Chapter 22
Between Light and Darkness
Phew! It has been a really long time with delays and the chaos I had to deal with the past couple of years. But "The Ballad of the Dragonborn Four" has a brand-spankin' new chapter, baby!
I did my best at intergrading the viking teens into this. If you guys have any suggestions for future chapters, feel free to post them with your reviews. (I am still keeping my PM box locked to keep certain people from abusing the system again.)
I also have plans for the next chapter or two as they will be focused on Renee.
Also, there's a new dragon in this chapter. She's earlier than what I initially planned, but time does that sometimes.
I do not own HTTYD nor The Elder Scrolls. Only the OCs.
Hiccup and Toothless kept close to the clouds as they flew over the Hjaalmarch hold. He flew over Morthal and kept a distance from one of the smaller mountains called Eldersblood Peak after he saw a dragon circling it. The dragon didn't see them, thankfully, but they made it a point to be careful. Hiccup also took note after he found Ustengrav from above. All they needed to do in order to pass the Greybeards' test was to find the horn in that tomb. Unfortunately, they had to wait a little while longer for that.
They had a Daedric Prince waiting for them.
While he was relieved that the Daedra he was dealing with this time was one of the more "benevolent" ones, Hiccup didn't like his luck with them. First, Clavicus Vile. Then Peryite. Now Meridia. What's next? Toothless whined as if he was reading Hiccup's thoughts, snapping the young Viking out of his mind and turning his attention to the Night Fury. Noticing the dragon's worry, Hiccup patted him on the head.
"I know, bud. I don't want to deal with Daedra, either. We just go to the shrine, deliver the beacon, and then go back to Emeralda. Simple as that."
Toothless let out a disbelieving rumble, voicing his opinion. Hiccup sighed in defeat.
"Yeah, you're right. With Daedra, nothing's ever easy."
As Hiccup was wondering about purchasing a book about the princes, the landscape below them changed from a soggy marshland to forested hills. Eyeing this, Hiccup turned his attention forward and saw Haafingar hold. From what he could see, the region was small in comparison to Whiterun and even Falkreath, though he had no clue how it was compared to The Rift where Ivarstead was. The lower areas were forested while the higher areas were mountainous. After confirming on the map, a delta known as the Karth River flowed from Skyrim and into the Sea of Ghosts, dividing Haafingar and Hjaalmarch from each other. What caught Hiccup's eyes almost immediately was a city that was nestled on a stone arch that overlooked the river and the sea, a large palace at the end of the arch.
"That must be Solitude. The home base of the Imperial Army in Skyrim." Hiccup muttered to himself, though Toothless heard him.
The dragon eyed the city warily. He did not want to go anywhere near a place where one of the two factions in the civil war was stationed. In addition, Whiterun was the hold that was friendlier to his kind of dragons despite the entire country being terrorized by them. The dragon remembered what the four riders talked about. Until they prove themselves to the jarls of each hold that Toothless, Bane, and whoever else that might join them were on the humans' side, they needed to keep their distance.
Hiccup also remembered the conversation, but looked longingly at the Sea of Ghosts.
"Somewhere out there is our archipelago, bud."
Thinking about home, Hiccup laughed at himself.
"Everyone must be worried about us, Toothless. Dad, Gobber, Fishlegs, Astrid…"
Hiccup trailed off at the mention of his betrothed. She must be worried sick about him. And no doubt tearing the archipelago apart looking for him. He missed her. He missed his home. He missed everything. How he wanted to just fly into the Sea of Ghosts and head back home.
And then there was this land beneath him and Toothless. A vast expanse bigger than any island. Bigger than any archipelago. It was a whole new world. And they only just explored a tiny bit of something bigger. The Viking wondered what the rest of Tamriel was like. Despite the tensions in the air, he wanted to see the Imperial City in Cyrodiil, the mysterious Black Marsh, all the way to even the home of the Thalmor: The Summerset Isles. He had looked at the atlas he and the others bought a while back and there were so many places he wanted to see. So many people to meet and cultures to experience. Yes, there was chaos going on right now. But still, it made Berk so much smaller in Hiccup's eyes.
And were there other dragons like Bane? Were they hiding from unwanted eyes? Was Bane's appearance a result of the larger dragons making an appearance? Would there be other kinds of dragons out in the rest of the world. There were so many questions that ran through Hiccup's mind and Bane was the tip of the iceberg. But the memory of the black dragon kept that same mind grounded. If there were more dragons like him, how could he tell who was friend and who was foe?
Remembering the beacon, Hiccup decided to looked at the map and pry his thoughts away. Homesickness and questions for another time.
"According to the map and Renee's directions, Meridia's shrine is west of Solitude, but east of a town called Dragon Bridge. We should also be careful so as not to be seen by the Thalmor Embassy."
Hiccup then examined one of Renee's notes.
"Renee said to look for a giant statue of a cloaked woman. That will be the shrine."
Understanding his rider, Toothless veered to the west, keeping himself and his rider out of sight of the people below. Considering how high they were, they were able to see much of Skyrim. From the Reach in the west to Whiterun to the south, they could see so much. There were some battles going on between the Imperial Army and the Stormcloak Rebels here and there, so both human and dragon made mental notes to stay away from those areas until things cooled down. Looking to the north of Solitude, a lone building sat at the peak above, overlooking Solitude with a menacing shadow. Hiccup's spine shivered as he figured out that was the Thalmor Embassy.
"Calm down, Hiccup. You are not going anywhere near the embassy. Just go to the shrine and go straight back to Emeralda."
Keeping that mindset, Hiccup scanned the landscape until he finally saw it. A building made of stone with a statue on top.
"Over there, bud! I see it!"
Relieved, Toothless flew towards the shrine. As they got close, Meridia's voice boomed, scaring the daylights out of the pair.
"Look at my temple, lying in ruins. So much for the consistency of mortals, their crafts, and their hearts. If they love me not, how can my love reach them?"
"Maybe not scare the crud out of people so suddenly like that?" Hiccup thought sarcastically as Toothless landed at the steps of the shrine, both catching sight of a familiar structure.
A Word Wall.
"Huh. Talk about lucky, ey, bud?" Hiccup spoke as he approached the wall.
As he stepped close, one of the words glowed.
"Let's see what this one says."
Hiccup focused his gaze on the word, allowing it to absorb into his mind. When the glow faded, the word was committed to his mind. Hearing Toothless' concerned whine, Hiccup turned around and smiled.
