about having existences being in question, shouldn't our tourist be in questions as well."
Thayran pointed to the elven ranger who was cluelessly walking ahead of the group, looking at the traps in a somewhat inquisitive manner.
"Well... I can't deny that."
The group continued onwards through the ruins until they reached a pair of large doors at the end of a great hall.
"Mechanism after mechanism."
Sigfrid sighed, inspecting the strange depressions in the large stone tablet that was set up before the locked doors.
"What I don't understand is why do ancient Nords have such elaborate locking mechanisms to ensure the security of their valuables and the most the Jarls of today can do is put one guard in front of a locked door. I mean, where is the security in that? Talk about degeneration of a species."
Thayran muttered.
"Not everyone can live behind a whole bunch of magic barriers like yourself. Besides, makes my job easier."
Kevex smirked. Thayran shot a glare at the thief, before pointing a finger at the dark elf. An icicle formed and flew past the elf's head, grazing his ear.
"OW! Wh-WHAT WAS THAT FOR? !"
"Stop your whining and get the keys for this damn lock out already."
Thayran snapped, making Kevex flinch slightly. Thayran was extremely scary when mad.
"W-what makes you think I have it?"
"You've been looking through every corpse and urn since we got here. You would have stumbled upon the keys by now."
Sigfrid added, making Kevex feel rather insulted that even the Harbinger was thinking the same as the mage.
"Fine fine. I'll take a look."
He sighed, dropping the large bag he carried on his back onto the group. The bag hit the ground with a loud thud and some metal rattling from within the bag. The thief started to look through his bag but as time flew by, it was obvious that this was going to take quite some time.
"..."
Alexia, the silent Assassin, walked over and grabbed onto the thief's bag, hefting it up into the air and turned it upside down, emptying everything in the bag onto the floor.
"HEY! WHAT IN THE NAME OF OBLIVION DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? ! AH! MY STUFF!"
As Kevex was crying over his spilt goods, Alexia looked around and spotted a small glittering stone. She walked over and knelt down, picking up the stone and stood back up. She noticed that Sigfrid, Thayran and even their leader had done the same thing, each picking up a stone that coloured differently.
"Well, that was fast enough."
Sigfrid said.
"This guy takes too much time to sort out his 'valuables'."
Thayran snorted.
"If you're done with insulting me, can you help me put my things back? After all you have all found your 'keys', right?"
Kevex narrowed his eyes at the rest of the group.
"No."
"No."
"..."
"..."
Were the four replies of the said culprits.
"AREN'T YOU GUYS BEING TOO HARSH ON ME? !"
"I'll help you."
Sylvian said, beginning to pick up things. Being silent till now, he decided to help out as well.
"Well, can't have you dragging the rest of us down because of your whining, can we?"
He said, helping to picking up the dropped goods.
"Although I'm thankful for your help, can't you help without adding another insult, M'Kuir?"
"I am merely admitting the truth."
He said with a slight smile. While the master thief was acting all gloomy and sulking in one corner, the rest of the group huddled around the stone tablet to inspect it on how to figure out the puzzle of the locks.
"Hmm... according to the writings on the stone, it is... hmm?"
Thayran seemed puzzled by what was shown on the stone tablet.
"What is it?"
Sigfrid asked.
"It has some sort of poem... what is it with you Nords and poems?"
"Makes it sounds grand and majestic?"
"You're not even sure yourself?"
"Do I look like an ancient Nord?"
"You're a Nord."
"MODERN NORD."
While Sigfrid and Thayran were arguing, Sylvian took a closer look at the tablet. After a few minutes of studying it, she looked over to Alexia.
"Alexia can I have a look at your stone?"
The elf asked. Alexia quickly nodded and handed to her the stone. The assassin always did hold a soft spot for the foreign elf. A little on the weird side sort of soft spot. Sylvian looked at the stone and back to the tablet. Without hesitation, she placed the stone into one of the depressions on the tablet. The stone fit in snugly and suddenly a weird contraption activated some claw like devices that held onto the stone in its place and the stone itself started to glow.
"Wha- Sylvian, how did you do that?"
Thayran asked, now out of her argument and focused on the new development of things.
"I simply placed the stone in its place."
She elf answered.
"'In its place'... But if you placed it wrongly, a trap could trigger itself. How did you know where to put it? Can you read the poem?"
Thayran asked a how bunch of questions but Sylvian merely shook her head.
"No, I can't read it let alone understand it. I just..."
"Just?"
"... Just felt like it."
The group fell into silence at the elf's answer.
"... Just.. felt like it? What sort of thing is that? ! I can't accept such unscientific methods!"
Thayran snapped.
"'Unscientific'? This coming from the archmage of the college, seems rather unusual."
He smirked though his words were not loud enough to be heard by anyone.
"Like it or not, the fact is that Sylvian knows the answer. I'll entrust this to her."
Sigfrid said, handing the elf the stone he held onto. The leader of the group did the same. All eyes looked to Thayran, who was extremely reluctant at first, but relented in the end.
"Fine! Do whatever you want!"
