Chapter 6: 6
Chapter Text
I wake up feeling a very wet thing touching my cheek. I reach my hand up to wipe it off and feel teeth. I look over and find Svarline laying on my head with her mouth hanging open. Dripping saliva down onto my face.
I can already tell this is going to be a great day.
Sliding out from under her, I wipe my face off and throw a blanket over her before I leave the room. Walking downstairs I find a mass of passed out townsfolk. Guess they forgot to go home last night.
I step over the bodies and go outside. Pulling my map from my 'backpack' I start heading for a bookstore that is shown to be not too far from where I am. I walk for a few minutes before entering the store.
"Hi there!" an older man with a full head of grey hair greets me. "Anything I can help you with?"
"I'm looking for books on various crafting disciplines." I respond.
"Follow me." he says and leads me to a specific shelf.
I look over the selection. There are quite a few books on enchanting and alchemy. Some detailing how to build houses, and a few on smithing.
"How much for this?" I ask holding up one of the smithing books that will give me the class.
"10 septims." he smiles back.
I pay the man and leave the store.
Smithing skill book
Grants the [Smithing!] crafting class
Class gained!
[Blacksmith] Level- 2/50
Work with leather and various metals to maintain your current gear and make something new!
Grants 1 END, and 1 STR per level
Dusk the Master of the Storm
Level- 104
Class- Saber - LVL 5/100 [24%]
Crafting Class- Blacksmith LVL 2/50 [5%]
Tier- Mortal
Alignment- ???
HP- 3765 [1004 per minute]
MP- 12000 [2400 per minute]
SP- 3765 [1004per minute]
STR- 247
END- 251
DEX - 310
INT - 601
WIS - 601
CHA - 230
LUK - 234
MP Regen= WIS x 4
MP= INT x 20
SP/Health Regen= END x 4
SP/HP= END x 15
That done, I make my way back to the inn.
When I get back everyone is still passed out, so I just walk over them again and go back to the room Svarline and I are staying in. She's still passed out on the floor where she tackled me when I got back to the room.
Sighing, I pick her up and lay her down on the bed before sitting down next to her.
I'm kind of fed up with Whiterun. I really expected to be able to occupy my time here by doing something productive, but I just can't find anything. I mean there's nothing here that really interests me all that much.
There's the Companion questline, but I'm a mage and would prefer to become a vampire if I decide I want to be supernatural. There's the Ebony Blade, but that thing is a nightmare and a half. Plus I would be grabbing the attention of the Daedra. You don't live long if you do that. There's just nothing here that I really want.I haven't killed Nazeem this playthrough…On second thought, not a good idea. I'd prefer to leave here on good terms if at all possible. Which brings me back to the problem of having absolutely nothing to do.
I could continue to grind but one thing's stopping that.
Svarline The Dragonborn of Legend
The Last Dragonborn
Level- 64
Race- Half-breed(High Elf/Nord)
HP- 2940
Unique abilities- Soul of a Dragon(Can absorb dragon souls and use their knowledge to learn shouts)
- Soul Devouring(When absorbing a dragon soul, if the dragonborn dealt the killing blow, the dragonborn steals more than the dragon's knowledge. Siphoning the dead beasts strength and power for their own. Can be used to obtain a number of benefits.)
Thoughts about you- You make a nice pillow
She hasn't improved since the dragon fight. Whereas I'm now to the point where I can battle literal demons. If I'm going to keep travelling with her I need to make her stronger. I can't do that by laying around in this city for extended periods of time.
The second our armor's made we're leaving.
I'll figure out what to do from there. I can maybe see if I can drag her into IDs with me, but I'd like to avoid that if possible. The next best option would be to give her Ascalon and hunt down some dragons, but I don't know how good she is with a sword. Besides, that way lies near certain death.
There is a massive power gap in this world. The human-like races are all mostly street level unless they can use magic. Making their ability vary based on the caster. Then, you have the higher undead like vampires who I have no experience fighting in person, but they can take people apart pretty easily in the game, and past experience makes me believe they are stronger in this not-quite-game version of Skyrim. Finally, we have the dragons. Who are mountain level at their very weakest. How the cannon dragonborn lived through all this bullshit is hard to fathom.
In order for Svarline to get stronger, I would need to help her hunt down mountain level creatures and let her kill them. I honestly don't know if it's worth the effort. Might need to show her my IDs after all. I can play the pocket dimension angle to keep suspicion down if I need to.