"It 'Grah.' We found the second word of Elementa Fury."
With that answer, Toothless relaxed as Hiccup pulled the beacon out of his saddlebag.
"Now, let's deal with this."
Holding the large gem in his hands, Hiccup walked up the steps until he was facing the statue. It was indeed a cloaked woman holding her arms up in the air. In front of the statue was a smaller statue of two figures holding hands, a large circular space between them.
"Restore to me my beacon, that I might guide you towards your destiny."
Hiccup frowned as he approached the statues.
"What exactly is my destiny these days? First, it was to be Berk's next chief. Then the study of dragons. After that, whatever the gods gave me that I have to be Dragonborn. How many 'destinies' can a guy have?" he muttered quietly as he eyed the statues.
Thankfully, Meridia didn't seem to hear him this time. Wanting to be done, Hiccup placed the crystal into the circular space. Upon contact, the crystal glowed as a beam of light shot from it into the ground. The beacon rose up until it reached the larger statue's hands.
Suddenly, Hiccup felt himself being pulled upwards into the sky.
"WH-WHAT THE-?!"
Seeing his rider being lifted by nothing, Toothless ran towards him to try and grab him. But the mysterious force proved to be faster as the Night Fury failed to grab Hiccup's leg. The dragon tried to fly up after him, but because of his handicap, he couldn't even get off the ground. All he could do was watch helplessly as the Viking was lifted further until he could see all of Skyrim.
Hiccup, meanwhile, was in a state of panic. While he was used to being so high in the sky, it was always with Toothless. He tried to contain his fear as a glowing light appeared, speaking to him in Meridia's voice.
"It is time for my splendor to return to Skyrim. But the token of my truth lies buried in the ruins of my once grand temple, now tainted by a profane darkness skittering within."
Hiccup kept silent, not wanting to displease Meridia. The last thing he wanted was to tick her off so much that she'd just drop him to his doom. So instead, he listened as Meridia continued, disgust in her voice.
"The necromancer Malkoran defiles my shrine with vile corruptions, trapping souls left in the wake of this war to do his bidding. Worse still, he uses the power within my own token to fuel his foul deeds. I have brought you here, mortal, to be my champion since Namira claimed the girl as her own. YOU will enter my temple, retrieve my artifact, and destroy the defiler."
"Ok. Someone else ticked off a Daedric Prince…again. It's ok, Hiccup. This is just like Orchendor." Hiccup thought to himself.
But another thought struck his head, his mouth voicing it before he could stop.
"W…what is this artifact?"
Surprisingly, Meridia was quick to answer him.
"Mortals call it Dawnbreaker, for it was forged in a holy light that breaks upon my foes, burning away corruption and false life. You will enter my shrine, destroy Malkoran, and retrieve this mighty blade."
In all honesty, this sounded good to Hiccup. It sounded like his Zippleback gas sword, but this "Dawnbreaker" was magic. Still, he had to kill this Malkoran person to get it. And with all options on the table, only one seemed to be in his favor. Looking to Meridia, Hiccup spoke, knowing he had no choice.
"I'll do it."
Hiccup could have sworn he heard her scoff as she spoke again.
"Of course you will. I have commanded it!"
Hiccup held back an eye roll as Meridia's power began to gently set him down.
"Go now. The artifact must be reclaimed and Malkoran destroyed. Malkoran has forced the doors shut. But this is MY temple, and it responds to MY decree. I will send down a ray of light. Guide this light through my temple and its doors will open."
Once he was on the ground, Hiccup felt the sudden weight of his body drop to his legs. Toothless, having witnessed everything, rushed to his rider. Steadying himself with his dragon's help, Hiccup stood his ground.
"It's ok, bud. Just a little weak from that."
He then looked to the beacon, the light Meridia mentioned glowing into the shrine.
"This is just like with Peryite, bud. As much as I hate killing people, it sounds like Malkoran will do more harm than good."
Toothless whined, causing Hiccup to sigh.
"I know, bud. I said we'd go back to Emeralda after we deliver the beacon. But we can't let this go."
Looking around the shrine, Hiccup found a set of doors at the side of the building. Pulling out the sword and shield Renee had packed for him, Hiccup sighed.
"Let's get this over with."
With that, both dragon and Viking entered the shrine of the Daedric Prince of Life.
With Rahm-Ku and J'Kiir…
As Hiccup and Toothless entered Meridia's shrine, Rahm-Ku and J'Kiir were preparing themselves to enter a vampire's den. Word got around town about the case as J'Kiir found out at the apothecary and surprisingly got a discount on poison ingredients while Rahm-Ku got magic advice from the court mage, Falion. The brothers also loaded up with health potions and J'Kiir crafted antidotes for Sanguinare Vampiris just in case, though Rahm-Ku did learn from Falion that the Redguard mage was capable of reversing vampirism completely as long as they had filled black soul gems. A fact that both brothers found very useful and completely underappreciated. In addition, Hroggar, no longer under Alva's thrall, approached the boys morosely, the events of the tragedy of his family catching up to him like a tidal wave. He thanked the brothers and told them that he owed them a debt that could never be repaid. Rahm-Ku and J'Kiir could only wish things would turn for the better for the poor man.
By mid-day, the brothers were stepping out of the inn with a large group of townspeople carrying torches and weapons with them, Thronnir in the lead.
"Take us to Movarth's lair!" the widower demanded.
"Yes!" the mob behind him shouted.
"Kill the vampire!"
"Kill him!"
While the sight of a mob was unnerving to the brothers, they were glad that they would not bear the brunt of the task. Nodding, J'Kiir called out to the crowd.
"I have located his lair! It is extremely close by! Ready yourselves, for the vampire dies today!"
The crowd cheered as J'Kiir lead the charge, Rahm-Ku looking both amused and concerned at the situation. Ironic how it is a rogue leading the charge instead of hiding in the shadows.
The mob, led by J'Kiir, crossed the bridge and followed the path J'Kiir had made. Sure enough, the vampire's lair was only over the hill that barred the town from the north wind. Deathbell flowers, giant lichen, and various mushrooms grew in bulk. The scent of blood wafted up from inside the dark cave, mixing with the smell of marsh water and local flora. The wind howled as it blew past the opening, making the cave sound like it was the maw of a deadly sleeping predator.
