Chapter XCI – The Light at the End

The unbearably loud sound echoing through their ears finally subsided.

And then there was…

Draft.

Fresh air.

And light.

The platform stopped moving under them and they parted slowly, uncertainly. It took a while before they opened their eyes and adjusted from the impenetrable darkness.

There were stone walls all around them, but one of them had bars made of Dwemer metal. And behind it they could finally see the snow, nature and light outside.

They were alive.

They were alive and out of that place.

They made it.

At first, they looked at each other with uncertainty, as if neither of them was sure whether they weren't actually dead.

After a second, both of them simultaneously erupted into laughter. There was so much relief, despair and disbelief in the laughter. They were uncertain on what else to do in that situation.

They both still ached all over and the supplies and all the loot they gathered were still down there, somewhere in the hands of the Falmer.

They had nothing but their arms and armor, but they had their lives.

The structure they were in had nothing inside safe for two levers. The one in the center of the platform would undoubtedly send them back to that place and to their deaths. The second one was right by the bars – surely a way to escape.

They didn't move an inch though. They couldn't.

They stayed huddled together in a close embrace, exhausted beyond belief.

Aeyrin managed to muster some of her strength to heal at the very least some of her injuries. Her slash wound was beyond her current capabilities, but at least she could prevent it from getting infected. Bishop was much more battered than wounded and he may have had some fractures. Unfortunately, she had no way to help him out much with any of it.

They needed healing. Lots of it. But they had no money, no energy to travel and on top of that no idea where they were.

Neither of them said a word – they were both aware of their predicament all too well. But they didn't have it in them to even get up and get their bearings.

They lay together, closing their eyes.

Some rest would give them strength.

"Bo, Dovahkiin. Zu'u koraav hi."

The ground rumbled as the deep loud voice startled them all awake, making them snap to attention instantly. They both stared in shock at the giant dragon maw peering at them. There was a curious look it its eyes when they roamed over the prey behind the bars.

It looked like it… smiled.

Smugly and arrogantly. As if it was taunting them.

It said that word: 'Dovahkiin' – it knew who she was!

"Horvutah vahdin, ahst dii aaz. Nid filok. Paak," the rumble shook the ground again, the tone mocking. The gloating was disturbing and even though they had no idea what it actually said, the intent was clear. Why did it assume them helpless? It knew who it was dealing with. Shouldn't this immortal being be at least a little concerned over the possibility of actual death?

Then again, none of them ever seemed to be concerned about Aeyrin before. Didn't they know how many she already killed?

Not that she felt ready to take one on now

Bishop grabbed his bow instantly, his sore muscles and bones screaming for him to stop, eliciting a loud grunt of pain from him.

It didn't matter. Like fuck he would let a dragon kill them after what they've been through in those ruins!

A mean chuckle echoed through the air as the dragon opened its maw. A fiery light formed at the back of its throat only a second later.

That sounded so disturbingly… human.

"KRII!"

SWISH

Red glow enveloped the creature as the arrow pierced right through its maw, making the dragon roar in pain.

They've done this before, even without armor, they could do it again.

Aeyrin's heart was beating wildly. She couldn't attack it with the bars in the way, but what was worse, a debilitating fear enveloped her.

What would happen when they killed it?! She almost died the last time, she could feel it. She could feel death seeping into her flesh and bones. What if she reached some sort of limit? Or what if she just couldn't take the consumption in a weakened state? She wasn't even half as broken and tired before as she was now!

Every inch of her was shaking.

The dragon recovered, opening its maw again menacingly. This time it managed to finish its attack.

"FEIM!"

Bishop and Karnwyr jumped towards one of the walls instinctively when the flames seeped rapidly through the bars inside the structure. They just barely missed them as they passed through the ethereal elf in the middle of the platform.

The heat made the leather armor stick to Bishop unpleasantly again. It was uncomfortable, but not as much as his battered body. He was honestly surprised that he was still able to move, but his fight instinct took over naturally, forcing his body on.

He quickly jumped towards the lever on the wall and pulled on it. The bars lowered instantly, giving Aeyrin the opportunity to lunge at the beast and bash its smug maw.

The dragon recoiled in pain, smashing its tail into the side of the structure. She charged at it again, but it soared suddenly and began to circle in the skies above.

Bishop left the structure, aiming at the beast, but it was too fast. It evaded every arrow with brisk and unpredictable movements.

It seemed to be circling towards the mountain above them.

They continuously followed the dragon, attacking, evading its flames or simply trying to keep it in their sight.

Was it retreating? If so, why so slowly?

It almost seemed like it was leading them somewhere.

