Chapter 3: The Tomb of Bleak Falls Barrow


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Chadbunger: Another lovely chapter. Brings back memories of my own play through of Skyrim. Although I usually play as a Nord or khajiit I like this argonian character. Just out of curiosity, how many kids is he going to adopt? In the vanilla game you can only adopt up to two but I have used mods that allow for more than that. Speaking of mods there's this great follower mod called Mrissi tail's of trouble it's awesome if you like cat girls that is.

ThermalsniperN7: Drago is going to adopt all of them. As for that mod… I wish those were available on the console versions.

Dragon Emperor0: Yeah, also, what mod allows you to adopt more than two children? And is that mod available on console? I'd like to use it on my playthrough.


-Road to Bleak Falls Barrow-

The weather was relatively pleasant on the road from Whiterun as the Argonian Drago Bloodfist and Half-Elf Myron made their way to the Bleak Falls Barrow tomb, where their objective–the Dragonstone, resided.

As they hastily traveled to this mostly abandoned structure, the two were catching up on what had happened to them since they'd last seen each other. Namely how the former had managed to get out of prison.

"So you got indirectly saved by a dragon right as you were about to be executed?" Myron asked as they walked.

"Yes, and then I had to fight my way out so I could keep my freedom." Drago nodded. "I wouldn't have made it, if not for my other friend, Hadvar. An imperial soldier who helped me escape." He added.

"Okay… And there were two dragons?" The half elf questioned as he watched Drago quickly shoot down a rabbit with his longbow.

"One brown and speckled, and the other with ashen scales and a pair of unholy red eyes." The Argonian nodded as he put the small game in his sack.

"I swear I've heard the description of the second one somewhere. I just can't put my finger on it…" Myron mused with a frown as he tried to remember before shaking his head. "Nevermind. This is hardly the time for thinking right now." He said.

"Right." Drago nodded as they got close to the tomb, spotting bandits outside the entrance. "Looks like we'll have to fight our way inside." He noted, bringing out his ax.

"I'll cover you." His friend told him as he conjured Shock and fire magic in both hands.

Charging forward, Drago ran up to the Bandit with a Iron Sword and a Hide Shield.

"You shouldn't have come he–!" The man started to say before Drago suddenly put the shaft of his ax behind the Bandit's neck and started slamming his head into his opponents repeatedly, until he fell to the ground, dead.

Let it be known that Argonian skulls like Drago's have a higher density.

Moving on, the obsidian scaled lizard man charged at a bandit wielding a pair of iron war axes. She tried to swing them down on him, but Drago just blocked them before shoving the bandit woman back with a grunt.

"Now, Myron!" Drago yelled as he got back, allowing the elf to blast the woman with Shock spells–causing her hair to stand on end and her skeleton to become visible–before falling to the ground, dead.

The half elf then shot an ice spell at an archer bandit, freezing him solid before following it up with a fire spell, causing him to explode. And so only one remained, the sole male bandit shakily holding his iron sword as Drago and Myron stalked towards him.

"I'll take this one." Drago stated as he swept the man's legs out from him with his tail and made him fall to his knees–before driving his ax into his head–right between the eyes.

This caused blood, skull fragments and brain matter to splatter all over the white snow, staining it a contrasting crimson.

"You've gotten good with that thing." Myron noted.

"I've had a lot of practice." Drago shrugged before he looked at the doors to the tomb. "Shall we?" He beckoned.

"Indeed." The half elf nodded. With that, the two entered Bleak Falls Barrow.

As they went inside, Drago had taken all of the things the bandits had. Weapons, armor, gold, everything. And as soon as they got in there, they saw that there were four more bandits.

"Hang on. I got these four." Myron said before he froze the four solid before they could react. Drago then proceeded to use his ax to cut their heads off.

Another round of looting and the Argonian then started putting everything into an empty chest.

"Now I can come back and get my loot in loads so that I can sell it all at the Warmaiden in Whiterun." The man said, dusting his hands off as he finished stashing away everything of value.

"That's a pretty effective racket you got going, how much gold have you made with it?" The half elf questioned.

"Around 4800 Septims give or take." His companion responded, adding another 250 gold to that sum.

"Impressive." Myron nodded before the two proceeded deeper into the ancient tomb.

Stopping at a rather peculiar obstacle, Drago examined three stone tiles on the balcony above them. Although one had fallen, it was enough to imply the pattern. The first had a serpent on it, as did the second, and the third had a whale on it.

"Hmmm…" The Argonian hummed, stroking his scaly chin.

"I think I can see how this goes. What about you?" The half elf battlemage asked as he glanced to the left of the chamber, spotting rotatable pedestals with the different symbols on them.