Both J'Kiir and Rahm-Ku were unnerved at the sight of the cave, but knew that until the vampire inside was dead, Morthal would never be safe. The crowd behind them, however, not so much.
"Oh… It looks pretty dangerous."
"Yeah. Kind of scary, too."
"And it's full of vampires?"
Hearing the growing distress of the crowd, the brothers blanched.
"Oh, no." Rahm-Ku whispered.
"I don't believe it! They're chickening out?!" J'Kiir whispered to him disbelieving.
Thronnir was also with the brothers on the crowd's changing disposition.
"Cowards! We must kill the vampires! We have to make them pay!"
The brothers knew the man was speaking from sorrow-filled vengeance, but were glad he was on their side.
"Of course. But why not let them go in first?" The orc bard, Lurbuk, asked as his and the crowd's gaze shifted to the two young Dragonborn.
This angered Thronnir.
"Are you serious! These lads have put themselves in enough danger for us already! They are still children and you want to let them go in there alone?!"
Despite the fact that Thronnir had refired the mage and the rogue as children, they were glad at least he was trying to get the crowd back. But the look of unease hadn't left the faces of the crowd. Sighing, J'Kiir looked to Rahm-Ku.
"It's no use. They're too scared to go in."
Rahm-Ku grimaced.
"You mean…"
J'Kiir nodded, confirming the Argonian's fear.
They had to go in alone after all.
Sighing, Rahm-Ku called out to the crowd, though not loud enough that the vampires could hear them.
"Alright. There's not much time before the vampires get wind on what's going on. J'Kiir and I will go in regardless. Anyone who wants to come along is welcome."
That seemed to relieve the crowd, though there were some guilty looks on some of them. Thronnir, however, narrowed his eyes at the crowd in disappointment.
"Bunch of milk-drinkers."
He then turned his gaze to the two young men before him.
"The sods behind me may be cowards, but I'm not. I'll go with you."
The brothers looked at each other with some relief before turning to Thronnir.
"Thank you, Thronnir. We welcome any help we can." Rahm-Ku spoke before J'Kiir became serious.
"But if it gets bad, go back to the entrance while Rahm-Ku and I finish them off."
One of the townsfolk, the apothecary woman, raised an eyebrow at the Khajiit.
"Are you sure about that."
J'Kiir nodded, a smirk growing on his face.
"Believe it or not, my brother and I have a few tricks up our sleeves in case things get dicey."
Relieved though somewhat uncertain about having two teenagers and a recent-widower going into the vampires den alone, the pitiful mob headed back to Morthal. Once they were out of sight, J'Kiir sighed.
"Let's go."
He entered the cave, his bow draw with an arrow drawn. Rahm-Ku cast Oakflesh on Thronnir and himself for protection without armor before shifting the magic in in right hand from Alteration magic to Destruction, having Firebolt ready. Thronnir, meanwhile, drew his axe, ready to enter the cavern, but also concerned about the two youths with him. One vampire was enough. But could they really take down a den of the monsters? If they survived this, Thronnir would demand that the two boys be properly rewarded for all they have done.
They entered the cavern slowly, allowing their eyes to adjust to the darkness. They found their path forward shift to the left as they entered a large chamber and grimaced as they saw two medium-sized Frostbite Spiders scuttling around. Nodding at each other, J'Kiir fired an arrow into the head of one spider while Rahm-Ku fired his Firebolt spell, incinerating the other. While he didn't show it, Thronnir was relieved to see that the boys could, indeed, handle themselves. With the way clear, the trio made their way down to the bottom of the chamber and found another tunnel.
J'Kiir raised a hand, motioning for Rahm-Ku and Thronnir to keep quiet as he drew another arrow. "Something's up ahead," he whispered. Crouching, J'Kiir carefully crept into the next chamber where a single man was sitting at a table. His garb showed that he was a bandit, but the strange look in his eyes told J'Kiir that this man was himself no longer.
"Damn! They got thralls already." The rogue cursed mentally.
Not wanting to dwell on it, J'Kiir aimed for the thrall's head and fired. A sickening squelch and a dying groan were enough to let the J'Kiir know that the deed was done. Sighing, J'Kiir looked to the others.
"Ok. Path's clear."
Nodding in silent agreement, Rahm-Ku and Thronnir followed J'Kiir into the cavern, unaware that a pair of eyes were set on them. More specifically, the Khajiit. The sound of the intruder dying was enough to wake it from its home in a small crevice in the stone wall. When it peered out, it saw one of the intruders that invaded its den and killed its kin with a stick in its head, the stench of death reaching its nostrils.
Its eyes followed where the stick came from and saw a furry intruder with another stick with some sort of thin web on it. It waited, curious about what this new creature was going to do. After it saw it talk to two more of the tall creatures, the furrier one led the group into another part of the cave. Wanting to learn more, it carefully crept out of its hiding spot and followed it, keeping close to the shadows as it watched.
It saw the scaly-looking intruder shoot fire from its paw, burning another of the intruders before the three newcomers examined the pit the dead one was working in. It saw their faces narrow at the sight.
"Looks like Morthal's not the only place to get attacked." The scaly giant hissed at the sight.
The spectator saw the scaleless one grip its sharp stick tighter in anger.
"Some of these people look like travelers from Solitude. Morthal's a small town, a rest stop when traveling to places like Whiterun or Dawnstar."
The furry giant frowned as it examined what was inside.
"We may have to make a trip to Solitude and get a priest of Arkay. Not only for funeral rites and to have them return to their respective homes, but to make sure these poor folks don't become anything else."
The spectator kept close to the wall as it tried to get closer, using the shadows to its advantage. It wanted to see what was in the pit that made the three intruders angry. It stalked until it was behind a rock and waited until the three giants left to explore the rest of the chamber before it finally looked in the pit. To its dismay, it saw bodies of other large creatures like the three before it. It crept down the flat wood that went into the pit and sniffed one of the bodies. Upon getting a familiar scent, it snarled. It was the same scent as the thing that invaded its home in the first place. The thing that destroyed its home. It looked back up, its cerulean eyes peering at the three newcomers as it listened in on their conversation.
"Ok. I see a larger chamber up ahead. There's a large table with a vampire at one end. I think that's Movarth." The furry giant whispered to its companions.
"If that's the case then let's go." The scaleless one growled before being stopped by the scale-covered giant.