Thinking about it, I guess I could just ditch her? I don't really want the enemies I will inevitably gain if I hang around her. Plus, I could just go with my original plan and hide in a cave until I've gathered enough power from my IDs. That's honestly the best plan as far as survival is concerned, but I'm not even honestly considering it am I?
Why not? I don't want to die. That's definitely not a factor. Do I want a powerful companion? I suppose but I would be better off finding someone like Serana or Illia who is already a badass and a half. Am I just lonely?Yep. That's it. What's the point of becoming all powerful if your only purpose in becoming so is to gain even more power? I can honestly say I've enjoyed running around with Svar. It's been a pretty long time since I've had friends, and I'm not willing to give that up.
Which means I have to make her strong enough to survive on her own.Guess I'm going to have to make anti-dragon plans aren't I?
I think about it for a while more when I'm interrupted by a soft groan.
Looking over, I see Svarline starting to wake up. She's moving slow and holding her head. Her hand glows gold for a moment and suddenly she is much more aware.
"Thank the divines for restoration magic." she mumbles.
She looks around as if trying to find something. Her eyes fall on me and stop.
She frowns. "Wasn't I on the floor?"
I raise an eyebrow at her. "You remember that?"
"Magic is very useful." she says in lieu of an answer. She looks over at me with a curious expression. "You left the party really early. Where'd you go?"
"I was training." I say honestly. "Because of being whatever I am, I can get really strong really fast if I'm motivated enough. I've already mastered my electromancy." I say as I summon electricity in my hand to demonstrate. I shape it into a humanoid figure and have it start to do the macarena.
Svarline watches in awe before frowning. "How strong are you compared to me?" she asks.
"Very." I answer. "We need to start making you stronger. Because you're a dragonborn, trouble is going to be glued to your ass. You need to kill as many dragons as possible and steal their power before we come across something too strong to fight. On a related note, how good are you with a sword?"
She tilts her head. "I'm not bad, but I'm much better with a bow and my magic."
"You may not know but I'm a master enchanter." I say as I pull Ascalon from my inventory. "This sword is tailor made to kill dragons. I didn't make it, but I can feel the strength of the enchantment." I say being honest. Did I make this sword? Hell no. Could I make this sword? Hell no. I would need years of research even with my class to get this good. This thing is on Excalibur's level when facing dragons. One does not just decide to make a sword that can rival Excalibur.
Svarline's eyes light up as she snatches the sword from me. She draws the blade from its sheath and it gives off a faint yellow glow. She pulls her eyes away from the blade to look at me. "We're going dragon hunting?" she asks with a savage grin.
"Not yet." I emphasize. "Once you are good with the sword and we both have trained a little more." An idea comes to me to make our stay in the city productive and I smile. "We can head to Jorrvaskr today and see if Vilkas is willing to give us some lessons."
She nods enthusiastically and stands up before turning back to me. "Us? I thought you were only a mage?"
I nod. "I was. That changed when I got this." I pull Yamato from my inventory. "I got it when I got that." I motion to Ascalon. "My ability lets me pull various things from various places. Some are really useful, like these swords. Others," I pull out my Commodore 64 controller. "seem to have no purpose whatsoever."
Svarline's eyes are drawn to the controller. She pulls it from my hand and starts fiddling with it. "Can I keep this?" she asks.
"Sure." I say. Not like I'm using it for anything.
She puts the controller in her bag before looking back to the sword in my hand. "Can I try that?" she asks.
"That I'm going to have to say no to." She looks at me, offended. "It's not that I don't trust you with it. It's that I don't trust anyone with this thing. Myself included. Watch." I pull my imperial sword out and slowly lower Yamato towards it. Being nothing but a simple sword made from steel, Yamato passes right through it even moving at a snail's pace. Severing the blade.
The upper half of the sword hits the ground and Svarline's eyes widen. "Ya." I say. "I haven't really found anything this won't cut through. I won't be using it unless it's absolutely necessary and I actually know what I'm doing. I'll be using this instead." I pull out the Shocking Blade I got from the Riverwood quest. "This thing sucks compared to the other two but it's safe to use for a novice."