"Yes I do." Drago nodded before he rotated the pedestals to match the designated pattern before pulling a lever. This had the desired effect of opening the gate and granting them ingress.

"Let's go." Myron nodded as they started running into the next area, where a wooden spiral staircase was, and it was crawling with Skeevers. Large rodents. "Ugh. I hate these things." The half elf said in disgust.

"Their tails at least have some use." Drago shrugged as he quickly dispatched the pests and cut off said limbs.

As the two descended lower, they soon heard someone calling for help in a nearby chamber. From the sound of it, he sounded like Britain.

"Help me! Get me down from here!" The man yelled, caught in spider webs–right before a giant spider dropped from the ceiling.

"Oh give us a break!" Drago yelled in irritation as he gave the arachnid an annoyed glare.

Myron quickly conjured fire magic and blasted the creature with a torrent of fire, weakening and causing it to stumble–allowing Drago to take his ax and driving it down onto the creature, splitting it in two.

"Nice work there, you two. Now get me down from here before something else happens!" The treasure hunter exclaimed, getting their attention.

"He was calling for people, think he's one of the Bandits?" Drago questioned.

"They did look like they were here a while, so he might be." Myron mused thoughtfully.

"Look, I swear I'm not one of them! Just get me down from here! Please!" The man begged.

The two looked at each other. "Methinks he doth protest too much." The elf stated.

"And how." The Argonian nodded as he took his ax and cut the man down, before pinning him with his foot and drove his ax into his head.

Myron then searched the dead idiot and found the Golden Claw, which had three symbols on it. "What are these symbols supposed to represent?" He wondered.

"Probably another puzzle." The lizard man stated. "Come on, let's get moving." He told his friend.

"Right." The elf nodded as they continued on.


(Later)

As they continued on, fighting through scores Draugr as they went, they eventually came to a door with a mechanism on it that looked intended for the Golden Claw along with three rotating circles. It was here that Drago figured out what the symbols on the item were meant for.

"Okay, this is rather simple." He said to himself as he rotated them to the correct order: Bear, moth and owl. Once that was done, he inserted the Claw into the mechanism, causing the configuration to spin before the Claw was ejected and the door opened.

"And now: To the sanctum!" Myron exclaimed as the two charged towards the next section of the tomb, where several bridges and more scores of Draugr allowed them more loot and opportunities for experience.

This continued until they finally reached the final sanctum of Bleak Falls Barrow, where a large room with a single coffin sat in front of a wall–a wall that seemed to be calling to Drago in particular.

As Myron looked around, the obsidian scaled Argonian walked in front of the wall, and his vision went slightly dark with a single ancient word on the wall glowing a vibrant blue. Then he felt a surge of knowledge enter his mind, and he understood what it meant.

Force.

This moment of realization was interrupted, however, when the coffin behind them suddenly shot open–allowing the Draugr Overlord to stand up and get out, brandishing his battle ax. The two friends snapped their heads at the undead creature, who said something in a tongue they couldn't understand.

"Well isn't this just lovely." Myron grunted as he channeled some fire magic.

"Fus…Ro DAH!" The Draugr bellowed, blasting the elf back with an unseen force, and making Drago skid back a couple paces as well.

"Gragh! I'll cut you down!" The Argonian growled before he charged at the dead Nord, his Headsman Ax clashing with his opponent's own, which had a chill to it that one simply couldn't ignore. "Interesting." The man noted, swiftly taking his ax away–causing the creature to go off balance before swapping to his magic repelling Great Sword, and then striking the Draugr–striking it in the side and making it stumble before he drove his sword into its midsection.

The Draugr Lord could only stare into Drago's eyes, which glared back with the coldness of winter itself. As if the cold had found its champion. The dead Nord nodded only once before slumping over, truly dead.

With that, Drago then took the creature's ax and then finished looting everything else, while Myron got the Dragonstone.

"Got it, we should probably get out of here before anything else happens." The elf stated.

"Yes. I've had just about enough of this place for now." Drago nodded. The two then left through a hidden door which led to a cave. After a small trip through it, they finally found themselves outside in the fresh cold air of Skyrim.

All that was left now was to head back to Whiterun with the Dragonstone.


(Later)

After Drago got the chest full of his plunder from the entry of the Barrow following their escape from the cave, the two made their way back to Whiterun to give Farengar the Dragonstone. When the mage saw them return and give him said relic, he looked genuinely surprised that they pulled it off.

"My goodness, you actually retrieved it!" He exclaimed as he accepted the artifact. "My associate here was the one who procured the information about it." He continued, looking at the woman next to him. "Seems your information was accurate." He said to her.