"Calm yourself, Thronnir. We'll help you avenge Laelette. But we need to be smart about this."
The furry giant nodded at the scaled giant.
"Rahm-Ku is right. Just because there is one vampire doesn't mean there aren't any others hiding in the shadows. We need a distraction or a way to kill the other vampires and their thralls. A Master Vampire's tougher than that, so we need to make sure nothing hinders us from killing him."
Hearing the furry one's explanation made the spectator realize that they were indeed here to defeat the invader that caused it so much pain. This made it happy, but also worried. There were others in the cave like it, but weaker. And the furry one was right about needed to clear them out first. But it felt like it needed to help them somehow. The furry one said they needed a distraction or a way to kill them.
Deciding, the spectator crept out of the pit and returned to the shadows. If it couldn't kill them, then at lest it could provide a distraction.
Minutes later, J'Kiir and his companions were still trying to think about an appropriate plan when yelling came from the tunnel. Chaotic yelling. Unnerved, J'Kiir motioned his companions to hide while the rogue went to check it out. He took the scaffolding instead of the path below, crouching to keep himself as hidden as possible. After turning a corner, he saw the special before him and was stunned. The vampires and the thralls were chasing something all over the largest cavern in anger, the master vampire seeing the chaos and getting angry.
"What is it now!?"
One of the thralls answered the master vampire and, unknowingly, J'Kiir's question.
"It's that little rat of a lizard again! It stole some of our gold and jewels before spitting at some of us! Melted Dorti's left eye!"
This confused the Khajiit as the master vampire stood up from his seat to attend to the situation. Whatever this thing was, it was causing major trouble. And trouble was just what J'Kiir needed. Quickly, he hurried aback to Rahm-Ku and Thronnir.
"What's happening?" Rahm-Ku asked worryingly.
J'Kiir answered his question while coming up with a plan at the same time.
"Something's stirred everyone up. Something that's bothered them before. We can use this to our advantage."
He then gave everyone an antidote before relaying his plan.
"We'll split up. Thronnir. You take on the Thralls that have weapon. Rahm-Ku, you handle the mages and those that can cast magic. I'll keep firing until I either run out of arrows or I have no choice but to use my dagger. And if we come across Movarth, aim for the head and do not let him bite you or cast his vampirism on you."
Thronnir raised an eyebrow in concern.
"And that thing their chasing?"
J'Kiir thought about that for a moment before answering.
"Leave it to me."
With that said, the three split up. Thronnir took the bottom path with J'Kiir ahead of him before splitting off at the end while Rahm-Ku walked the scaffolding. Each one hid until either a vampire or a thrall passed by. One by one, the followers of Movarth were incinerated, decapitated, skewered, or slashed. Some did spot one or more of them, so the trio had to take them out before they could alert their master. After a while, J'Kiir separated from the others and made his way down one of the adjacent tunnels. He was halfway through the tunnels when he finally heard the master vampire's voice.
"Ha! Caught you, you little rat!"
A series of shrills followed by a scream that sounded like a cat's yowl filled the tunnel and gave J'Kiir a sense of dread and a need to hurry. Pulling out another arrow, he looked around a corner and saw Morvarth grabbing something by the neck. It was a small winged lizard about the size of a large dog, its body covered in scaly feathers of a dark jewel-toned green with crocodile brown splotches on it, clearly disheveled. Its tail looked like a normal lizard tail until the end where there was a fern of feathers at the end. A crest of feathers that looked like a cross between a cockatoo's and a secretary bird's sat on its head, flatten out in an expression J'Kiir could only describe as a mix of defiance and pain as its cerulean blue eyes glared at the pissed-off vampire.
J'Kiir's eyes widened at the sight before him. The creature looked like a dragon, but smaller and with feathers. But as much as he wanted to examine this creature, he saw the blood. Blood dripping from the creature's backside and onto the floor below. And from the looks of it, it was bad. J'Kiir hurt at the pitiful sight of the creature, but mostly from its eyes. It was the same eyes he used when he would get caught stealing as a kitten.
"I have had enough of you!" Movarth declared angrily as he pulled the dragon towards him.
As the vampire opened his mouth, J'Kiir was quick to act and fired an arrow at Movarth's back. The master vampire gasped in shock as his grip loosened, letting the dragon drop like a rock before turning his attention to his attacker. J'Kiir didn't give Movarth time to react as he charged at him, an Orcish dagger in his hand and enchanted, curtsey of Rahm-Ku, with fire magic. Caution was thrown to the wind as rage for the little one's plight filled the rogue as he plunged the dagger into Movarth's heart in swift movement. The shock of the sudden attack and the pain of the flames made Movarth scream in agony as J'Kiir pulled out an arrow and stabbed the master vampire in the eye, destroying it and enabling the arrow to reach his brain. Then, Movarth collapsed, his body turning to dust.
His eyes still narrowed, J'Kiir spat at the dust before shifting his gaze onto the poor dragon. It was struggling to move away, its feathers changing colors so that it could camouflage into the its surroundings, but the blood made it too easy to spot. Remembering Renee's lessons with Hiccup, J'Kiir tossed away his weapons and knelt down carefully, trying to get as eye-level to the dragon as possible. The creature let out a pitiful whine as it realized he could see it. Taking in a deep breath, J'Kiir whispered to the creature.
"Shh…shh… It's ok, little one. I'm not going to hurt you."
The dragon struggled to move again, frightened about what the furry giant was going to do. In a panic, it spat at J'Kiir missing him by inches and hitting the rock wall next to him. Hearing a hissing sound, J'Kiir looked and saw that the spot on the wall was dissolving.
"Acid, huh? Well that explains the face-melting bit I heard."
The sound of feet shuffling brought both their attention as J'Kiir called out.
"Walk calmly! Movarth's dead."
Hearing this, the rushed footwork slowed down as J'Kiir returned his attention to the dragon. Remembering Bane, J'Kiir pulled out some smoked salmon meat from his pouch and held it out.
"Here. It may taste different, but it's still fish."
J'Kiir waited as the creature weakly sniffed the fish. It did smell strange, but not bad. Cautiously, it took a bite of the meat, its tail wagging weakly as it realized it was, indeed, good. J'Kiir smiled as he allowed the dragon to eat the salmon as he looked at the wound on the creature's neck. A pair of puncture marks were oozing blood, making J'Kiir's stomach drop.
