Not many people were up when the girls and the caravan departed, but Dorthe had made sure to get up in time with them to see them off with her family. Hadvar was readying to leave back to Solitude, and it seemed Ralof had left for Windhelm sometime while they were at the barrow. Approaching with a sheathed sword in hand, Alvor handed it to Ruby, who pulled out the blade and immediately recognized it.
"The sword I made?"
"Consider it a gift. While you're in Whiterun, see if you can get ahold of Eorlund Gray-Mane. Show it to him, and let him know you made it. I can only hope he sees the potential in you."
"You'll be the best if he teaches you!" Dorthe added with a smile. "Papa's good, but Eorlund makes the weapons for the Companions. They're kinda like heroes."
"I'll be sure to look him up," Ruby promised with a smile as she tied the sword to her side. "But you better do your best too."
"I will! Definitely!"
Laughing, Ruby turned to look at her team and the caravan. The caravan was beginning to move, Senche and Senche-raht drawing carts along with a handful of horse drawn ones. Her team had gotten seats in one of the emptier carts, along with a practical litter of cubs sitting around them. Weiss was currently cooing over the kittens, while Blake was admonishing a hungover Yang.
"...not so loud, please. My head is still ringing..." Yang whimpered.
"Well, whose fault is that?" Blake pointed out with a smirk.
"Mine..."
"That's what you get for drinking so much last night," Weiss voice rang out, disapproving. "Maybe next time you'll think better. Don't want to be a bad influence to these adorable little kittens! Oh, yes you are! Yes you are!"
"It's like Zwei all over again..." Yang laughed before wincing.
"No, not like Zwei. This is better," Blake obviously disagreed, to which Yang laughed again. Giggling at her team's antics, Ruby turned to look back at Alvor.
"Well, I guess we're going. We'll get the Earl to send you those guards!"
"Jarl," Alvor corrected with a laugh as Ruby took off and jumped onto the cart. She waved back at them, and the few folk of Riverwood up at that hour waved back.
At Yang's insistence, Blake took off her bow once they were clear of the village, though kept a hat nearby as she said she would. The Khajiit didn't show much interest or surprise besides a few sideways glances. One cub had tried climbing her to lick her ears, but that same cub seemed to be climbing everything it could.
"Okay, focus. Focus… There you go!" Yang cheered.
Weiss looked in the small mirror at her eyes, back to their natural icy blue, and sighed.
"Never dreamed I'd end up with chromatomorphic eyes. You know, I actually have a butler like that back home, only he has seven different colors." She smiled at the memories of home. "Klein used to use them to cheer me up when I was younger."
"Whoa, seven?" Yang was a little impressed by that. "I thought three was a lot."
"Three?" Blake asked as she pulled the little, long-armed cub off of her once again.
"Oh, Yang's eyes turn blue when she's sad," Ruby explained as she dangled a ribbon in front of two cubs, one of them still quite small. Both clawed at it, showing that the bigger one had thumbs on his paws.
"I never saw that. Then again, have I ever seen you sad?" Weiss wondered aloud.
Yang shrugged, and then a cub hopped into her lap. One look at it told her dislodging it would not be worth the hassle, so she began petting the toddler-kitty, earning a purr. "You guys should not be allowed to be this cute."
A Pahmar-raht plodded up next to their wagon and looked over at the girls. "This one was meaning to ask you four," he began. "Usually we make for a hunting trip between towns. Would these like to assist us in finding game?"
"Well, I don't mind," Ruby answered. "What do you guys think?"
"Eh, could be fun," her sister, still petting the kitten, said.
"I'm not much for it, but we should give back a little," Weiss agreed without making eye contact. She was still new to the eye changing, and didn't want to risk being found out.
Blake just nodded, right before the cub hopped onto the back of her head and meowed as it reached for her ears. At this, Blake merely sighed, exasperated and amused at the kitten's antics, smirking slightly. The tiger-like Khajiit let off a loud purr-growl and began slowing.
"This one will let the others know."
A cub mewled towards him, and the Pahmar-raht sped back up and head-butt the kitten gently, received one from the cub, and then went back to speak with some other Khajiit.
"D'aww!" Ruby gushed.