The Yamato is really freaking cool, but equally freaking scary. I know for a fact it won't cut through everything. Otherwise the Rebellion would have been useless against it. My best guess is enchantments of greater power, and beings of greater power won't be affected by its 'cut anything ability'. Considering that in this world, the only things like that are the Daedric artifacts and extremely powerful mages/undead/dragons, I need to be ridiculously careful with this sword.
Svarline nods in acceptance of my explanation. "So we're going to Vilkas now right?" she asks excitedly.
I smile. "Yes. Let's go."
Many many hours later Svarline and I drag ourselves back into our room and stretch out our sore muscles.
Vilkas was more than happy to assist us. He was also offended by our form, and took it personally that we fought a dragon while being so martially inept.
Hey man, in my case, it's just one of the many flaws I'm working to overcome…
Svarline has corrupted me.
Overall though, It was more than worth it. Even with my flaw I'm learning how to use a sword correctly. My class is most definitely helping me to overcome the EXP drain. Even if I'm not gaining levels, I can tell that without being a Saber none of these lessons would stick.
While it would still be much faster to just EXP grind, that's not the only reason we're training with Vilkas. Svar needs sword lessons ASAP. Lessons Vilkas has been giving to Companions for years. Getting him to teach Svar will greatly increase her effectiveness.
"Let's never do that again." Svarline groaned.
"Sorry Svar. 3 more days until Adrianne finishes our armor and we can leave. We are spending every moment of it with Vilkas." I say back.
"But I can't lift my arms anymore." she complained.
"Do you want to be able to use that sword to fight dragons?" I ask looking over at her.
She looks at me and sighs. She then smiles and falls into the bed. "Let me sleep on it." she says as she tucks Ascalon beneath her and lays down.
How many millions of beings throughout the multiverse would give their lives to even look upon that blade? And she just used it to make a bad pun. Why do I put up with her again?
I sigh. "Please put the sword away. I would prefer not to have it stab into my back while I'm trying to sleep."
Svarline's head slowly turns to face me. She looks at me for a second before her lips pull up into a terrifying grin.
What did I say?! All I said was I didn't want the sword…….
Oh. It's a dick joke. Great.
"I'll put my sword away," she says in a sultry voice as she flutters her eyelashes at me. "but it doesn't seem very fair given how yours has been pressing up my stomach everytime we lay together."
Nope. Too tired to deal with this bullshit. Nope
"Goodnight Svar." I say as I lay down and close my eyes facing away from her.
I hear her get up and walk around the bed. Must be putting Ascalon away.
Suddenly I feel a body push itself into my chest and hear a voice say, "Goodnight. We'll play with your sword more tomorrow."
The last thought in my mind as I drift off is that I have somehow become the big spoon.
Four days later Svarline and I are ready to leave Whiterun.
We spent every free moment of time possible with Vilkas getting our asses kicked in swordplay. Could I have beaten him with magic? Easily, but it would have defeated the purpose of the training.
Still no levels from the training, but I didn't expect any. IDs would have been much better had I wanted to level fast, or even if I wanted to learn swordplay only for myself, but my main goal was to get Svarline comfortable with Ascalon and I've done that so I'm happy. I can grind any time. This was my best chance to get her some useful sword instruction.
On the third day after training we picked up our armor.
Both sets were fairly simple. Mine was simple black and brown, made from leather and reinforced with steel where it would not interfere with my movement.
Armor
Made by Adrianne Avenicci to be better than the shit you arrived in.
Decreases damage taken by END 50
Svar's was similarly colored, but was sturdier than my own. A good thing, because of the two of us, she is the one without Gamer's Body.
Once we retrieved our armor we spent the evening with the companions and said our goodbyes. They tried to get us to stay, but wished us well when they realized we wouldn't be swayed.
Checking over our room to ensure we haven't left anything behind, we check our newly stocked packs, as well as a newly stocked inventory. I was able to learn a fun thing about my inventory while we were getting supplies. It puts things into a time-locked stasis. I put a bowl of hot soup inside, and when I pulled it out it hadn't gotten any colder. Pretty useful feature.
Svarline and I throw our packs on and make our way down stairs.
Svarline walks up to Hulda and returns the key. "Thank you for letting us stay Hulda." she says.
Hulda just chuckles. "Keep killing those overgrown lizards and you'll never have to pay to stay at my inn. Take care you two."
I nod goodbye and Svar and I leave.
Looking at our new map of the province, I start charting the best path to Winterhold when we're stopped on our way to the main gate by a runner.