"That nasty vampire hurt you bad, huh?"
The dragon whined in response, happy to have a full belly, but not feeling well. It looked at J'Kiir pitifully, making his stomach knot as he held out his hand.
"If you let me, little one, I can help you."
The Khajiit waited with baited breath as the feathered lizard sniffed his hand, trying to figure him out. He prayed to the moons that this went the way he wanted. The dragon, meanwhile, sniffed his hand. It was able to sense that he was a troublemaker, but he was really nice. He gave it food and save it from the intruder. Deep down, it felt like it could trust him. So, letting its guard down, it placed its forehead on J'Kiir's palm, relieving the rogue of the breath he was holding.
Suddenly, the dragon collapsed, whining. J'Kiir, knowing he had gotten the creature's trust, J'Kiir quickly began to tend to its wounds and administer some of his antidote to deal with the venom. He didn't know if it would work on a dragon, but he had to try. As he got to work, Rahm-Ku and Thronnir entered the chamber. When they saw J'Kiir, they thought something was wrong with him.
"What is it, lad?" Thronnir asked warily.
But J'Kiir never took his focus off the dragon, desperate to heal it. Upon getting a closer look, Rahm-Ku gawked.
"Is that…a dragon?"
Hearing the Argonian, Thronnir's eyes widened in shock.
"THAT'S a dragon?!"
J'Kiir shushed the man.
"Shh! This dragon helped us and is clearly paying the price!" he hissed before looking to Rahm-Ku. "Take him to the previous chamber and tell him about the dragons. And loot the place while you're doing it."
A bit put off by the laid-back Khajiit's harshness, Rahm-Ku did as he was told and took Thronnir back into the main chamber, explaining the difference between the dragons that were attacking Skyrim and dragons like Toothless and Bane along the way.
A bit guilty for his harshness and relieved that he could continue to work in peace, J'Kiir returned his attention to the ailing dragon. As he began to wrap bandages on the small dragon, a small figure appeared next to him. Looking away for once, J'Kiir smiled warmly as he saw Helgi's spirit watch their interaction.
"Hello, little kitten."
Helgi smiled at J'Kiir's greeting.
"Hello, big brother."
She then shifted her gaze sadly to the dragon.
"I'm glad you're helping her. She followed you from the entrance and gave you a distraction. The thing that you killed…it killed her whole family."
J'Kiir's eyes widened in shock as he looked at both the dragon and the girl as the spirit continued.
"She lived here with others like her, eating mushrooms and lichen when they can't get fish. She's not even grown-up, but she loved her family and did everything she could to help."
The spirit then clenched her fists on her knees.
"Then that mean man came and started killing them. Some tried to run away or hide, but he always found them. Then when more came, he used them as food. This one's the only one left aside from the eggs she's been protecting."
J'Kiir's eyes widened at this.
"She's got eggs? But you said she's not a grown-up yet."
Helgi shook her head sadly.
"No. They were the eggs from the rest of her family. She hid them so she could protect them. They're all she has left now."
J'Kiir's ears fell sadly upon hearing this before looking at the poor dragon. It was like when he lost his family long ago. That was a connection he had with her, now. Was this blessed by the moons? J'Kiir couldn't be sure, but it felt like it to him. At least, until he can talk to Hiccup more about it.
Thinking for a moment, J'Kiir looked to Helgi.
"Do you know where the eggs are, little kitten? I have another brother who is very good at taking care of nice dragons. He was able to help our sister with her dragon, so I know for a fact he is skilled. I can take this one and the eggs to him for help."
Hearing this, Helgi brightened up.
"I've seen them! They're in the second room where you freed that first man. There's a crack in the wall where the eggs are. But you'll need to move the stones around it, first."
Helgi then perked up, looking towards another exit.
"Mother's calling me. It's time for me to sleep now."
She then yawned.
"I'm so tired."
Helgi then smiled at J'Kiir.
"Thank you for making her feel better."
J'Kiir smiled warmly at the spirit, wishing he could hug her good-bye.
"We were glad to help you, little kitten. May your next life be long and filled with happiness."
Helgi smiled at the blessing, but as she stood up, she asked one last question.
"What are you going to name her?"
J'Kiir blinked for a moment. He hadn't really thought about keeping the dragon. But his instincts were telling him that maybe this was fate's hand. As the dragon slept peacefully in his arms, memories of a happier time flooded the Khajiit. Of a time when it was him and his parents. A soft, sad smile graced his lips as he answered the little girl.
"Her name will be Zaraya. After my mother."
Helgi smiled at the name as she looked to the sleeping dragon.
"Bye, Zaraya. Hope you and big brother find happiness together."
With that, Helgi disappeared one last time. A tear fell from J'Kiir's eye, happy for the little girl, yet sad to see her go. He lifted the dragon up as Rahm-Ku and Thronnir came back. Upon seeing J'Kiir's face, they grew cold.
"Is it…" Rahm-Ku dared to ask.
But J'Kiir shook his head.
"No. She's fine. I just said good-bye to Helgi just now."
Hearing the name, Thronnir's eyes widened.
"Helgi? Hroggar's daughter?"
Sighing, Rahm-Ku explained the case as J'Kiir began to carry the dragon out. Upon reaching the chamber where he killed the first thrall, he examined every nook and cranny until he found the crevice. After moving some rocks, J'Kiir was able to find an opening big enough for him to put his hand through. He looked inside and gawked.
"How in the moons am I going to move all of these?"
"Move what, J'Kiir?" Rahm-Ku asked, finally getting J'Kiir's attention.
Realizing he left without giving any answers, J'Kiir decided to summarize starting with Zaraya.
"Ok. After I entered the tunnel, I heard some cries as Movarth was yelling angrily at something. Turns out this little lady was giving us the distraction we needed to pull everything off. But he hurt her badly in the process. I gained her trust and Helgi told me before she left that Movarth killed her entire clan, leaving her and her clan's eggs all alone. She's been protecting them until we came along."
He then grimaced at the crevice.
"I promised Helgi I'd move the eggs back to Emeralda. But I need some help."
Curious, Rahm-Ku cast Magelight and looked inside. He gawked at the sight of a secret chamber filled with, what he could count, at least fifty eggs. They were about as big as ostrich eggs and came in different colors with the same crocodile brown spots. Rahm-Ku's scale became pale as he allowed Thronnir to have a look.