The caravan had stopped to make camp just before dusk, and the hunters set out, most of the two-legged ones with bows, save for three of Team RWBY. Blake, having some experience with the weapon, decided to see if her skills with it hadn't completely rusted away. The hunting party split apart several times, each time sending more of them on their own. Blake's ear swiveled a she listened for prey, the other girls doing their best to not raise their voices over a whisper.
"So, what kind of animal should we bag?" Ruby whispered.
"Whatever we get," her partner answered. "We don't really get to pick."
"Shhh," Blake went quietly. She closed her eyes and listened for a long moment. Her eyes suddenly snapped open and she drew back her bow before releasing it, letting an arrow loose. A black and grey form had leapt out of the bushes, only for the projectile to sink into its chest. The creature let out a whine and collapsed, showing them a dead wolf.
The rest of the pack emerged, growling and baring teeth. They tried to charge, but the girls were used to more deadly and vicious killers swarming them with far more reckless abandon than the wolves could hope to accomplish. Six more died before the rest ran, whimpering and giving off calls of retreat. Team RWBY stayed vigilant for another minute before allowing themselves to sheathe their weapons and look over their kills.
"Good thinking going for the head and neck," Blake told her teammates. "That'll keep most of the meat good."
"Wait, you want us to eat these?" Ruby asked in shock.
Blake arched an eyebrow. "I mean, it's meat."
"They're wolves!"
"O…kay?" Blake didn't really see what the problem was as she kneeled over one of her kills.
"That's like…one step from a dog!"
"Ruby, I think you're blowing this way out of proportion," her partner admonished. "Besides, we can trade them with someone who's got an excess of deer or something else. Surely someone in the caravan has a taste for wolf meat."
"Heh," Yang laughed. "Cats eating dogs."
"Really, Yang?" Blake asked in annoyance.
"Come on, it's ironic!" she defended.
"Let's just…heft these back." Blake picked up one of the wolves and threw it on her shoulders. "Maybe I could show you how to clean them."
"How hard can cleaning them be?" Ruby asked innocently.
The team leader whimpered once the lesson was over.
"I thought you knew what it meant. Didn't anyone ever teach you survival skills?" Blake asked, an eyebrow arched as she looked at the whimpering girl, her sister comforting her.
"Yeah, but not how to butcher an animal," Yang answered on her sister's behalf.
"I haven't butchered it. I just skinned and cleaned it."
Weiss was silently catatonic. In a past life she may have gagged and retched at the sight and smell of an animal being emptied of its innards, but it seemed that in this life she couldn't find it in herself.
"Butchering is when you cut the meat apart. So…next step. Actually, I think that's his job." She and Yang looked over to see a Cathay with a table set up, cutting apart the cleaned catches of his caravan with expert ease. He already had a stack of meats beside him and several smaller animals hanging next to his makeshift workstation.
Before anyone could say anything else, one of the two Senche-raht, both bigger than any sort of cat the team had ever even heard of, dragged some kind of three-eyed creature out of the woods.
"What in the world?" Blake muttered.
"Sintesh, you have the oddest of tastes!" an elf-like Ohmes told the massive lion-like being. "How do you even taste the troll's meat through all of that fat?"
"Do not judge Sintesh's palate when you like the taste of dartwing seasoning on your rabbit."
"That is something completely different!"
"Wait, aren't dartwings those little dragonfly things?" Yang asked. Silence descended over the girls as they thought over Yang's observation, before they all simultaneously retched.
"Ew!"
The girls had just finished a meal of grilled pheasant and roasted carrots after setting up camp with the caravan. Unlike before, the team had tents to sleep in and didn't need to worry about watch. The four had their sleeping bags set out when Ruby suddenly looked over at her partner.
"Are you…getting thirsty?"
Weiss stiffened and looked over at her.
"I'll be fine," Weiss answered, unconvincingly. Already, the signs of her 'dehydration' were beginning to appear.
"Weiss, last time you looked like you were going to keel over at any minute," Yang pointed out.
"If something's wrong, you should let us know," Blake added.
The heiress sighed and sat down.
"Well, what are we supposed to even do?"