They almost made it up the mountain when suddenly the dragons cunning intent became clear.

Soft drumming started to echo in Aeyrin's ears.

There was a Wall there!

Divines, did it actually know the effect it had on her?! That was so disturbing!

It was going to weaken her intentionally. It knew. It knew that if she was weak, she wouldn't survive. Maybe it was some sort of attempt at heroic sacrifice. Or what if its soul actually took over her body instead?

The panic was rising inside her steadily.

She started to hurry upwards, ignoring her pain and fatigue and leaving the baffled ranger some distance behind. No matter the dragon's plan, she was desperate to reach the Wall as soon as possible.

The beast picked up its pace when it noticed the success its trick had. It reached the top of the mountain before her and perched atop the Wall at the summit.

Its maw looked like it twisted into another smug grin, the loud voice rumbling through the air: "Los hi kril, Dovahkiin?"

Bishop reached the summit a little while later, aiming at the creature atop the Wall instantly. The reason for Aeyrin's hurried flight up the mountain was finally made clear to him.

She saw the arrow fly by her and hitting the dragon vaguely. She could barely hear anymore and her vision was darkening steadily. She needed to hurry. Bishop had her back.

"WULD!"

After the very confusing lightning movement she stopped right by the blindingly glowing runes and peered at the ancient words.

ZUL MEY GUT

Bishop continued to pester the dragon with his arrows, piercing its head several times. It wouldn't be able to hold out much longer at this pace and at least he was keeping it too busy from attacking Aeyrin in her trance.

Suddenly he noticed some odd movement right by her side.

There was a sarcophagus, buried under a layer of snow. It was barely visible before, but now, it was plain to see. Its lid flew off in great speed, crashing into a snow bank, as the creature from inside sprung into the air menacingly.

Fuck! It was one of the floating mage things!

Dammit, princess, snap out of it!

The draugr started to swirl its arms immediately, preparing some nasty spell. The dragon opened its maw again in the meantime, aiming at Aeyrin.

There was no time! She seemed to be regaining herself but all too slowly.

Bishop aimed at the beast's maw again. He had to choose between his targets and the dragon was simply more dangerous.

It roared in pain, but the mage already finished its casting, letting a fiery orb fly towards Aeyrin.

FUCK!

"FEIM!"

She didn't even know what happened – it was as if something let out that Shout for her. She saw flames all around her. Her skin was burning slightly, but it subsided quickly. It was likely that all she caught was the residual heat before the flames actually hit her.

Did she notice the fire out of the corner of her eye? She didn't remember that being the case. Maybe just her mind was clouded. But if not… did her body actually respond without her consciousness? She wasn't sure if that was good or bad. She hated losing control.

There was no time to ponder it though; her form was already materializing. She turned around briskly, only for her eyes to land on the ancient draugr mage with palpable shock.

Where did that come from?!

"KRII!"

The Shout left her mouth determinedly, her mace swinging into the skeletal spine instantly.

I know how to deal with your kind!

A wave of relief washed over Bishop when the spell missed Aeyrin . He didn't let up, constantly planting more and more arrows into the dragon's maw and body. It was roaring in pain constantly.

The mage crumbled to the ground after her assault and flames engulfed its body at last.

She turned her gaze upwards to the dragon perching on top of the Wall.

It was almost dead, she could tell already.

Bishop could finish it off with no trouble now. It at least gave her a minute to recover from the somewhat confusing battle and brace herself for what was to come. She retreated some distance away from the Wall, wary that when the beast would die, it would topple right onto her.

The last roar of agony finally escaped its maw and it toppled from atop the stone Wall into the snow below.

Aeyrin hurried towards Bishop instantly. The worst was yet to come.

What if she didn't make it?

Bishop let his bow drop on the ground and embraced her tightly as they both fell to their knees together. The fear in her eyes must have been plain to see.

"It's alright. You can do this. You've done this so many times before… you'll be fine," he whispered into her ear, hoping to hide the panic in his voice. Truth was, he wasn't sure if he wasn't more scared than her. What happened the last time near Solitude was… nerve-wrecking. It could happen again. Or worse…

Maybe it was just that weird dragon. But what if it wasn't? She was still wounded and exhausted.

Her hand moved frantically between their bodies and he looked down to see her fish her necklaces from under her armor, gripping them tightly as she pressed herself more firmly into his embrace.

It made him oddly happy, despite the situation.

