Did I seriously just write this in one day? Whoa. Well, here it is. Shorter because, well... I don't know.
- I had this done yesterday. But for some reason, this chapter seemed to refuse to update. So if you got duplicate e-mails that I uploaded a new chapter, bare with me x). FanFiction has been causing a lot of issues with other authors today too -
Again, we continued another walk in complete silence, but he remained close to my side as we reached the top of the mountain.
We looked all around us in search of Paarthurnax, but he was no where to be found.
"Well that was a waste of time," He scoffed as we walked up to some sort of wall, the same writing engraved onto it as the shouts I had learned earlier.
With my fingers, I lightly followed the etching of the foreign language - of the dragon language – along the wall.
"How is it that I can speak this language, but I don't understand any of it?" I murmered to myself as I felt the ground beneath us begin to shake.
"I think we found the dragon, lass," Brynjolf said as a dragon came flying towards us, barely missing me as he landed on top of a perch on the wall.
"Greetings," Paarthurnax roared, "I've been waiting for your arrival, Dovahkiin."
I let out a breath, trying to get the words out of my mouth, "Yes, well, I was hoping you'd shed some light on what exactly it is I'm supposed to do as Dragonborn."
I heard Brynjolf come up behind me, "Can we really trust a dragon, lass?" He asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.
I shrugged his hand off as I stepped forward, "If you don't like it, then leave." I muttered, not looking back at him.
He groaned as he stayed silent behind me.
"The appearance of the Dovahkiin and The World-Eater in the same timeframe certainly is no coincidence," The dragon bellowed.
"World-Eater?"
"Yes, Alduin, The World-Eater, it is your fate to send him back into the other realm through time."
I blinked confusingly, "Through time?"
"He cannot be entirely defeated, not yet. He will return eventually, but it is your fate to vanquish him from Nirn until his time comes again."
"What if I don't want to follow my fate?" I asked.
"You can't be serious, lass…" Brynjolf muttered behind me.
"What would reason for this be, Dovahkiin?" He asked.
"I don't like knowing what my reason for living is. How did Alduin end up here in Skyrim?"
"It is believed that he was summoned to Nirn through an Elder Scroll," He paused, "But it is your decision to make, and I cannot convince you otherwise, but think twice before you make your final decision, Dovahkiin."
I took what he said into consideration, but why wouldn't I want to save Skyrim – Or all of Nirn for that matter? Although, I never chose to become Dragonborn, it shouldn't be my forced duty to clean up someone else's mess.
"I'm guessing killing him won't be as easy as I think."
"Unfortunately, you are right. There will be several steps you will have to take to defeating him, the first of which is obtaining an Elder Scroll, which will teach you the shout necessary to kill him."
"Can't I just have Arngeir teach me it?" I asked.
He let out what sounded like a sigh, "No, this shout is far beyond The Greybeards comprehension, and this shout was made by man, not dragon." He paused, reading the confusion in my eyes, "You will understand when the time comes, Dovahkiin."
"He's here now?" I asked.
"Yes, and you must decide quickly, as your time is soon approaching."
I turned to look at Brynjolf, "What do you think?"
He seemed taken aback that I was speaking to him, which admittedly, had me laughing silently to myself.
"Well I'd like to live as long as possible, lass. Isn't it obvious?"
I bit my lip as I shook my head, turning back to look at Paarthurnax.
"What are the odds of me coming out alive of all of this?" I asked.
"I am not one to make that decision, Dovahkiin. But Alduin is a powerful Dovah, who kills ruthlessly and without a second thought."
The answer was obvious, "Then I need time to think about all of this…" I muttered, looking down.
"Now hold on a minute," Brynjolf said, coming up to Paarthurnax, "You're saying she won't be coming out of this alive?"
"Again, it is not for me to decide."
"So that's a yes then," He replied.
The dragon fell silent before he turned to look at me, "If your will to follow your fate is powerful enough, then you will hopefully succeed."
"Right," Brynjolf interrupted, "We'll be on our way now, thank you," He said, grabbing on to my hand.
"Wait," I said coldly, shaking my hand away, "If it's my fate, then I'll have to consider it, Brynjolf."