"Sorry Sir and Madam, but Jarl needs to speak with the two of you." The guard respectfully tells us.
Svar groans in annoyance. She's as eager to get moving as I am.
I really don't want to play any part in whatever politics they've got going on, but I also want to maintain a cordial relationship with Whiterun's leadership. Could be useful in the future. With a sigh I nod at the guard and follow after him.
We are escorted up to Dragonsreach by a small group of guards. The trip is over quickly and we enter the keep. We are led to a large conference area to the left of the main hall.
The Jarl, Delphine, and Farengar all stand around a small table in the cozy room.
"Thank you for coming." Balgruuf says. "I'm glad we were able to find you before you left. I'm afraid we need your help once more."
We couldn't have left two hours earlier could we? We had to get wrapped up in whatever bullshit these idiots are cooking up, and who the hell was spying on us that they knew we were leaving today?
"What's the problem?" Svarline asks somewhat impatiently.
"The problem." Delphine seethes. "Is that a dragon has attacked Windehelm. For all we know, the city has been destroyed."
The news causes us to freeze.
What?
Why are they active so early? Was it something I did? Which dragon was it? Why Windhelm? Are the other holds safe?
What?
Delphine grunts upon seeing our expressions. "Good, you seem to understand what this means."
"How do you know?" I ask. "I thought you needed to send runners in order to get information back and forth."
Balgruuf gives a nod. "We do. The runner we originally sent returned not half an hour ago. The man was exhausted. He saw the dragon attacking the city and must have rode straight back without stopping. His horse will likely die from the strain of carrying him back so quickly."
"Where's the dragon now?" Svarline asks with a hungry look in her eye.
"We don't know." Farengar speaks up. "Frankly, it doesn't matter. We need to make preparations for when one of these beasts inevitably decides to attack us here. The fact that they are now confirmed to be attacking cities does not bode well for our survival."
Svarline frowns. "I don't understand. Are we not going after the dragon?"
Delphing shakes her head. "Without knowing how the things are coming back to life, we can't afford to. Which is where you come in." She points to Svar. "You're going to be coming with me to figure out what's bringing the lizards back."
Svarline's demeanor changes from anticipation to reservation. "Why me?"
Delphine rolls her eyes. "Stupid question dragonborn. We need you." Delphine says making Svar bristle slightly. "We don't have anyone else who can truly kill these things. If the only way to save people is to use you to suck out their souls? You can bet I'm taking full advantage of that. Having you with me when we find the source of them coming back to life is a must."
Svar bristles slightly. "You want to use me to suck their souls out? Do I not get a say in this endeavor?"
Delphine shrugs. "Not really. You're our best chance whether we like it or not. Which means you go wherever we need you to go."
Svar goes from reserved to agitated. I might be imagining it, but it almost looks like faint wisps of smoke are rising up from her shoulders.
I step in before anything else can be said and try to calm everyone down.
"Hold on." I say. "Believe me when I say I understand how serious a dragon striking Windhelm is, but…"
"Good." I'm interrupted by Farengar. "Because you will be working under me from now on."
I turn to face the wizard. "Excuse me?" I say.
The wizard tilts his nose up. "Your spells have proven effective against dragonhide, but they are limited by your own shortcomings as a mage."
What did he just say?
"You are obviously not as skilled as myself." The wizard continues. "With your assistance, I will be able to create superior versions of your spells with which to defend the city. At which point your ability to help will have lessened greatly. Allowing you to be sent in the advance parties we use to scout the creatures out. I suppose you could just leave as well. So long as you are no longer needed you are free to do as you please."
Is this man being serious?
"No." Svar speaks up. "The two of us stay together. I want the dragons dead as much as the two of you, but I will not be used by anyone. Yourselves included."
Delphine lets out a long sigh as if she is having to tolerate a child. "Listen girl. This is far more important than whatever issues you obviously have. If we don't act now? People die. If you don't cooperate with our plan? People die. The longer the two of you fight us on this, the harder it's going to be for all of us. Can you live with countless deaths on your head half-breed?" Delphine scolds without a hint of emotion.
Fucking what you say bitch?!
The air starts to faintly hum. It takes me a moment to realize I am the epicenter of the disturbance and control my power.
Svarline growls and I think I see more of the smoke from before, but with the torches in the room situated the way they are I can't tell for sure.