The light enveloped her, entered her. She could feel the individual strings of it weaving inside her, surrounding her bones, her organs and squeezing them tightly. She couldn't breathe, her blood stopped flowing, her heart stopped beating. This was surely it for her. Then there was fire. She knew that her organs were being steadily burned to a crisp. She could feel the lumps of their remains in her body cavities. When there was nothing more left, smoke started to come out of those remains. She could feel it precisely, she could picture what was happening inside her so vividly. The smoke filled her insides. She started to cough wildly, heaving and struggling to breathe. She could feel the excess smoke escaping her every orifice. She was sure to suffocate.

Wait… didn't her lungs just burn? How could she be suffocating?

There was a strange jolt going through her. Her own voice echoed in her head.

The pain and the heat, they were unbearable.

But there, at the back of her mind, a gnawing feeling kept digging into her thoughts incessantly, trying to scream at her.

This isn't real! This isn't real! This isn't real!

Her skin was burning , sweat pooling under her armor.

But she forced herself to open her eyes.

She looked around, up at Bishop. It wasn't over, her insides still felt filled with smoke but now she could see – she wasn't coughing like she thought, there was no smoke coming out of her. The pain was there, but…

Was it?

He looked at her with creased brows, uncertain about what happened.

It usually took much longer for her to seem at least a little present…

"Princess?" he studied her face, looking for any hint of anything out of the ordinary.

"I-I-I'm fine…" she stammered, still uncertain of what just happened.

Did she just snap herself out of it?

A wave of euphoria washed over her. As if all the aches and the exhaustion were a long forgotten memory. They weren't and she knew they'd be back soon enough when the adrenaline from the battle would stop sustaining her energy. But at that moment…

She grabbed him almost violently by the ears, planting her mouth on his in a deep kiss. Her tongue twined with his eagerly, her teeth nipping at his lower lip every now and then.

It caught him off guard at first but he responded only a second later. His hands tangled in her hair, dipping her head backwards and biting at the exposed skin of her neck, suckling on the spot there. The low moan escaping her throat had him completely enthralled.

Fuck their battered states! He wanted her. Now.

He started to frantically fiddle with the fastenings of her armor when she started to do the same to his. They struggled with their equipment for quite a while, but the passion didn't wane one bit. They constantly interrupted each other's efforts with eager nips or kisses to every part of their already exposed skins.

Aeyrin finally managed to get the jacket of his armor off and draped his tunic over his head. There were so many dark bruises on his torso. He knew that his back was likely even worse after the assault of that massive trap. But right then, he couldn't care less.

His hardness pressed uncomfortably at the leather of his trousers and he directed her hands down to his crotch impatiently before he returned to struggling with her own armor. Why was it so hard to take off?! When he finally managed to get off the plates on her torso and thighs, she has already freed him from his confines and her hand was moving over his length eagerly.

His groans filled her ears and his hands got even more impatient as he undressed her. He quickly draped the underchain shirt over her head, followed immediately by her tunic.

The fabric of her shirt was often still clinging to her open wound though. She cried out in pain as the fabric, tore from her flesh forcefully and Bishop felt a chill go down his spine at the sound. He thought it would put a damper on their activities, but instead she gave him a half-reassuring and half-pained smile. She pushed on his torso, forcing him to sit himself down into the snow. It would hardly bother him, besides, the clothes and armor on his lower half were still mostly in place.

She turned around, her back to him as he still sat on the ground in the snow. A second later she quickly lowered the underchain as well as every bit of cloth down to her thigs.

She backed into his lap and looked over her shoulder at him with lust in her eyes. After all they've been through she wanted nothing more than to feel alive with him, right then and there, while the rush of the battle still kept them more or less oblivious to their wounds and pains.

He positioned himself eagerly to her wetness, entering her. She let out a loud moan as he filled her up fully and started to move against him instantly, her motions frantic and impatient. All she could concentrate on was the feeling of his hard cock rubbing against her walls, everything else was forgotten.

He bit into her neck as she quickened her pace, riding him. One of his hands grabbed her breast firmly, purposefully choosing the hale side of her. The other hand snaked around her waist and his fingers started to rub along her wet slit, eliciting more and more high-pitched gasps from her.

She couldn't hold back anymore – the euphoria of her previous achievement along with the feel of him all over her body won over her so soon. She cried out as the electricity of excitement shot through her and her whole body began pulsating wildly. Her legs suddenly felt weak and were unable to keep up the pace of her movements any longer.

He made up for it instantly and pressed on her back to move her on all fours. The snow started to freeze her hands right away, but she couldn't care less when he entered her again. He began ramming into her hard and fast, all too eager to reach his own peak. She let out steady moans at the sensations, overly sensitive from her release.

Fuck, the way she constantly squeezed him inside her drove him wild. He couldn't even remember that he's ever been in pain or exhausted. He just wanted to do this forever. His hand kept kneading her soft breast. He loved the feel of them so much. They were perfect, he just wanted to touch them all the time.

