Chapter 2: Whiterun or Bust

Review Replies

Chadbunger: This is a nice story and I would like to see more.

ThermalsniperN7: Ask and you shall receive.

Dragon Emperor0: This story will be a pretty casual affair for us, so we'll update it as we feel like writing on it.

Gekkou Tenshi: Interesting crossover, I did not expect it at all, but it was executed well, kudos.

ThermalsniperN7: Thanks for saying that.

Dragon Emperor0: Though I wouldn't call it a crossover, more like a one off episode that was a RWBY inspired Shakespeare homage.


-Road to Whiterun-

In the mountainous countryside road of Tamreael, the cold wind blew harshly as the howling of the winds screamed through the mountain pass like the ghostly armies of Sovereigngard. Walking along this road was a lone hooded Argonian, his two weapons of choice: a Steel Headman's Axe and a Magic Repelling Steel Greatsword clanking against the armor on his back while his cloak flapped in the wind and tail dragged along the ground.

'Hopefully Whiterun isn't too far. This cold is irritating.' Drago thought as he continued trekking through the cold toward his destination. A wolf tried to jump him on its own, probably a runt that got abandoned, and was killed in one move before its pelt was removed from its body.

However as the man continued to travel this particular road, he wasn't particularly attentive to his surroundings in regards to what was above him. Here a pair of avian eyes glared down at him from a cliff beside the road like a hawk, a pair of taloned hands gripped the handle of a katana at its waist and a pair of large wings opened behind it. It then flew down at its chosen target, ready to draw its blade once in range to strike,

As Drago continued walking, his ears picked up the faint sounds of flapping wings coming at him fast. Whirling around and drawing his ax, he blocked a surprise blade strike from his assailant before forcing them back. It was in this brief moment that Drago got a good look at his assailant.

It was a man about as large as he was, who was garbed in what looked like red and black segmented armor over a white sort of robe, with black pants that had greaves and boots that had segmented plating and domed knee protectors, complete segmented arm bracers, and a sort of belt with the image of a Raven on it carved in ebony. At his waist was a sheath for the katana he had in his hand and a tanto that was with it. And finally he had a Kabuto helmet with an ebony raven on it.

Both blades had handles made of ebony and were in the shape of a Raven's head, and had a blood red blade. The sheathes meanwhile seemed to have some sort of cylinder that had multi colored stones in them—magika stones.

As for the man himself, he was a bird man—literally—his hands were like that of a man but looked like a bird's talons, his feet being the same, he had black avian plumage all over his body, a black feathered tail, a head that looked exactly like that of a Raven's, and lastly two large wings behind his back. His eyes were also a shade of purple.

"Who, and what, are you? I don't recognize your race as part of Skyrim." Drago questioned as he took a stance, ready to swing his ax at a moment's notice.

"Aisatsu, watashi wa Tengen Myou." The figure said in a language he didn't understand.

"What?" The lizard man questioned as he continued to grip his weapon tightly. The figure presumably caught on and coughed a bit before he repeated himself.

"Greetings. My name is Tengen Myou." He said, now understandable.

"Yeah? And what are you? And why are you attacking me?" Drago questioned as he readied his weapon to strike his foe.

"I am a Tengu from Mt. Myoboku, a mountain in a land far from here. And I simply wished to see how good of a warrior you are. Judging by your reaction time, you must be good." The Tengu explained, noting the Argonian's reaction time. Drago glared at him for a moment, before slowly putting away his ax as Tengen did the same. "And who are you?" He questioned.

"I am Drago Bloodfist, and I don't exactly appreciate out of nowhere attacks." The obsidian scaled water lizard man grunted as he stood straight, crossing his arms.

"Well Drago Bloodfist, it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance." The avian warrior said with a respectful bow. "May I ask where you're traveling to?" He questioned as the two finally began walking again, the wind settling down.

"To Whiterun to deliver a message to the Jarl there." The Argonian replied. The bird man nodded as his beak clicked for a few seconds before he spoke again.

"I see." Tengen nodded. "Then would you mind if I accompanied you on this journey? I'm a stranger in a strange land, and I do not know my way here." He continued.

"Hm… I suppose you could. Just be mindful that there are many dangerous creatures that will probably not be easy to kill with… whatever it is you have available to you." Drago replied after a moment of thought, while throwing in a warning of the many creatures of Skyrim.

"An appreciated warning. Arigato gozaimasu." The warrior nodded, much to the executioner of Helgan's confusion.

"What?" He questioned.

"Thank you." Tengen repeated as they kept walking.


(Later)

After a lengthy journey, the two warriors had reached Whiterun and Tengen looked at the city with a raised eyebrow.