"And where exactly are you going to put all of these eggs?"
J'Kiir cringed, feeling uneasy as he quickly thought up an idea.
"W-well, I could make the basement of my inn into a nursery. At least until we can find a better place for them."
Rahm-Ku shook his head in shock.
"W-wait! We?"
J'Kiir wasn't the kind of man to panic, but he didn't want to leave the eggs here nor did he want to stay until Zaraya got better.
"I-I was planning on getting Hiccup's help. He knows more about dragons than any of us."
Ok. Fair point. But Rahm-Ku was still trying to wrap everything around his head.
"And how are we going to get the eggs to Emeralda? We don't have a cart. And you at least one or two in order to bring those eggs. Not to mention find hay and figure out what they eat."
J'Kiir was quick to respond, determined to get his way.
"Helgi said they eat fish like other dragons, but they also like mushrooms and lichen. I have a good stock and I can always come here to get more."
Rahm-Ku, however, wasn't having any of it.
"And the cart?"
A voice then interrupted the brothers' debate at last.
"I can procure a cart for these eggs."
The brothers looked at Thronnir in disbelief. The man stood up from his crouch as he looked to them.
"I…nay…Morthal owes you boys a debt of gratitude for this. Transporting these eggs to your town is the absolute least we can do to show our thanks."
J'Kiir blinked in shock, still cradling Zaraya as Rahm-Ku spoke, equally shocked.
"Y-you can get us a cart?"
Thronnir nodded.
"Aye. But I need one of you to come with me to explain everything to the jarl, first."
Seeing that J'Kiir was pretty much occupied, Rahm-Ku volunteered.
"I'll go. I need to take in some fresh air, anyway."
Agreeing with his brother, J'Kiir nodded.
"I'll stay here with Zaraya and the eggs."
With that, Rahm-Ku and Thronnir left the vampire's den, leaving J'Kiir alone with the dragon in his arms. He sat down by the crevice as he gently stroked the sleeping dragon.
"Everything will be ok, Zaraya. I'll make sure of it."
Back with Hiccup…
Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief as he and Toothless left the shrine. After entering the temple, they followed the beam of light throughout the place not only dealing with the sight of dead Imperial and Stormcloak soldiers, but they also had to fend of dark spirits that attacked them on sight. Malkoran, himself, was no Orchendor, of course. Not only did the Viking and dragon had to be careful when dealing with a mage like him, but when he died, his shade attacked them. Needless to say, Hiccup was quick to grab Dawnbreaker from its pedestal and used it against the shade. Surprisingly, it took a single slice of the glowing sword to defeat the shade before Meridia transported both dragon and Viking back. She commended them of a job well done and granted Dawnbreaker to Hiccup as his weapon. Now that they were outside, of that temple and Meridia was pleased, they could now examine the new weapon.
Hiccup had to admit that Dawnbreaker was, indeed, a beautiful blade. Golden in color, sharp steel that held the light of its crafter in it, a shining amber jewel nestled in the center of the circular hilt that reminded them of the sun. It was both beautiful and powerful at the same time.
"Wow. This is incredible. And the craftsmanship…I can't even!"
Toothless sniffed the relic, unsure whether to like the sword or not. It wasn't malevolent, but it was still a Daedric weapon.
Placing the sword in the scabbard that came with it, Hiccup mounted Toothless.
"Ok, bud. Let's go back and see if the guys are back yet."
But as they were about to take off, the sound of arguing caught their ears.
"What the…" Hiccup whispered as they listened.
It was coming from further up the hill.
"Do you hear that, Toothless?"
As if to respond, Toothless sniffed the air. A group of familiar scents caught his attention. Scents he hadn't smelled since…
Hiccup had to quickly grab the saddle as Toothless bolted to the top of the hill.
"Whoa! What the!? Toothless!"
The dragon didn't respond as he made his way on top of the hill, the voices getting louder and clearer.
"I told you we should have never come here! Not five minutes and already people are trying to kill us!"
Hiccup's eyes widened at the sound. "That sounds like…"
"Well, if you hadn't decided to just swoop in to show off in a strange new land, those people wouldn't have fired at us!" Another familiar voice.
"Oh, come on, Astrid! These people don't have dragons! If we're going to claim this place, we got to make an impression."
"Well, you made a very bad impression and now we can't…"
Hiccup had enough and called out to the voices. "Astrid? Snotlout? Anyone?"
A wave of silence washed over as Hiccup and Toothless made their way to a grove that sat above Meridia's shrine. There, circled in a campfire, were his friends from Berk and their dragons! Upon seeing him, the Berkians' jaws dropped at the sight of Hiccup and Toothless. Astrid's eyes were the widest. Here he was. The man who made her worry so much after the storm, alive and well. As she stood there in shock, the others gathered around Hiccup as he dismounted Toothless, allowing the dragon to happily greet his friends.
It was Fishlegs who managed to speak first, taking tentative steps towards him.
"H-Hiccup? I-is that you?"
"Wait!" Tuffnut shouted, stopping the rotund Viking before glaring at Hiccup. "How do we know it is Hiccup? He could be his ghost for all we know. Here to haunt us for being too far from home."
This unnerved Fishlegs and (secretly) Snotlout. Hiccup rolled his eyes at Tuffnut's accusation.
"Really, Tuffnut? Why would my ghost haunt you for coming here? What are you even doing here?"
"Don't answer! It could be a trick question." Tuffnut told the others, earning another eyeroll from Hiccup.
Deciding to put this to bed, Hiccup gestured to Toothless, who was happily playing with the other dragons.
"If I were dead, how are the dragons able to have contact with Toothless? He was with me during the storm, after all."
The fact was made true with Barf and Belch headbutting the Night Fury playfully, full contact being witnessed.
Having enough herself, Astrid shoved past the others and hugged Hiccup tightly.
"Oh my gods. It really is you."
A little surprised at first, Hiccup happily embraced his betrothed. After a moment, Astrid broke the hug before punching Hiccup on the arm.
"Ow! What-?!"
"THAT was for scaring me! What happened to you? How did you even get here? Why didn't you send us word that you're ok?"
As Astrid's infuriated questions belted Hiccup, the others were quick to join in, causing a cacophony of questions and scolding for his disappearance. Having enough, Hiccup shouted,
"Alright! Alright! I'll explain everything. But let's do this at where I'm staying at."