He slapped her across her buttcheek firmly, making her yelp out in surprise. A low groan of approval escaped her lips when he started kneading it a second later. Fuck, he loved her firm ass too. And he loved the moans she let out when things got wilder and rougher.

He told her it was always fun when the repressed feelings from a youth spent in temples bubbled up. He was really glad that he was right.

He thrusted deep inside her, feeling himself come over the edge at last. He let out a loud satisfied moan and his hands squeezed her breast and buttocks even more firmly.

She shivered against him when he filled her. Her arms threatened to buckle under her weight suddenly. Especially when his hand returned to tease her between her legs again with his cock still buried inside her, softening steadily.

She gasped and moaned frantically under his insistent ministrations, trembling and tightening around him. He slipped out of her, filling her with his fingers instead right away. He was eager to hear the sounds she made when she came again.

He spread his fingers, curling them, his thumb strumming against her other hole, mercilessly intent on sending her over the edge once more.

She cried out, her body still quivering incessantly. Jolts of pleasure coursed through her steadily, making her finally succumb.

He removed his fingers after a while, falling back to sit on the ground again, breathing heavily as the snow cooled his heated body.

She turned to him and fell into his embrace. Her face was bright red and her eyes sparkled irresistibly.

He strummed the fingers that were inside her over her lower lip with a low pleased growl. The sight of her like this was threatening to get him going again.

She enveloped her mouth over his fingers instinctively. Whatever possessed her to do that, she couldn't stop herself. She gave him a long look as she cleaned them off, slowly suckling on them. She was pretty sure she's never given anyone a lascivious look like that.

There was something strange going on with her every time she triumphed over those beasts in another way.

Not that she wasn't enjoying herself…

Overcoming the pain of absorbing the soul like that… it filled her with so much vigor.

The taste of the both of them mixed together lingered in her mouth as she slowly withdrew his hand from her.

The look in his eyes… he looked ready to devour her all over again.

"Fuck, sweetness… If this didn't kill me… nothing ever will…" he chuckled and leaned in, biting into his favorite spot on her neck again.

"We could… nhhg… we could say that about a lot of things today…" she attempted to smirk through another groan of pleasure and wrapped her hands around him. Both of them were still breathing heavily and unevenly.

"What were we doing again?" he laughed with his face still buried into her neck. He kissed her throat gently and started to stroke over her bare breasts slowly. He was pretty sure there wasn't much time left before the heat of their exertions subsided and she would be freezing again, too eager to cover herself.

"I think we were trying to survive…" she laughed along with him and rested her head against his.

"POTIONS!"

Bishop yelled out while he rifled through the dead man's bag.

Aeyrin hurried towards him as much as she could. The aches of their bodies returned all too soon after the adrenaline and excitement washed away, hitting them hard.

This was the best find he could get. Neither of them were eager to return down to the ruins for their packs and they needed to at least numb their bodies until they could get some healing.

They've looked down the mountain previously, determining their location.

The closest city was Windhelm… unfortunately. They couldn't go back there.

Aeyrin did suggest that Bishop could get healing from Jora – she wouldn't turn him down. Then at least one of them would be able to move and fight properly. But he refused – it would be much faster if they went to Sondas, even though it was in the other direction of their intended journey to Winterhold. Besides, they wouldn't have to pay him with the money they currently didn't have.

They each downed a potion, sighing out in relief. At the very least, they could now move more properly and scour the mountain for anything useful before they headed back towards Darkwater Crossing. Karnwyr has found his way back to them too at last. He didn't follow them up the mountain previously, knowing full well that he wouldn't be of any help against a dragon.

Bishop returned to rummage inside the corpse's pack by his feet while Aeyrin looked around some more. The man appeared to be an adventurer. He had the gear for it. He very likely stumbled upon the dragon by accident. Or maybe he had high hopes for slaying the creature. They could at the very least take his pack and some of his more valuable stuff to make up for whatever they lost in the ruins.

"Look what I found!" Aeyrin called out to Bishop and rushed over to him, a strange metal mask in hand. It was the only thing that didn't disintegrate from the draugr mage. There was a light tingle of magic on it, but she couldn't tell what it did without having someone more experienced examine it.

"That's one fugly face," he smirked, taking the mask from her and examining it.

She smiled, looking over the corpse by his feet. Hopefully they could get more useful things than the potions from the poor man. She dropped down to her knees and started to search the man's belongings now that Bishop was preoccupied with the strange mask.