The mage snapped, shoving the stone in Sylvian's hands.
"I have a feeling that if we entrusted Thayran to do this, we would all end up dead."
Sigfrid said, seeing as how the mage was storming off in a rather violent manner.
"Well, whatever, she'll recover. Sylvian, after you."
The foreign elf nodded and walked over to the stone tablet. She looked at the tablet carefully once more and then to the stones in her hands before she slotted them into the different depressions. Like before, the stone reacted and locked the stones into place. As all four stones were in place and started to glow, the sounds of giant gears turning rumbled throughout the hall as the giant doors before them slowly opened.
"Well... that was... expected?"
He mused.
"No point waiting around, let's go in."
Sigfrid said, taking the lead to enter through the doors.
"Eh? Aren't you all going to make sure you have enough supplies? Or maybe ensure that your healing potions are in a place where you can easily reach for them?"
He asked, somewhat perplexed by the group's sudden readiness to go. Sigfrid turned and smiled at that question.
"What are you talking about? We're always prepared for anything."
At that, he knew that he had just asked an extremely stupid question.
The group stepped through the doors and ended up in a hall larger than the previous. It was on such a scale that they could hardly see the ceiling of the hall, or make out what was at the other end.
"If I had to guess, this hall makes up approximately 60% of the entire space these ruins take up within the mountains."
Thayran said, rubbing her chin in thought as she did some mental calculations.
"That means that the ruins that we went through were only passageways to lead up to this hall?"
Sylvian asked in wonder and amazement.
"Apparently so."
The group headed deeper in the giant hall until they reached what looked to be a giant circular formation of stones on the ground. The stones were not large nor tall and there was clearly nothing in the centre of the circle formation other than lines cut out into the ground in no seemingly organized manner. All turned to Thayran for answers, who looked back at them rather insulted.
"Does it look like I have all the answers?"
She asked, raising her eyebrow. All in the group just nodded in reply.
"... Well no! I don't know what these are and even if I did, would anything I say make any difference? Look, Kevex is already touching the stones!"
Thayran pointed to where the thief was, having his hand on one of the stones. Without warning, the stones suddenly lit up, causing the lines on the ground to light up as well.
"Er... oops?"
The group stepped back as the stone formation's reactions became violent, with raw magick lashing out all over the place in the form of violent winds and lightning crackling about.
"Wh-what's going on? !"
Sigfrid demanded.
"It's... It's a large summoning spell!"
Thayran finally realized what was happening.
"Summoning? ! Why didn't you realize it earlier? !"
"Because its form is too different from the summoning spells we use now! This is ancient and extremely powerful! The only beings capable of creating use summoning arrays are the Daedra or..."
The Magick from the formation concentrated into the centre and 'melting' into a physical form, was a giant creature with a tough scaled exterior, large leather wings, an elongated head with fire spewing from his mouth.
"... Dragons."
The group scattered as the large dragon that was summoned before their eyes immediately set its sights on them. Unlike other dragons the group had faced before, this one was large and even that was an understatement. The giant reptile was almost as large as a small town and it easily dwarfed even the size of the giant hall they were in. The group wasted no time in waiting as they drew their weapons. Sigfrid took his two handed sword and charged at the beast as Thayran jumped back and gathered her magick in her hands. Kevex drew his daggers and went in for the flanks while Alexia pulled her mask up, drawing her wrist blades and disappeared from view. Sylvian pulled her hood over her head as she took her bow and notched fire arrows from her quiver. The leader of the group took out his iron shield and took on the beast head-on.
Sigfrid slashed the dragon with his sword but the hide proved too tough and the blade merely bounced off the scales. Thayran summoned a giant ball of crackling electricity, throwing it at the dragon. The electrical storm slammed into the dragon but the beast did not even flinch from the attack. Kevex tried to attack it with his daggers, ramming them at an angle to get at the points where the scales did not protect but the blades merely snapped before they could penetrate. Alexia re-appeared above the beast, bringing her wrist blades down on the beast but her blades could only penetrate slightly and she was forced to jumped away as the tail of the beast swept across where she was. Sylvian fired her arrows, aiming to strike the eyes of the dragon but the dragon was swift, unleashing a breath of fire and incinerated her arrows. The same breath of fire tried to incinerate the leader but he held his shield up to prevent himself from being caught in the flames.
"Obviously this is going to take some work."
Sigfrid muttered, jumping back.
"You think?"
Thayran retorted back sarcastically.
"My blades! These cost a fortune!"
Kevex cried.
"..."
Alexia merely looked at her own wrist blades and noted that they were now blunt at their tips.
"We will have to use better attacks."
Sylvian said, making all agree. Sigfrid used his left hand to grip his two handed sword as he reached behind and grabbed onto his two handed axe. He rarely did this and even when he did he would strained to use it too often. Dual wielding two handed weapons. Thayran jumped back further and used her foot to draw a circle in the dirt around her as she began to focus a large amount of her magick. Kevex, still bitter over the loss of his beloved blades, reached behind and took out a whole set of throwing knives. Alexia pressed a small catch on her leather gauntlets, releasing the blunt wrist blades and taking out replacement from holders strapped to her thighs and fitted them into her leather gauntlets. She then reached behind her for her pouch and pulled out a small bottle of poison, drenching her wrist blades in the deadly solution. Sylvian took out a second quiver and strapped it around her waist. The leader of the group... did the same as before.