That night…
It didn't take long for the Dragon Riders to fly to Emeralda, following Hiccup's direction about flying over the clouds until they got to the abandoned settlement. Once they arrived, Hiccup stoked the forge's fire and told his tale. About his near-execution, the black dragon that destroyed Helgen, his new companions, Bleak Falls Barrow, Whiterun, the Thu'um, being Dragonborn, all the way to Renee's quest for revenge and Hiccup's mission at Meridia's shrine. By the time he was done, the morning had turned well into the evening twilight.
Fishlegs, intrigued, began to summarize everything afterwards.
"So let's get this straight. You're saying we're on an actual continent…"
"…filled with people who can use magic to shoot us down…" Snotlout retorted angrily.
"…while we're in a place that is currently in civil war…"
"…with soldiers that shot us with arrows…"
"…found new dragons here…"
"…the bigger of which is determined to kill us…"
"…discovering you have unique magic and siblings that are not related to you by blood…"
"…and where you're constantly poked by demon gods to do their bidding?"
Hiccup had to shake his head from the dizziness the two vikings had caused him before finally speaking up.
"Pretty much. We're actually about to have our final exam with the Greybeards soon and everyone's got errands far from here. So I don't know when I can introduce everyone."
"But more importantly," Ruffnut began, "you're saying we can't make a claim stone here and call this place 'Nuttland?'"
Hiccup narrowed his eyes at her.
"No. We are not calling Tamriel, or Skyrim at the very least, 'Nuttland.' These people have been here long before we arrived and will no doubt retaliate if we try."
The twins pouted; their theme park ideas burned to the ground. Astrid, meanwhile, looked to Hiccup with concern after hearing everything.
"After this test…are you coming back to Berk?"
Hiccup went rigid. That was the million-septim question. He was homesick earlier that day. But…
"I want to, Astrid. And I know everyone's worried about me, especially my dad."
He paused for a moment, his mind racing over the memories of his time in Skyrim.
"But…I can't help but feel that I need to be here. There's so much about the Thu'um that I don't know about. Why I have it when I'm not a native of Tamriel nor worship their deities. And these dragons. We've been told that it's been centuries since there was a dragon here. So why are they coming back and attacking Skyrim now? How is it that those dragons can speak while ours can't. Not to mention the mysteries surrounding Bane."
Hiccup looked away, not wanting to face his friends' gazes.
"If you guys want, you can go back to Berk and let them know I'm ok. I…I just can't leave yet."
The Vikings looked to each other, all of them seemingly discussing the issue in thought. Hiccup waited with baited breath, the silence practically killing him. Suddenly, a gentle hand touched his shoulder. He looked to his right and saw Astrid sitting next to him, a supportive and understanding look on her face.
"Well, if you're staying, then I am, too."
Hiccup's eyes widened at her answer, but he wasn't surprised. She would support him in this endeavor. At the corner of his eye, he saw Fishlegs stand up.
"As much as I would love to go back to Berk, I am curious about this place and the dragons in it. I'm especially interested in learning about this "Juggernaut" dragon you guys found. So I'm in."
Hiccup then looked at the twins, who were both smirking mischievously.
"This is a pretty cool place."
"Yeah. I wonder how many people we can Loki while we're here."
"AND we can make a new boar pit."
At that, the twins turned their attention to Hiccup and began to chant.
"BOAR PIT! BOAR PIT! BOAR PIT!"
Hiccup's heart soared. His friends wanted to stay with him though this! Of course there was one vote left. And of course, Snotlout wasn't liking the idea of staying here.
"Are you kidding me?! We spent days flying all over the archipelago, coming up with nothing until now! And now that we finally found him, you guys want to stay here where we could get killed?!" He angrily shouted.
But even as he protested, all of the Vikings gave him the same look. The look that told him that whether he liked it or not, they were following Hiccup's lead. In a huff, Snotlout got on to Hookfang's neck and prepared for take-off.
"Well, you can stay here. Me? Snotlout is out-lout!"
But as he motioned Hookfang to take off, the Monstrous Nightmare, ever the rebellious one, shook off his rider, preferring to stay and sleep. Sitting up from the grass he landed in, Snotlout snarled at his dragon.
"You too?!"
Seeing as his dragon wasn't going to listen to him…again…Snotlout let out a frustrated shout.
"AARGH! Fine! But I get my own hut!"
"Who gets a what-now?" A new voice spoke up from the darkness.
The sudden voice spooked the ego-driven viking, the others staring at the shadows tensely. Hiccup, however, looked at the shadows closer and breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the familiar figure of Rahm-Ku approaching them on a horse-drawn wagon. The dragons snarled at the Argonian, only for Toothless to rush up to Rahm-Ku and started to lick him like a dog. Rahm-Ku laughed as he tried to push back the Night Fury.
"Ha-ha! Ok, ok, Toothless. I'm glad to see you, too."
Smiling, Hiccup left his friends and hailed his brother.
"Rahm-Ku! You're back! How did everything go? Did you get us a trade route set up?"
Seeing his brother and hearing his questions, Rahm-Ku cringed.
"Sort of. We got a bit distracted in Morthal, but we were able to impress the jarl there to not only allow a trade route to pass through there to us, but J'Kiir and I were made Thanes of Hjaalmarch."
Hiccup blinked in shock upon hearing this.
"Thanes? What did you two do?"
As the two conversed, the visiting vikings were not only lost in the conversation, but stared in shock at the sight of a 6 ft lizard man right before them with Hiccup talking so casually to him.
"I knew it. I'm dead." Snotlout groaned, not believing what he was seeing.
The twins gawked in shock as Fishlegs went over Hiccup's story in his head.
"Guys. I think that's one of Hiccup's Dragonborn siblings."
Realizing that Fishlegs was right, the vikings gawked even more as Astrid, annoyed with the confusion, approached Hiccup and cleared her throat.
Hiccup cringed embarrassingly as hearing Astrid reminded him that the were not the only ones in Emeralda anymore, Rahm-Ku raising an eye ridge as he took note of the visitors a second time.
"Oh! Sorry, guys."
He then motioned to the vikings, going off one by one.
"Guys. These are my friends from back home and their dragons. My betrothed, Astrid and her Deadly Nadder, Stormfly."
Stormfly chittered excitedly as Astrid walked close to her betrothed.
"Fishlegs and his Gronkle, Meatlug."