"It looks so much different from the cities of my homeland." He said to himself as they approached the gate, the outer walls alone telling him quite a bit.

"The world favors diversity. Of course it would be different." Drago shrugged. As they walked along the roads, they noted that there were guards keeping watch at various guard towers and that the gates were also closed. Upon reaching the bridge that led to the main gate, a soldier passed them.

"First the Thalmor, then the Stormcloaks, and now all this talk about dragons? World's gone mad, I say." He said in a thick Nord accent before he walked past them.

"Dragons?" The birdman asked in confusion.

"You'll find out sooner or later. Bottom line, I've driven one back twice and lived. You'll have to fight one here sooner or later." Drago told him as the reached the gate, where a guard held them up.

"Halt! State your business!" He demanded.

"I have a message for the Jarl regarding Riverwood." The wanderer replied, getting the guard's attention.

"For the Jarl? Proceed inside. The Jarl is sitting on his throne presently." He told him as the gates opened.

"Is this Jarl the same as an Emperor or a Daimyo, a lord?" The Tengu questioned.

"The latter, they rule a particular city or settlement but report to the Emperor Talius Mede II." The Argonian replied. "And from what I've heard, Jarl Balgruuf is certainly the most reasonable and benevolent of the Jarls." He added as they made their way to Dragon's Reach.

"You make it sound like the others are of questionable character." Tengen noted.

"Only by what I've heard." Drago shrugged as they kept walking. Taking note of a blacksmith and enchanter nearby, the loner decided to keep note of that for when he'd upgrade his weapons again.

Walking up the steps to Dragon's Reach, the two pushed open the doors and could hear what sounded like several people conversing inside the main hall towards the Jarl's throne. Deducing that this was where they needed to go, the two approached. As they did so, a dark elf guard with red hair got in their way, sword drawn.

"The Jarl isn't expecting visitors right now. Why are you here?" She questioned sternly.

Drago removed his hood slowly while also using his hand to tap the handle of his ax, a subtle warning to the woman to not take such a tone with him if she wanted to keep her head. Tengen meanwhile simply bowed, a sign that he was in no mood for combat.

"My name is Drago Bloodfist, and I have come here bearing a message from Riverwood." The Argonian stated, his arms folded. "More specifically regarding Helgen." He added.

"Oh. Very well, then. Proceed." The woman said with a blink as she sheathed her sword. Drago nodded for Tengen to stay behind, leaving the man to lean against a post.

He then approached the Jarl, who was a middle aged man with darkening blonde hair and a similarly colored beard. His attire being of the best linen and a circlet being about his head.

"So, you were at Helgen. What can you tell me about what happened?" The man asked. Drago nodded as he crossed his arms again, his large shadow casting over the three present, the Jarl, his attendant and the dark elf woman Housecarl.

"I was there during an execution, and right as they were about to kill Ulfric Stormcloak—they came. Two dragons, one large with silver and ashen gray scales, with eyes as red as a Fury spell. And a smaller one, who's scales were brown brown speckled." The lizard man explained. "The smaller one seemed to take orders from the larger one, attacking the city while the other one watched in the distance. Which is why I didn't see it at first." He continued. "The larger one only showed itself when I tried to escape, and nearly killed me. And the smaller one attacked me in a tower, but I managed to wound it's eye." He added.

The group listened closely as he continued. "After that, I escaped with a comrade and both dragons flew in separate directions. That same small dragon then found me in the city Emeril Veil, and I caused it to flee by wounding it again." He added, finishing the tale. "But I don't know where the larger dragon is." He amended.

"I see. Do you suspect that it may follow you here to Whiterun?" The Jarl questioned.

"It wouldn't surprise me if it did, honestly." Drago replied with a nod. "At any rate, Riverwood has voiced its concerns about being assailed by a dragon. They're requesting troops to keep the place secure." He added.

"I'm inclined to agree, sir. It is in the most immediate danger." The dark elf woman nodded.

It was then that the aid beside Balgruuf spoke up. "The Jarl of Falkreath will view that as a provocation. He may take it as us joining Ulfric's side and attack him. We shouldn't—." The man started to say before Balgruuf interrupted him.

"Enough!" He boomed. "I will not sit idly by as a dragon burns down my hold and slaughters my people!" He exclaimed fiercely, unphased by the feelings of a different Jarl. He then turned to his Housecarl. "Irelief, send a detachment of soldiers to Riverwood as soon as possible. Help them the best you can." He ordered.

"And make sure there's a mage or two in that detachment. Magika has proven to be useful against dragons. Barring that, it doesn't have a resistance to a particular element." Drago interjected. "They're also vulnerable to steel or Ancient Nord weapons." He added.

"Thank you for the advice." Irelief nodded before she walked off. As the woman left, so did the aid. Leaving Balgruuf and Drago alone.