"Yes. This Argonian has certainly proven that he is above the average brute." The woman nodded curtly.

Drago huffed before he walked over to the arcane enchanter area and took out the Draugr Overlord's ax. Using the device to disenchant the artifact, it was destroyed, and he was granted the knowledge to make an ice enchantment.

Taking his Headsman's Ax, he used it and a Greater Soul gem on it–causing it to change into a pitch black ax like Ancient Nord weapons, but retained the steel look and overall structure of the Headsman's Ax. Additionally it now had a Nord Skull on the pommel and an image of the Norse Elden Green Tree on the head–its edge radiated cold energy, making it glow white.

Pleased with what he'd created, he strapped it to his back and found his Tengu friend waiting for him at the entrance to the room.

"Going to see the Jarl about your reward?" Tengen asked as Myron was conversing with Irelif about what happened in the Barrow.

"In a moment." The lizard man said as he picked up his chest full of loot. "I have some selling to do." He continued as he walked out of Dragon's Reach, and towards the Warmaiden shop.


(Later)

Drago stretched himself as he walked out of the two shops: Warmaiden and the General Goods Store. He'd just sold all of the things he'd collected and managed to get himself 3,500 gold. This brought his sum up to a total of 9,000 Septims total.

"And they say you can't get rich off grave robbing…" He said as he walked down the street, taking a bite of the rabbit he cooked earlier.

With that finally done, he then made his way towards Dragon's Reach again–right as Myron and Tengen ran out to meet him.

"Drago, we have a problem!" The half elf exclaimed in alarm.

"What's happened?" The wanderer questioned seriously.

"A dragon sighting was just reported from the west watchtower! They think it might be coming here soon!" Tengen explained, causing the Argonian to tense.

"Crap!" Drago hissed. "I'll head to the Jarl and see how he needs me to help!" He told them as he started making a beeline for the man in question.

"We'll be sure to keep an eye out for the thing." Myron told him as he ran off, and Tengen took to the air.

Going where the Jarl was currently located, Drago saw the man, his wizard and his housecarl receiving the report in question from a guard. The Argonian didn't even hesitate to walk up to them.

"Go head to the barracks for some food and rest, soldier. You've earned it." The man told his subordinate, who did just that. Balgruff then spotted Drago walking up to them. "Ah, good you're back. I'm sure you're expecting your reward." He told him.

"Thank you." Drago nodded before getting serious. "But as nice as that is, that's not why I'm here. I know what your soldiers will need in order to hurt the dragon that was reported." He told him, getting everyone's attention.

"We're listening." Balgruff prompted with a nod.

"As you may recall, I mentioned that Dragons are actually very weak to certain kinds of magic. And on top of that, ranged weapons and shields are an easy way for you to force it to land and fight on your terms." Drago told him before pulling out a bottle of Frostbite Venom. "Additionally, this seems to be very useful." He added.

"Ah yes. I think I was starting to forget that." The Jarl nodded before turning to his housecarl. "Irelief, double check the armaments of our soldiers! I want us ready for when the dragon arrives!" He ordered.

"At once!" The dark elf woman nodded before she ran off to fulfill her task. The man then turned to Drago.

"There's no time to stand on ceremony, friend. I need your help again. Would you aid us again? Seeing someone with experience in action would be a good morale booster." He stated.

"I plan on that." The Argonian nodded.

"Thank you. I have not forgotten what you did for Farengar, so, I grant you the right to purchase property inside the city. Avanichi will help you with the specifics." Balgruuf said. "And as a further token of goodwill." He continued as he handed the man a set of light chain armor that could fit under his steel armor–armor that glowed orange and felt warm to the touch. "I give you this from my personal armory. I hope it serves you well." He added.

"I'll try it on after the dragon is dealt with." Drago nodded. "In the meantime, let's tend to the issue at hand." He added.

"Divines be at your side, friend." The man said as he left. Drago then took his leave and started walking towards the western watchtower from Dragon's Reach.

He had a dragon to kill.


Dragon Emperor0: And there, the third chapter of this story. And this time, Drago's weapon has entered its final form, a form I based on Kratos' ax from God of War: Ragnarok.

ThermalsniperN7: I think it turned out rather well, all things considered. And that dumbass with the Golden Claw got killed before he could even run. Talk about taking initiative.

Dragon Emperor0: The guy was always shady af in game, so I honestly think that killing him ahead of time was a good idea. And yes, the whole "loot everything and sell it in town in loads" racket is a hack I came up with during the Gameplay counterpart of this story. It works seriously way too well–I don't know why.

ThermalsniperN7: I employed something similar in the Assassin's Creed games I have that use it, so I can attest to that. Anyway, see you guys next time!