Fishlegs waved weakly as Meatlug wagged her tail excitedly like a happy dog.
"The twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and their Hideous Zippleback, Barf and Belch."
The twin headbutted each other out of their strange sense of fun as the twin heads of their dragon examined the wide-eyed Argonian closely.
"And Snotlout and his Monstrous Nightmare, Hookfang."
Hearing his name, Snotlout tried to make himself stand out by puffing out his chest and trying to do a dramatic heroic pose, only for Hookfang to snort in his direction.
With the vikings introduced, Hiccup gestured to Rahm-Ku.
"Everyone. This is one of my brothers, Rahm-Ku."
Seeing that his brother was trying to bridge the gap between him and his friends, Rahm-Ku waved weakly as he finally spoke.
"Greetings. Hiccup has told me all about you."
He then looked to Astrid, the girl becoming surprised as he bowed slightly to her.
"I apologize if him being here worried you all. Especially you, Miss Astrid. No one meant to keep him here for so long."
The way Rahm-Ku carried himself as a gentleman surprised Astrid, but it was a pleasant one as she smiled at the Argonian.
"It's ok."
She then jabbed Hiccup in the arm, causing him to flinch.
"It's Hiccup who should have told us if he was ok or not."
"I said I was sorry!" Hiccup protested as Rahm-Ku scanned the new dragons.
"Amazing! I had no idea there was so much variety in your homeland, brother. Are they as diverse as Toothless? What other species are there? Do they all breath fire? Or do they have other breath abilities?"
Snotlout and the twins groaned as Fishlegs lit up at the discovery of another scholar amongst them.
"Great. Just what we need. More brainiacs." Snotlout muttered as Fishlegs began to pull out his dragon cards.
"Oh! There is, Mr. Rahm-Ku! There are dozens of different species that are divided into multiple classes, each with their own unique abilities and appearances! L-Like Meatlug here! She's a Gronkle, a member of the Boulder Class of dragons. By eating the right combination of different rocks, different materials can be made, including Gronkle Iron."
This fascinated Rahm-Ku more and more as his eyes widened.
"Amazing! What else are Gronkles known for?"
This brightened the viking nerd as he was about to go on about Gronkles when Hiccup stopped them.
"Look, guys. You'll be able to talk more in the morning."
He then gave Rahm-Ku a concerned look.
"Where is J'Kiir? He was with you when you left."
"Back here, brother." A new voice called from the back of the cart.
Remembering their brother, Rahm-Ku's expression shifted into worry.
"That's right! We need your help."
Concerned with the sudden change in mood, Hiccup and the rest of the vikings followed the Argonian to the back of the cart, their dragons following curiously behind. Upon reaching the back, they saw the cat man cradling a small, feathered dragon while sitting amongst a huge pile of eggs. Their eyes widened with shock as Hiccup looked to the Khajiit for answers.
"Wha-what the-?!"
Upon seeing the slumbering dragon and the eggs, the other dragons gathered with curiosity and worry, Meatlug letting out a sorrowful whine at the sight. The fact that there was a cat man faded as quickly as it came to the vikings as Astrid spoke up.
"What is all this?"
Cradling the feathered dragon, J'Kiir spoke up.
"I will try and summarize this as best as I can. My name is J'Kiir. I am a Khajiit and another of Hiccup's brothers. Rahm-Ku and I were passing by Morthal when we…when I got us to investigate a mysterious fire. Turned out it was an elaborate plan by a master vampire to turn the entire town into vampires."
At the mention of vampires, the newcomer vikings looked to their leader in shock, who was also surprised.
"There are vampires here, too?"
But J'Kiir was quick to snip before anyone can voice their questions.
"There's no time for that now!"
His tone then softened as he gently stroked the dragon in his arms, calming her fitful sleep.
"The two of us and another went to clear out the vampire's den, where this little one followed us and provided us with a distraction. Apparently, the vampire killed her entire clan, leaving her and these eggs alone."
Hearing this, the group eyed the eggs and the dragon with pity as J'Kiir concluded his summary.
"The vampire hurt her greatly. I managed to gain her trust and tended to her wounds. But I need to watch her for a while to see if the antidote for vampire's venom works on her. Not to mention I need to make a nursery in my inn's basement. It's the largest area I have right now. Not only that, I need your help, Hiccup. You know more about dragons than I do. You know what to do!"
Hiccup heard the distress in J'Kiir's voice. He had never seen his cocky, rebellious rogue brother so worried nor this desperate. Not even when they fought those four dragons in Whiterun nor when Renee became double-cursed did he panic. Well…maybe a little for Renee. Still, noting his distress, Hiccup nodded.
"Ok, J'Kiir. We'll take care of it."
He then looked to his friends, serious and in command like before.
"Ok. First thing is we need to get these eggs into the inn's basement. We can explain how the eggs hatch later. For now, we need to get them out of this cold and into someplace warm and soft."
Noting the hay in the wagon, Hiccup pointed to Snotlout and the twins.
"Snotlout! Ruff! Tuff! You three are in charge of the nests. I'll unlock the inn and show you where to put it."
He then pointed to Astrid and Fishlegs.
"Astrid! Fishlegs! You start bringing the eggs down. Once they're done, the others will assist you."
He then looked to Rahm-Ku.
"Were you able to use magic on…" he trailed off, looking to J'Kiir for a name.
"Zaraya"
Hearing the name, Hiccup nodded in gratitude.
"Thank you." He then looked back to Rahm-Ku. "…Zaraya to heal her?"
Rahm-Ku nodded.
"Only a little, though. J'Kiir's the one who has been taking care of her."
Nodding in approval, Hiccup continued to give orders.
"Ok. Then you help Astrid and Fishlegs with egg duty."
With their tasks at hand, the group went off to perform them while Hiccup looked to his Khajiit brother and the injured dragon in his arms. Toothless let out a comforting rumble as he nuzzled J'Kiir's arm in comfort. Hiccup also placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, J'Kiir. Everything's going to be fine."
The Khajiit smiled weakly as he shifted his gaze from Zaraya to Hiccup before returning to Zaraya again. Hiccup sighed as he joined the hay makers, but a though crossed his mind as he looked towards the darkened Skyrim horizon.
Where were Renee and Bane?
What do you guys think? I still have one more dragon up my sleeve that will fit for Rahm-Ku, but I hope you guys will like Zaraya.
Please review and no flaming.