He groaned as I walked up the wall, "What's this?"
"A dragon wall, you will come across dozens more as your travel across Skyrim. They will teach you the words of power for both new and old shouts, making your voice stronger. And should you choose to fulfill the prophecy as Dragonborn, the path to defeating Alduin will become more manageable than you would've originally thought."
I nodded my head as I looked up at the dragon, "Thank you for your time," I smiled.
"Should you need further guidance, I will be watching atop from Monahven. Good luck, Dovahkiin. Drem Yol Lok," He roared as he extended his wings, beating them back and forth before he took flight behind the mountain, out of sight.
"Well then, let's get going," I said as I walked past Brynjolf.
"You're actually considering sacrificing your life to 'fulfill your prophecy', lass?" He asked.
"I'm considering it, doesn't mean I'm going to fall through with it. Either way, it's a lose-lose situation for me. Defeat Alduin and I die. If I don't, then all of Nirn will perish because of my ignorance."
He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
"We need to focus on Mercer right now, let's go," I said as I continued walking past him.
The sun began to shine over the horizon as the carriage we were riding in stopped at Riften.
"I need to go have a quick talk with Vex and Delvin, I'll be right back," He explained. Knowing that I was attempting to ignore him, he didn't wait for an answer.
After half an hour, he appeared outside of the city gates.
I looked at him, baffled, "Aren't we getting Vex and Delvin to come with us to Morrowind?" I asked as he hopped back up on the carriage before the driver began moving again.
"They need to watch over The Ragged Flagon in case Mercer shows up again. Besides, I wanted us to get some one-on-one time," He winked. But I could see in his face that he was begging for forgiveness for what had happened earlier.
I rolled my eyes as he came and sat next to me, wrapping his arms around me, "I'm sorry for what I said earlier, lass," He whispered into my ear, kissing my neck.
I stayed quiet, unsure of what to say as his lips caressed my bare skin, slowly making his way to my lips, "Do you forgive me?" He asked sweetly, a sheepish smile forming across his face.
"I'll see," I muttered jokingly as he brought his lips up to mine.
"I said I'll see," I laughed, pushing him back with my hands, "Besides, we shouldn't let our emotions get in the way of the bigger issue here, right?" I said, mimicking what he had told me the night before.
He gave me a look of defeat as he slumped back into his seat, "You're no fun, lass," He muttered.
The driver stopped a mile outside of Riften, "This is as far as I can take you to Morrowind's border. You'll have to walk the rest of the way."
"Thanks a lot," I said sarcastically as Brynjolf tossed him a coin purse.
As we walked down the road, Brynjolf was explaining what our possible tactics were.
"We know he's either starting some sort of guild, or he's joining one. And if we're lucky, there'll only be one Thieves Guild in Morrowind. So we ask around without attracting too much attention to ourselves, and hopefully we'll get some leads on the bastard. Got it, lass?"
I nodded my head, "But I don't understand how he betrayed the guild exactly, other than abandoning us."
"Remember that damned book he was always reading down down at the cistern?"
I scoffed, "How could I forget?"
"Turns out he's been robbing us blind. That book was a ledger book, and he would take the time to forge the numbers in his favor, should we pick up on how much gold was going missing," He paused, his jaw tightening. "And when I headed down to The Ragged Flagon to speak to Delvin, we opened the treasury room, and it was empty. Mercer stripped it bare before he fled for the border. But he's going to pay, for everything," He said coldly, clenching his fists.
"I'm sorry, Bryn. At least we caught on to him."
"Aye, all thanks to you, lass," He grinned, "If it wasn't for you, gods know how long he would have continued cheating us like that."
I looked up at him, returning his smile as his eyes jolted to something behind me, widening with horror. "Aela!" He shouted, as he tried to push me out of whatever was coming our way. But before he could, I felt a hard, blunt force hit the back of my head as I blacked out, falling down to the ground.
Yes, I know I may have screwed up some parts with Alduin, but I wasn't planning on replaying the entire game to get it right, so I apologize :3.
Short chapter, & I just love cliff hangers. Please leave feedback/reviews, and I'll hopefully write the next chapter soon.
If you don't, then everyone's going to die... I'm. dead. serious... Maybe.