She tried to go through everything in her pack. Thank the Eight for having the option to leave some things in Breezehome. She knew she left the more valuable or sentimental things there – like the headband from Casavir or most of her books on dragon lore.

She lost the books on Talos, sadly enough. Her beautiful cloak and her lute. And the strange potions that made one look like a ghost. The letter she composed for Master Therien was also there, but she could just write another one.

Still… it was a shame. They might be able to try and go back there, but they would definitely need a better tactic.

She looked up toward Bishop – maybe they could come up with something…

"Aaah!"

She screamed out in surprise at the expressionless metal face staring at her above the familiar black leather armor.

Bishop started to laugh immediately at her reaction, obviously pleased with the result.

"You ass! I hope it's cursed!" she chuckled and shook her head at him.

It was impressive how easy it was to lighten the mood or succumb to pleasure in his presence, when just moments ago she was sure she was going to die horribly. And so many times today… She wasn't sure if it was the despair and lingering fear that made them this susceptible to frivolousness, but it was admittedly somewhat soothing.

He took off the mask with a grin and looked around the summit a while later, as if to see whether they've left something useful or valuable there.

"Well… go on. Try it out already," he nodded at her, inclining his head towards the Wall after a bit.

"I don't know. There were actually three words there this time… It might be powerful," she bit her lip nervously. The last thing she needed now was another mishap to get her off her confidence high.

"So look them up first."

She gave him a level look. The Falmer were surely enjoying the book on dragon language right this second.

"Right… It'll be fine. Come on, we'll go far."

Bishop took Karnwyr towards the other side of the summit, watching her expectantly from the distance.

"ZUL mey gut…"

She started to Shout, but suddenly her voice got really quiet uncontrollably. What just happened? Her throat tickled oddly.

In an instant there was a sound coming from where she was looking – right by the edge of the mountain.

It was… her voice?

"HEY! SKEEVER BUTT!"

What in Oblivion?! That was her voice! Right there in the distance!

'Skeever butt'?! She never said that!

"What?!" Bishop stared with his mouth ajar, looking at her in confusion. "Did you just shout 'skeever butt' into the air?!" he started to walk back to her, snickering, his eyes still wide in bafflement.

"NO! I never said that! I did a Shout! Didn't you hear?"

"No… I heard you yell 'skeever butt'. Way over there for that matter…" he pointed towards the edge of the mountain.

"I… something weird happened. Just… go back, I'll try again."

Bishop's lips were still upturned in a disbelieving snicker while he shook his head at her: "I think I'm safe here. Go on, do it again."

She scowled at him but didn't press the issue further.

She had no idea what happened but it must have been some… magical anomaly or something.

"ZUL mey gut…"

"HEY! SLUG-BREATH!"

Her voice echoed across the mountains as she stared into the air, her mouth ajar.

She never said that!

Bishop started to roar in laughter, heaving dramatically: "Fuck! You've… You've got to be doing this on purpose! 'Slug-breath'?! Hahahaha!"

"NO! I didn't say that! I don't… I just Shout and then… this… happens," she threw up her arms in exasperation.

What was even the purpose of that?

"This is fucking priceless! It makes up insults for you! That's good. You need help with that. You only ever call me an 'ass'. You should really expand your vocabulary," he still laughed merrily.

"Well you're only ever being an ass, so that's not on me!" she chuckled at him. It was weird not being able to control the words but… it was perhaps a little funny…

"See? That was better already! It's for practice. You'll get the hang of it."

"I guess it's the answer to what were the ancient Dragonborn doing for fun…" she smiled at him while he still laughed hysterically. It was somewhat infectious.

"Do it again!" he clapped his hands together like a little boy excited to see magic for the first time.

She rolled her eyes, chuckling. Then she turned back towards the edge of the mountain.

"ZUL mey gut…"

"HEY! TROLL HUMPER!"

Bishop's laughter echoed across the mountains as he fell to the ground, clutching his stomach with his arms.

He was surely a little loopy from the potion.

"Fuck! I know, I know! Let's go back to Windhelm!" he still roared in merry laughter, barely able to explain. "You'll wear that mask thing! We'll wait until Ulfric is with his soldiers and you'll Shout this at him over and over! He'll never know where it's coming from!"

She couldn't help but laugh along with him.

Honestly, it was somewhat tempting.

"I mean… what is even the purpose of this Shout? How is it helpful?" she shook her head as Bishop slowly started to compose himself, getting off of the ground and brushing the snow from his armor.

"I don't know… It's where you're looking, not where you are. So I guess… diversion? If your enemy doesn't see you…" his voice trailed off and they both looked at each other in realization.

The plan was already forming in their minds.