"Well done. You sought me out on your own initiative and offered everything you could. You've done Whiterun a great service, and I won't forget it." The man said before he took out a sack of gold and tossed it to the Argonian. "Here, accept this as a token of my appreciation." He added.

"Of course." He nodded before the man in charge stood up.

"Though, there is something else you could help me with if you're up to it." The Jarl noted. "My court mage, Favvongar, has been conducting research on dragons and rumors of them. And I believe that someone of your… particular talents, may be able to help him with it." He added.

"Oh? Then let's go meet him." Drago nodded before the two went to the mage's workstation, the lizard man gesturing for his Tengu companion to follow as they did.

Entering the laboratory of said mage, they soon found him hard at work. Balgruuf was quick to get Favvongar's attention, and when introductions were made, the two spoke.

"So, the Jarl tells me that you'll be able to help me with my research." The man said.

"That being what, exactly?" Tengen questioned.

"I'll need you to fetch something for me from Bleak Falls Barrow—well—when I say fetch, I mean transverse an underground cavern, undoubtedly full of undead, skeevers and traps." The mage explained, causing Drago to cross his arms.

"What does this have to do with the dragons?" He questioned.

"Ah, no ordinary brute, but a thinker." Favvongar noted. "Ever since the first tales of dragons circulated, those who heard it regarded it as a story—impossibilities. But one way to tell a fool is if he denotes everything outside his experience as impossible." He added. "There's an object called the Dragonstone inside, no doubt in the coffin of the Lord buried there." He explained. "All you need to do is find it and bring it here, simplicity itself."

"And what makes you think I'll be able to get this stone?" The lizard man asked.

"Maybe it's because some damn fool accused you of being one of the best." A voice called from behind that Drago recognized. Turning around, he soon saw the familiar visage of his old friend Myron the half wood elf, who looked to be in his late twenties now, was a lot beefier and now had an Elven Greatsword as his primary weapon.

Though this one looked like your average Elven Dagger instead of a Greatsword, with the wood elf symbol in the eye of the blade.

"Myron!" Drago exclaimed with a grin as he walked up to his old friend. "You son of a bitch!" He added as they grabbed each other's hands, each sporting their own grin.

The two continued to do this as their arms flexed and muscles tended and bulged as they started arm wrestling each other, and the reptile was winning out against the young elf.

"What's the matter? The Empire making you push too many quills?" The scaly man grinned in a snarky manner.

"Oh, I've got my good share of fieldwork. You just have more than me." The wood elf shot back with his own grin. Off to the side, Tengen and the Jarl looked confused about what was going on, but didn't comment on it.

"It's good to see you again, old friend." Drago smiled as the two hugged it out and turned to the others. "Myron here and I are old friends from years back." He explained.

"Ah." Tengen nodded.

"Yeah, we go way back. Hey, listen, Tengu. I don't suppose you'd be up for helping keep the city watched while Irelief is out at Riverwood and Drago and I are looking for the dragonstone—would you?" The elf questioned. "That is if you're up to it." He added. Tengen looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding.

"I'll make sure this city remains safe under my watchful gaze." He told them.

"Excellent." Myron nodded.

"Yes, thank you." Balgruuf nodded as Drago and Myron started leaving Dragon's reach.

"So, mind telling me how you got out of prison?" The elf asked as they left Whiterun. Drago looked at him, before looking at the sky again.

"Sure, if you're up for a long story." He nodded as the two continued their way to Bleak Falls Barrow, the wind blowing around them despite the lack of any rain.


Dragon Emperor0: And there we go, the first story part done and the next started. I'm personally looking forward to when Drago finds all those Ancient Nord weapons, including the Ancient Nord Battle Ax of Frost. That'll really help improve his weapons when he fuses them together.

ThermalsniperN7: I bet. If that happens, all I can see is his enemies getting turned into blocks of ice, and immediately destroyed a second later.

Dragon Emperor0: And the effects that the Nord metals will have on his signature Headsman's Ax will make it even more unique. Hmmm, I wonder if it should be given a unique name once it gets upgraded to its final form—appearance wise?

ThermalsniperN7: That sounds good. Maybe something like "Argul's War Ax" or something… And yes, I just referenced Darksiders.

Dragon Emperor0: Maybe. Also, meet Myron and Tengen Myou, two of the characters who will be on and off traveling companions/friends of Drago throughout his journey. I say on again and off again because he'll be mostly alone during this story, his only real permanent travel companions probably being the harem of women he'll get later and the kids he'll adopt. But that'll be important later.

ThermalsniperN7: We'll provide you guys a list when our brains aren't demanding that we sleep. See you guys next time!