Ruby hummed, thinking of a way to help her partner, before an idea popped into her head. Looking through her pack, she took out a cup and set it on the ground before taking out an iron knife. She gripped the knife's edge and took a deep breath as she held it over the cup.
"Ruby?" Weiss half-shrieked. A second later, Ruby yanked the knife out of her hand and hissed in pain as blood poured out into the cup.
"Ow," she muttered before smirking. "Have to…hold back my Aura, but I got it." Just before the cup filled up, blood stopped leaking from her hand and she opened it up for a second. The girls saw her flesh knitting itself back together as her Aura flowed through once again. She picked up the cup with her other hand and took it over to Weiss, who looked at her incredulously.
"Ruby… You…"
"You can't afford to risk biting us, but we can't just let you get starved again, so here," she offered the cup over, almost in Weiss's face. The heiress smelled the scent of blood and, unable to hold back, took it and slowly drank the red liquid within. When it was all gone, down to the last drop that could roll down the cup's side, she let the cup down from her face with a satisfied smile. Already the effects kicked in, with her looking like normal again, her new normal at least.
"Thank you," she muttered.
"No problem," Ruby said with a grin as she wiped her hand with a handkerchief, though she didn't seem to be cleaning it well. "Slight problem."
"Here," Weiss said as she opened her water flask and dabbed a little into the cloth. As she sponged away the blood, she couldn't help but notice it seep into the wet handkerchief. She slowed down in her cleaning, watching as she wiped away the stains, turning the white fabric redder and redder with each rub.
"Ahem." Weiss jumped out of her stupor and looked over to Yang. "Do you think you can give my sister back her hand?" She looked over to see Ruby smiling awkwardly and let go of her right hand immediately, an embarrassed blush entering her face.
"Sorry!"
"No, it's fine. You did get it pretty clean."
She just nodded and looked back to the cup. Thinking about it for a moment, she poured a little water into it and swirled it around before downing it.
"So, should we set up a schedule for who feeds Weiss and when?" Yang asked.
"Yang!" Weiss shrieked in surprise.
"What? I'm being serious. You can't just give her your blood every day. Besides, what if I want a hand massage?"
"I- It was-" Weiss sputtered. "That was just a- I went into a daze right after drinking!"
Yang just chuckled as she lay down.
"You know," Blake began. "We've come across some awful things here, but… Compared to back on Remnant…" She trailed off.
"Besides the dragon, it's so much safer," Ruby finished her teammate's line of thinking. "Well, the vampire thing was bad, too, but that's something we're going to fix."
"Mummies," Yang reminded them.
"Draugr," Weiss corrected. "And those stay in the ancient barrows. A village like Riverwood existed just down the mountain from them this entire time. They figured the bandit groups to be a bigger threat than the undead sentries."
"Heck, so if we can figure out how to get rid of the dragon, or convince him to not kill people, then this place would be…." Ruby hummed in thought. "Not perfect, but…I could bring everyone here and feel good about it."
"A paradise," Blake agreed. "It really does seem that way, doesn't it?"
"When compared to home," Yang thought aloud. "Yeah."
The second day of travel was uneventful, aside from seeing a few giants herding around a dozen mammoths across the tundra. Team RWBY were awed by the sight of the large beings and their massive chattel, but it soon rolled away. Almost the moment the giant's disappeared, Whiterun could be seen on the horizon, its tiered levels rising as they watched.
"Whoa! It's totally different from Solitude!" Ruby awed, standing up to get a better look.
"For one thing, it looks like it's made out of wood," Weiss pointed out in worry.
Yang hissed. "Not good."
They passed by several farms as they closed in on the city, but at one, there seemed to be a commotion. Three people seemed to be fighting against a giant. Seeing this, the Huntresses pulled out their weapons and leapt into action.
"Hold on! We're coming!" Ruby yelled before jumping in and hitting the back of the giant's knee with the back of Crescent Rose. The leg bent forward, but the giant caught itself and turned with a swing of its club.
"Eep!" Ruby dashed out of the way and huffed. The large man with a greatsword swiped at the giant, barely cutting into his thigh and eliciting a deep yell from the large creature. It attempted a stomp, only for a shot to ring out, impacting the giant's shoulder. It roared in pain before looking the source, its eyes narrowed as it looked at a smirking Yang.