"... Well, it's not like he isn't good at what he's doing."
The group attacked once more. Sigfrid swung both of his weapons at the dragon and this time the weapons managed to cut through the hide. Thayran slammed her hands onto the ground, causing the ground beneath the dragon to crack and having giant ice spikes shoot out from underneath, piercing the dragon and pinning it in place. Kevex attached explosive bottles to his throwing knives and threw it at the dragon, causing explosions that weakened the beast. Alexia went in quickly, taking advantage of the wounds caused by the attacks by others and threw her blades into them, letting the poison seep into the flesh of the dragon. Sylvian stabbed multiple arrows into the ground before her and drew arrows and firing them in great numbers and at incredible speeds, her arrows hitting vital areas like the eyes and open wounds. The dragon roared out in pain, breathing fire everywhere in its anguish.
"Time to finish it!"
Sigfrid threw his weapons aside as he transformed into his werewolf form. Thayran unclipped her grimoire and let it float before her as torrents of magicka encircled her. Kevex raised his hand, letting a dark black mist envelope him and transform his armour into his Nightingale armour. Alexia whispered a few phrases and summoned a spectral being in the form of hooded figure holding a scythe that bowed before her and disappeared into a light blue glow that encircled her blades. Sylvian put aside her bow and raised her hand high into the air, whispering words of immense power in a language foreign to all. A bright light shone above her and in her hand was a giant bow made out of light, far larger than something someone would normally carry. She pulled back the bow string and an arrow if light appeared already notched in place.
The leader lowered his shield as he took a deep breath. Sigfrid slashed at the dragon with his claws and sunk his teeth into the hide. Thayran unleashed a giant maelstrom of lightning, ice spikes and fire meteors above the beast. Kevex summoned a dark mist that strangled the dragon and suffocated it. Alexia raised her blades high as an image of a grim reaper appeared behind her, slashing down at the dragon. Sylvian released her arrow of light from her ballista sized bow, the arrow piercing through the dragon's body easily, and finally the leader himself unleashed his true power.
"FUS RO DAH!"
With the dragon's body slowly crumbled away into ashes, the group came back together and noticed that at the other end of the giant hall stood a large piece of stone with strange symbols carved into them and a few chests laid out before the stone piece.
"Gold!"
Kevex shouted in excitement, running straight for the chests without waiting for the others.
"Hmm... So I was right."
Thayran said, walking up to the stone pieces to read the symbols.
"Right about what?"
Sylvian asked.
"These ruins wasn't meant to be a temple for a Dragon Priest. It was a temple for the Dragons. The dragon we just fought was the one being worshipped. His name is slight faded out so I can't read it."
"Why would a Dragon have a temple built in his honour? And why was it so different from the others?"
Sigfrid wondered.
"Well, apparently this Dragon sought power through other realms and using his power, he would traverse different dimensions. While the Dragon could traverse other dimensions freely, he needed humans or mer to anchor his existence back in this realm, so his servants would always be by the portal when he went to other realms. Seems, like Alduin found out about it and did not like how this Dragon was getting stronger so he destroyed the temple, killed all of the followers and ensured that the portal back could never be opened."
Thayran explained.
"But Kevex managed to open it again."
Sylvian pointed out.
"Yes, well, magic seals have a tendency to weaken over time. Kevex merely activated it and summoned the Dragon back from whatever dimension it was in."
"Way to go, Kevex."
Sigfrid muttered sourly, but the thief didn't hear it, being overly excited over the newest loot. The leader of the band joined them at this point.
"Oh? Done with your 'soul absorption'?"
Thayran asked, to which their leader only nodded.
"I see. Well, take a look at this piece. I'm sure you can find some word of power on this immense wall."
The leader nodded once more and walked to one particular section of the stone wall. To the others it seemed as though he was merely standing still but to him, it was something else.
"..."
Sylvian narrowed her eyes at the leader of the group but said nothing.
"... He's done."
She said, and soon, the leader turned and walked back to the group. Thayran did notice the elf's strange change in demeanour, but did not question it.
"... ?"
Their leader looked around, as though looking for something or someone. That was when Sigfrid noticed it too.
"... Hey, where's M'Kuir?"
Stepping out of the long stone corridor and back out into the open vastness of the outside, he stroked his furred chin as he took out a scroll from his pouch.
"I'm sorry my friends, but this is where our journey together ends... for now. Let's see now.."
He unravelled the scroll and looked over its contents.
"Hmm... yes... I see now... Looks like we'll all be busy real soon."
He smiled to himself as he kept the scroll back in his pouch.
"With the return of the World Eater, these chain of events can not be missed."
A/N: At this point I had thought about making all of the main party members into Dragonborns but that would make the leader useless.