"Delphine!" Balgruuf shouts. "Control yourself at once! You are out of line!"
Svarline growls and glares at Delphine. "I am willing to kill the dragons, but I will not work with those who do not respect me."
Delphine lets out a short laugh. "I don't really care what you think of me dragonborn. This is bigger than that. I will not allow a cowering child to ruin our best chance."
Svarline is now visibly reacting. I go to step in but Balgruuf beats me to it.
"Delphine!" Balgruuf shouts, looking the woman in the eye. "That is enough. Excuse yourself to the throne room. Now."
Delphine holds his gaze for a moment before walking from the room.
Balgruuf sighs and turns to Svarline. "Allow me to apologize for her brashness dragonborn. The news from Windhelm has us all on edge."
Svarline forces herself to calm down. She looks at Jarl and says, "That is understandable. Now what do we plan on doing about Windhelm?"
Farengar scoffs. "Were you not listening? You, dragonborn, will go with Delphine to root out the source of the dragon's return. While your companion will assist me in my research."
Svarline begins to growl once more. "I will not follow obediently at her heels like some lovestruck pup."
Farengar shrugs. "You do not have to be pleased with the situation, but this is the way events will play out. You are too important a player in this conflict to be left without supervision, and your companion will allow me to create weapons that are able to combat the beasts."
I'm really starting to get irritated with you.
"I don't take orders from you, and neither does Svar. Not the dragonborn. Svar." I say to Farengar. "I am doing my best to tolerate you because of the gravity of the situation, but you are making it harder by the second to stay and hear you out."
Svarline grunts her agreement. "I will see to it the dragons pay for this. We are willing to work with you, but we will do it on our terms. Which means we need to leave the city. We need to get stronger to better stand a chance of defeating them. We cannot grow in strength while waiting for you to give us orders." she says.
Farengar rolls his eyes. "This little display is growing taxing. You are not leaving the city until Delphine is ready to make your journey. We need you here until then. When the time comes to hunt the dragons down, then we will all leave the city in order to eliminate them. Until that time however, you will remain here and assist us in preparing for all upcoming battles. We cannot risk the dragonborn being killed because she got cabin fever."
Now I'm really getting pissed. "You have no power over us." I say. "We are not citizens of Whiterun, and we owe you no allegiance. We will hunt the dragons down on our own, especially knowing now what they have done. If they are truly attacking cities they need to be exterminated, but we will not allow you to turn us into weapons. Any assistance you receive from us will be, as Svar stated, on our terms. Not yours. You need us more than we need you."
Farengar outright laughs at this. "You," he points to me. "are not needed for anything other than your unique spells. You are free to leave as soon as I have perfected whatever flawed creation you have made, but not a moment before. The dragonborn on the other hand, cannot be allowed to wander alone. We must plan how to use her in the most efficient way possible. She is the greatest resource we currently possess and must be treated accordingly."
Svarline growls again and now I'm sure she really is smoking. "Resource?! I am not a resource to be used however you see fit." she practically screams.
I force myself to remain calm and say, "Farengar. You are out of line. If you continue to refer to my friend as an object there will be consequences. As for your arrogant proclamations, I reiterate. You. Have. No. Power. Over us. We are free to fight this battle however we see fit. We attended this meeting in good faith, and stayed to promote collaboration. As of right now, I no longer care to collaborate with you until you are able remove the broom handle from your ass. As such, we are leaving." I turn to Svar and she nods.
Before we can move though, Farengar calls out in an arrogant voice. "You are correct. You are not citizens of Whiterun, and I currently do not possess the power to order you to do anything. However, you have lived in our city for more than three days, and are thus subject to a number of our laws." The wizard stands straighter and speaks out in an authoritative voice. "As the Court Wizard of Whiterun Hold I am hereby conscripting the two of you into the service of Jarl Balgruuf the Greater, where you will remain until such a time as the Jarl sees fit to release you from your service. You will of course be compensated for your service to your hold." He finishes with a wicked grin.
Oh he did not just fucking say that.
I force my rage down and turn to Balgruuf. "Do you support this action?"
Balgruuf stands tall and meets my eyes. "I am thankful for all you have done for us. You are already owed a debt we will never be able to repay, but I must do whatever is necessary to protect my people. If the dragons are truly targeting the major cities, They will soon turn their eyes to Whiterun, and the two of you are able to help defend Whiterun Hold and its citizens? Then I must put my people first."