"Hey big guy! Pick on someone your own size!" Yang shouted up at him before jumping up and punching his gut. It stumbled back and the archer woman laughed.
Yang turned back and gave a thumb up, but the other woman snarled.
"Pay attention or-!"
The giant's club came around and smacked Yang into the air like a golf ball.
"Waagh!" Yang screamed out as she flew through the air before smacking into the top of a nearby windmill, creating a neat hole and making the turbines collapse to the ground.
"Shor's Bones!" the swordswoman called out in horror, certain she was dead.
"Yang!" Ruby called out.
"That's why you focus!" the swordsman yelled before turning and using his momentum to slice at the giant's knee. Weiss dashed in and stabbed at his calf, piercing through it and earning a yell of pain from the large being.
"Blake, ribbon!" Ruby called out. She grabbed the cloth part of Gambol Shroud and ran around the giant before pulling it taut. The giant's legs were forced together and it swayed uncertainly before Ruby jumped forward and hit it in the back, knocking it forward onto the ground.
"Hey ugly!" everyone heard from above and looked up to see Yang with her hair alight. The three warriors eyes widened at the sight of her not only alive and well, but unharmed. In fact, she merely looked enraged. She jumped down with a yell and punched the giant in the face, smashing it into the ground. The large being groaned and went silent.
"Gods damn!" the large man said as he sheathed his sword to his back. "Never thought I'd see someone knock a giant unconscious! With their fists, no less!"
"So…" the swordswoman began uncertainly. "Do we kill it or…?"
"No honor in killing a downed foe," the archer answered as she walked up. "The Khajiit are coming in. Maybe they can get one of their battlecats to drag it back to its camp." Turning to the young huntresses, the archer looked them over with appraising eyes. "Good work, strangers. I haven't seen any of you around before."
"We're new," Ruby answered.
"I'll bet. Still, it's obvious you all know your way around a fight. And at least one of you knows how to take a hit." Yang laughed nervously at that. "You should come by Jorrvaskr. Meet Kodlak."
Yeah," the big guy agreed. "We'd love to see you in the Companions."
"Companions? I think I heard one of the Khajiit mention them. That a group?" Yang asked as she dusted herself off.
"We're a fighters' guild, of sorts, but that doesn't really do us justice," the archer explained. "You'll just have to see for yourselves, I suppose. Just tell them Aela asked you to come. If you don't mind, we're going to see if those Khajiits mind dragging this guy off."
"Oh, we're traveling with them actually," Ruby explained. "We have a message for the Yerl."
"Jarl," Weiss corrected.
"Right."
"Understandable. Just be sure to drop by when you have the time, anytime."
"Sure thing," she said as she collapsed Crescent Rose.
"What in Oblivion!" the swordswoman declared.
"Was that some kind of Dwarven artifact?" the man asked in surprise and wonder.
"Uh, no?" Ruby shrugged to their wide eyed expressions.
"Okay. Have our things," Weiss declared as she picked up the bundle of wolf furs wrapped around a mammoth tusk.
"How about we give these things to the Khajiits?" Yang suggested.
"First of all, they're ours. Second, they suggested we sell them. Furs are always in demand, and ivory is hard to acquire outside of poaching or direct trade with the giants clans."
"So we're going to sell them?"
"Yes."
The girls walked up the winding way, passing by a small drawbridge and then up to the gate. When they stepped through, they could see the keep up at the top of the hill above the rest of the city, along with some large houses standing next to it. At the second tier there seemed to be a larger collection of homes and a tall tree near its center. At the bottom were even more buildings, but it also appeared to be the bustling business district of the whole town. They started walking in, but turned when they heard a guard calling out to someone.
"Just where do you think you're going?" the guard said to a young Suthay Khajiit that had followed them most of the way.
"This one wished to see-"
"You aren't allowed into the city. We don't need any thieving cats mucking about."
"You…" Blake walked up to the guard, who seemed taken aback by the girl getting in his face. "What's your problem?!"
"What are you on about?"
"He just wants to enter the town! What's so wrong with that?! Why are you keeping him out?"
"It's my job!"
