Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak

It was big wall, Ulfric decided. And special. Across it was runed glyphs of the dragon tongue. Ulfric hadn't seen any in years, but the sight of them brought up familiar memories.

They were in Bleak Falls Barrow. Jon had asked for Ulfric to accompany him and had promised him a share of the Jarl's reward. It was past time he got back to Windhelm and buying a horse would be much quickly than walking. They had ridden here, using Jon's gold from the Jarl, and he could have left but Ulfric was bound to help the brother Nord achieve his goal, and so he had accompanied him to this Talos-forsaken place. But the wall; the wall changed everything.

Jon was coming closer to it, cautiously, his hand on the hilt of his sword. 'Are those… draconic runes?'

Ulfric stepped closer, and he recognised several of them. 'Yes, my friend. What you see there is the ancient language of the dragons. While I trained with the Greybeards, they told me of walls like this in Skyrim, containing words from the draconic language. See, this one says; "Here lies The Guardian, keeper of the Dragonstone and a Force of eternal rage and darkness. It appears the stone is nearby.'

'You can read it?' Jon asked, curiously, more interested in Ulfric's display of his knowledge of the draconic language than his goal. Ulfric could tell he was impressed.

'Yes, I can read it, but I can't speak it that well.' He told Jon, answering the unsaid question. 'It is a much harder skill, to give voice to a tongue that powerful. I do have a good knowledge, and should a dragon land right here I would be able to make some kind of communication, but still… it is far from perfect.' Ulfric admitted.

'I see. These runes, they…' Jon touched one of the runes as he said this and was struck. He stepped backwards dazed. Ulfric looked at the rune; it was glowing white hot. As he looked, it spread to all of them. And then a crunch. And another. And another.

'By Talos!' He turned, to find the coffins on the walls surrounding the massive chamber were opening to reveal…

'Draugr: undead Nords. Kinsman, stay close.' The dead advanced and Ulfric drew his war axe, readying it by his side. He heard the scrape of steel; Jon had drawn his sword. Then an answering rasp, twenty times larger. The Draugr had drawn their swords.

'We need to go!' Jon shouted at Ulfric. 'Now!'

'We can take them!'

'No, there are at least twenty. And we have no position to defend from. I'll get the stone; go!' Jon grabbed the stone two feet wide, placed on a central altar and slipped it in a satchel he had brought to hold it earlier. The dead advanced and he pulled at Ulfric.

But the tightness was building in Ulfric's throat. Building, squeezing. He needed to let it go, and besides it was the only way to escape. He opened his mouth;

'Vey fin paal.' Cut my enemies. A whiplash sound cracked the air and six Draugr fell, cut deeply. Some lost arms or heads, but Ulfric sagged. His throat was blistered (a side effect of using the thu'um) and he felt tired, another effect. He raised himself up and staggered up the steps to the hidden exit Jon had been told about.

Jon himself hacked at the undead, who had been thrown off by Ulfric's display of the thu'um. He blocked the blow of one then and kicked it down the steps, into its fellows. He raced after Ulfric, who was recovering his energy and had started running for the exit.

They reached the top and stopped. A long passage ending in a sheer wall, and the Draugr were advancing. Ulfric rushed forward and started looking for the handhold; the secret switch.

'What are you doing?' Jon asked, readying his sword for the coming Draugr. Ulfric didn't answer, instead he kept looking. The Draugr were advancing, they had reached the top of the steps and they were advancing down the narrow passage.

Ulfric fumbled, found something, pulled. The door rumbled open, slowly. Ulfric pushed Jon under the widening gap and rushed out himself. The Draugr had began to crawl under the stone, but Ulfric pulled out his war axe and cut the rope that was pulling up the door on their side. It smashed down, crushing one of the Draugr's head into dusk and dead skin.

Ulfric leaned heavily against the wall, safe. Jon slumped to the ground.

'You have the stone?' Ulfric asked wearily.

'Aye. Here.' He showed him it. Ulfric barely glanced at it. 'Let's go then.' He stood up; a true Nord didn't lie down while a fellow Hold needed help, especially one that would later claim for me as High King, Ulfric reasoned, and stumbled out of the doorway.

'Now, where did we leave the horses again?'