"Svarline." I say ignoring the man's reasoning. "We are leaving. Right now."
"I'm afraid I can't let you." Farengar says relaxing his posture and loosening his hands. "I would much prefer your involvement be voluntary, but if needs must, you will be incarcerated until you are needed. Your spells are all we need from you. Whether you give them to me willingly or not is of no consequence. As far as the dragonborn is concerned, the legends say she is able to absorb the souls of dragons slain by the allies who fight at her side. We do not need her to willingly join in the battle, only to be present to ensure the beast is truly killed. Her cooperation is not needed."
"I will not be your slave." Svarline growls as her black irises adopt a faint orange hue.
"Farengar!" Balgruuf cuts in. "You go too far!"
The wizard turns to the Jarl. "I am sorry my Jarl, but our home is under assault by creatures of legend. Creatures who have the ability to destroy everything we have built. Extreme measures must be taken."
"I will not permit these actions to be allowed in my hold! Dragons or no dragons! Do I make myself clear?" The Jarl seethes.
Farengar holds his gaze for a moment before relenting. "Very well my Jarl." He turns back to us. "However, I must still insist that the two of you enlist yourselves into the service of the Jarl."
Asshole. I can see where you're coming from, but I am not a pawn for you to order around, and I'll be damned if I let you turn my friend into a glorified fucking soul gem.
A sound from behind alerts me of Delphine's return. She leaves the door open behind her, providing me a view of the throne room as well as several of the heavily armored guards who went to fight Mirmulnir with us at her back.
Balgruuf sighs before standing tall once more. "I am sorry." He says. "I must put my people's safety above all else. I am truly thankful for all you've done, but I must ask you to please cooperate. You have my word of honor the two of you will not be treated unfairly. I will personally see to it that you are compensated handsomely for your service."
Ya, sure. Just pretend your pet wizard wasn't describing magically induced slavery. I'm well read enough to know how that turns out. How long till we get nice shiny collars to wear?
Svarline and I have gone back to back as everyone in the room starts to slowly surround us.
"Please do the right thing." Farengar says. "You will be hailed as heroes."
"The right thing?" I laugh at him. "Pissing off the dragonborn and a mage whose hands melt through dragon scales is the right thing to do when you are under assault from dragons?"
Farengar sneers. "Your spells speak to your potential, but one lucky success does not a talented mage make. Once I have your spells I will create better versions. One with range for the attack spell as you have failed to do, so we may use it against the dragons while they are still in the air. As well as one which does not involve the killing of the caster for your speed spell. Now please relinquish your weapons and cooperate with the guards."
I might just kill you on my way out of this place if you don't stop running your fucking mouth.
"Please." Balgruuf pleads once more. "Find it in yourselves to help us. We cannot fight this battle without you. I understand if you are angry with us, with me, but I must do everything I can to defend my hold and its people."
I practically growl at the man. "You threaten us with slavery and then have the nerve to ask us to help you out of the good of our hearts?!"
"Am I to take that to mean you will not assist us of your own will?" Farengar asks with a grin.
"Yes." Svarline snarls.
Delphine huffs in irritation and walks up to Svar. "Get it through your skull girl! This is bigger than you! Now shut up, and listen. Your way won't work. So we are going to do this our way, and you are going to like it."
Svarline is visibly trembling as she whispers, "I will not be used. Not ever again."
Svarline's eyes turn a piercing yellow and she shouts out, "YOL!!!" A torrent of dragonfire spews forth from her mouth engulfing Delphine and the guards behind her.
Delphine and the guards all cry out and dive away from the intensely hot flame. Tearing off any armor and clothing that is already alight.
Farengar shouts, "You foolish child!" He lifts his arms towards Svar. Before he can cast anything however, I grab her shoulder and cast my Greater Teleportation through the open door, and back into the throne room.
Svar got two words from one dragon?! We need to talk later. About a lot.
I don't see the aftereffects of Svar's thu'um because the two of us disappear with a loud *Crack-THOOM* and reappear back in the throne room. I hear horrific screaming from the room we just vacated as the guards futilely try to fight the fire.
Farengar's voice joins in cacophony as he takes the full force of my Greater Teleportation's damage component right to his face. As I left, I changed the radius into a beam with my Electromancy mastery and aimed it directly into him.