"Your job is to turn people away or kick them out because of their race?!"
"Please, friend," another voice said and she turned to see Ko'ari there. "M'thri, go back to the camp. We aren't welcome in the city except on special occasions."
The younger Khajiit groaned and turned to walk back own the path.
"Ko'ari, you don't have to-"
"Let the Nords do what they want with their lands, Blake. It isn't worth arguing over. Besides," she leaned over, quietly whispering into Blake's ear, "the spot we take is one of the best, between the gate and stables. Anyone heading into the city will run into us first." She laughed and started back to camp.
"It just isn't right. It's not fair to you."
"Life is rarely fair. But we make the best of it. Go and make your best."
Blake seemed dejected, but went back into Whiterun, the guard keeping an eye on her as she reentered. The team looked at her nervously.
"You okay?" her partner asked.
"I'll…be fine."
"Remind you of some bad times?" Yang asked, putting her hand on her partner's shoulder.
"Yeah. Bad times."
They started walking forward, only to almost immediately get sidetracked by Ruby walking towards a forge and watching the woman there work over some steel into plate.
"You going for a chest piece?" Ruby asked, excited at the sight of something being made.
"I am," the woman responded as she looked up from her work and wiped her brow. "Welcome to Warmaiden's. The outside anyways. I have a few things out here, but there's more inside." She thumbed towards the nearby building.
"Ooh, actually, do you know what this is?" Ruby asked as she showed her the gauntlet she'd been wearing everywhere but to bed. The woman looked at it closely and then nodded.
"Looks like Dwemer, or Dwarven as most call it. Good metal, but hard to work. No one's ever figured out how to remake the metal they made most of their things out of. Just a few know how to forge it into new shapes."
"Cool. How long does it last? We found it in a really old place."
"Well, seeing as the Dwemer have been gone since the first Era, and I've never seen a spot of rust on anything of Dwemer make, I would guess it's going to last you your whole lifetime. Probably longer, actually. Might want to replace the lining on occasion though."
"Oh, I did that at Riverwood. Alvor didn't know what it was. Said it looked elven but was too heavy to be."
"Technically, the Dwemer were elves." Ruby was about to ask how Dwarves could be elves when a cough directed her attention to her annoyed team.
"Uh, Ruby," her sister insisted.
"Oh! Sorry, we've got to go up and see the Jarl."
"Ah, hold on then. If you're heading up to Dragonsreach, would you mind giving my father this sword? He's the steward, up at Dragonsreach." She handed over a greatsword from the wall to the older sister, but Ruby took it instead.
"Ooh, nice!" the girl said as she eyed over the weapon.
"I'd hope so," she laughed as she watched the girl. "It's my best piece yet. Tell him to present it to the Jarl for me at some point. He'll know when the best time is. Also, see if you can mention him visiting his daughter once in a while."
"Sure. No problem." Ruby sheathed the sword next to the ancient ice sword on her back. The blacksmith laughed for a moment at the sight.
"I think you have more blades than limbs at this point. Well then, I'll leave you to it." She turned back to her work and looked over the steel piece before taking her hammer back up.
"Okay, to the Jarl."
"No more stops this time," her partner chided. "We can look around after we've told him about the dragon."
The girls began walking up a set of stairs leading them straight to the tree. At the other end a man in priest robes was yelling something about Talos. The girls immediately found it annoying, but could understand why he was upset.
"Still can't believe they did that," Yang muttered.
"What I don't get is why," Ruby said back to her. "What good does making a god illegal do?"
"I think…this is what they wanted," Blake answered. "Because of the whole thing, a war broke out. Now a possible enemy of theirs is making itself weaker from the inside."
"That's…smart," Weiss begrudgingly admitted. The more she learned about these 'Thalmor', the more disgust formed within her.
Past him they began walking up another set of stone stairs. Across from the top was a bridge that led to the keep's entrance. They continued forward and entered the building to see a U-shaped table, currently clear of anything but candelabras. At the other side of the room, sitting under a dragon skull hanging on the wall was a man in noble regalia fitting of the country speaking to another man. A Dunmer woman saw them and walked over, a hand on the hilt of her sword and her fingers curled.
"She's cast-ready," Weiss warned.