"Outside now! Stay close!" I yell to Svarline and the two of us run.
"Stop them!" Delphine sans her cloak calls from the door. How the hell did she avoid the fire?
Not important right now.
The two guards playing sentinel at the main door see us and draw their swords after pulling a lever.
A chain is pulled tight by the lever. Dropping several large steel beams into place around the door. Barricading it shut.
Svarline runs ahead and meets the guards with Ascalon drawn. She manages to maneuver around the shield of one of them and drops him with a pommel strike under the chin. Vilkas is a good teacher.
The second moves to strike her but I put a bolt into his center and he is blown back.
I pull Yamato from my inventory and slash out at the door. Being very careful to keep Svarline out of the kill zone. Solid steel and sturdy wood are reduced to mush as Yamato slices through them as easily as a normal sword would cut air. Svarline and I rush through the destroyed door as soon as a large enough opening is made, and I place Yamato back into my inventory for fear of accidentally hitting Svar.
Svar pauses for a moment to focus and the rumble created from the door turns into a slick black oil. Svar smiles and snaps her fingers. A faintly glowing ember leaps from her hand and ignites the oil. A large fire roars up behind us cutting off the guards. Svar's grin widens and she runs up to me.
The good thing about being at Dragonsreach at this moment is it is very high up. Giving me an excellent view for miles around Whiterun. I placed my hand on Svarline's shoulder and send a lightning bolt out over the city, casting my teleportation spell once more.
"Wait!" I hear the voice of Irileth call out from the stairs below us before I'm suddenly standing in a forest miles to the north of Whiterun.
"We're not safe yet. They can still run us down with horses." I say to Svarline as she gets her bearings. "I'm going to use the speed spell again so we can cover a lot of ground before they realize where we are. There's a chance the unexpected speed will mess with you somehow. I'll make sure we're away then heal you if needed."
"I trust you." she says.
Without another word I place my right hand behind her head so she doesn't get whiplash and pick her up with my left arm. I activate Godspeed and move in a straight line. Before long Whiterun disappears under the southern horizon.
What the fuck just happened?
(Interlude: Irileth)
Walking back from my inspection of the guard's quarters, I'm surprised when the door to Dragonsreach is suddenly cut into pieces by some unseen force.
Two figures I recognize as the dragonborn and her companion sprint through the opening. The dragonborn then turns around and snaps her fingers. A writhing mass of fire rises up behind the pair as whatever the dragonborn just did causes flames to start to lick at the castle walls.
I see the mage go to cast a spell.
"Wait!" I yell as the two warriors standing in front of a burning Dragonsreach disappear in a flash of blue light.
I run up the rest of the stairs and quickly call upon my frost magic to douse the flames before they are able to spread.
With the fire gone, I'm able to see the sturdy doors leading into the keep have been cut cleanly. As if someone took the world's sharpest sword to them.
I run into the keep and see pandemonium. Two guards are unconscious on the ground not five feet away from me. A dozen more are running past me and frantically looking around.
I see Delphine standing in the center of the floor and move towards her. "What in Oblivion is going on?!" I ask her.
Delphine walks past me without a glance in favor of moving into a side room where she begins yelling at Farengar as he screams and rolls across the ground. "Get up wizard! You're the only one who can track them. We cannot let the dragonborn get away!"
I get right up into Delphine's face so as not to be ignored, "Why was the dragonborn running in the first place?!"
"Because she took offense to our attempt to conscript her." Came a weary voice from the corner.
I turned to the corner and saw a figure sitting hunched in a chair. "My Jarl? What do you mean conscript?"
Jarl Balgruuf lets out a long sigh. "We had decided the dragonborn was too important a player in this to be able to roam free of oversight."
The pieces started falling into place, Farengar's burned face, the destroyed door, Delphine's presence…
"My Jarl… Why have you done this? Why did you not consult me? As your housecarl, it is my purpose to advise you on matters such as these." I say.
Jarl Balgruuf looks up to meet my eyes. "A dragon attacked Windhelm Irileth. We learned not even an hour ago. The city may never recover."
The news causes me to freeze. One of the beasts attacked a city? Divines.
"Do we know how many survived the attack?" I ask, still in a daze.
The Jarl shakes his head. "Our runner did not even make it to the city. He took one look at the attack and fled. I wish he had stayed to learn more, but I cannot say I blame him for fleeing. We would not have what little information we do possess without his actions. I have already ordered a small detail of guards to make their way to the city and learn more, but they have only just left. They will not return for some time."
Silence falls over the room for a brief moment before Delphine breaks it.
"You said we had to wait." she growls at the Jarl. "You said we could not afford to treat this threat accordingly with the war going on. Well the war is now effectively over. Without Windhelm the stormcloaks are through, and it was a dragon that did that. Not the Imperials, a dragon. We needed to act before something like this happened! Now we are caught flat footed and are unable to react at all, and our one chance to defeat the things just fled from us!"
The Jarl's face hardens as he stands and glares at Delphine. "Hold your tongue Delphine. It was your and Farengar's treatment of the dragonborn that caused them to believe violence was their only option! You pressed them from the very start without giving them a moment to breathe! Farengar all but threatened to enslave the both of them! We should be grateful we are still living, for if I was treated as we treated them, I would return with an army at my back!"
"My Jarl," I cut in before this madness can continue. "We need to know what to do next. What preparations must we make to prepare for a dragon to attack us here?"
The Jarl takes in a long breath before releasing it. "Our greatest folly with the dragonborn was acting much too quickly and relying on the shock of our news in the hopes to manipulate her. We gave her and her companion no time to breath, so that ends now. Let every guard in the city know of what has happened, and tell them to spread the news. We must coordinate with the Companions as well. Because of the losses we suffered during the fight at the northern watchtower, we lack the manpower we need. We must join forces to protect and patrol the city. Order every blacksmith we have to work overtime. We need armor, arrows, spears, anything we can use to defend the city. Delphine, you take care of this."
Delphine looks to the Jarl. "I need to find the dragonborn. We need to drag her back here before we do anything else."
"That way of thinking is exactly why you and Farengar are never to interact with her again." The Jarl replies coldly. "As of now, we should consider ourselves lucky if the dragonborn and her companion do not view us as enemies. From their perspective, we attempted to enslave them. My word of honor meant nothing to either of them when given. They are not of Skyrim. It is very likely they believed my words to be nothing but empty platitudes. All they will remember of our exchange are your's and Farengar's threats. You will not be allowed anywhere near the dragonborn. Now leave and complete the tasks I set out for you." The Jarl dismisses her.
Delphine looks like she wants to argue but holds her tongue and leaves the room.
Once she leaves, the Jarl lets out a long sigh and collapses back into his chair. "I have made a tremendous mistake here today Irileth." He says.
"From what I have gathered? Yes. You did my Jarl." I respond.
The Jarl looks off into nothing. "Not a week ago we celebrated the death of a dragon. A dragon Irileth. We had the dragonborn of legend staying in our city, watched over by the guards to ensure she was treated well, and we were well on our way to combating this threat. Now, Windhelm may as well be gone, and we have alienated our best chance of ensuring Whiterun does not befall the same fate. I don't know what to do." he finishes softly.
"I do not have any answers my Jarl, but we must do everything we can to defend our hold."
The Jarl gives a weak chuckle. "I said those very words not moments before the dragonborn fled." he turns to face me. "I need you to fix my mistake. Speak with the guards I had watching over the dragonborn and her companion. Speak with the companions. Find any place where they might decide to travel to. Their original destination was Winterhold, but I believe they will now avoid it if at all possible."
"Because of Windhelm?" I question.
The Jarl shakes his head. "Because of the dragonborn's companion. I learned quite a bit about him today. He was a mystery. Farengar was convinced he was a charlatan, claiming to be a powerful mage, when instead he only had a few minor parlor tricks. Yet he was able to lead the dragonborn through my men as if they weren't there, as well as scar my court wizard in a battle of magic. Magic which Farengar believed him to be incapable of. He strikes me as an overly cautious man. Only revealing his hand when it is needed, and holding his true hand in his sleeve for the entire game if at all possible. He won't go to Winterhold if he thinks we would follow them there. Which means we do not know where they are going. A problem we need to remedy immediately."
"I will see it done my Jarl." I reply and bow before walking out.
"Irileth." I turn back to face him. "If you are able to find them, approach them as a friend. We cannot risk them running again."
"Of course my lord." I walk from the room and head towards the guard barracks to interview the men who were watching the dragonborn and her companion.
What a fucking mess.