"Huh?" Ruby asked, confused as to how Weiss would know that.
"The way she's holding her hand. She's ready to use a spell if she has to. Cynrrbert taught me that."
"What's the meaning of this interruption?" the Dunmer asked them. "Jarl Balgruuf is not receiving any visitors."
"We came from Helgen. We saw the dragon there," Weiss explained. "The people of Riverwood sent us forward to request aid."
At this, the Jarl stood up, having overheard them.
"You know about Helgen? Very well, approach, but no funny business." The Dunmer escorted them to the awaiting Jarl, eyes trained on them at all times.
The girls walked forward, and the Jarl's eyes scanned over them all.
"So, you were at Helgen? You saw this dragon with your own eyes?"
"Yes sir, uh, lord," Ruby stammered. "Weiss, help me," she whispered to her friend.
"We arrived at Helgen to see it destroyed. The dragon attacked us, but we managed to escape," Weiss clarified. "After we got out, some soldiers helped us reach Riverwood. Once we recuperated, we headed straight here. Riverwood is close to where we last saw the dragon, and we're afraid it might strike again."
"I see. This is bad news indeed." He looked over at the man next to him. "What say you now, Proventus? Shall we continue to trust in the strength of our walls? Against a dragon?"
"Shall I prepare a detachment to send to Riverwood, my Jarl?" the Dunmer asked. Before the Jarl could affirm, the man next to him interjected.
"The Jarl of Falkreath will see that as a provocation," Proventus warned. Ruby noted he must have been the smith's father. She'll have to give him the sword after this. "He'll assume we're preparing to join Ulfric's side and attack him. We should not-"
"Enough!" Balgruuf demanded, making even the team go rigid at his command. "I'll not stand idly by while a dragon burns my hold and slaughters my people! Irileth, send that detachment to Riverwood at once."
"Yes, my Jarl." As she walked away, Proventus cleared his throat.
"If you'll excuse me, I'll return to my duties."
"That would be best," Balgruuf coldly replied as he walked away as well, before sighing and turning his attention to the young girls in front of him. "You four, you've done us a great service, confirming this dragon for us. For this, I will see you all rewarded with armor straight from my own armory."
"Uh, thank you, sir," Ruby responded. "We were just doing what was right."
"That is why you deserve it. I'll have Fianna and Gerda show you the way in a moment. But first, given your…relative expertise in this matter, I'm hoping you can help us with something else. If you would follow me." Jarl Balgruuf began walking down one of the halls leading to the side. The four girls followed him, wondering just what he would request. He opened up a door and walked in. They saw that the room had scattered desks with scattered parchment atop them. There was a set of alembics and vials sitting near a burner, and in the corner there was a table with glowing runes etched upon it. A man in a blue robe was poring over some documents at one table while tracing lines in a book. "This is my court wizard, Farengar. He's been researching dragons and…rumors of dragons."
"Ah, thank you, my Jarl," the wizard said as he took note of them. "Who…exactly are these young ladies?"
"Survivors of Helgen. I'm hoping they can assist you." He looked at them all and nodded. "I'll leave you to it, then. I'll send a servant to lead you to the armory in just a moment." At this, the Jarl left, leaving the girls alone with the wizard, whom they just now noticed had mutton chops.
The wizard began looking them over, taking note of their appearance, though his gaze definitely lingered when he saw the two greatswords at Ruby's back. "So, he thinks you can be of some use to me. Very well. How experienced are any of you with ancient barrows?"
"We've been in one, if that's what you mean," Weiss answered. "Actually, we have a few questions about that one. While we were in there, some kind of wall with writing on it did something to our friend."
"Hi," Ruby squeaked.
"Now she can read what another mage thinks might be Dragon script."
"Wait, you can read Dragon script?" His interest was definitely piqued at that.
"Uh, kinda…" Ruby answered nervously. "If I see it, it looks like normal words to me. I actually have to focus to notice that it's not regular writing."
"She also says it out loud in what I think is their spoken language," Weiss went on. "The first time she read it aloud, she immediately repeated it in Vyt- in Common. She has to think about it to translate, but she can read and understand it."
"Oh, how interesting!" he exclaimed. "Tell me, what barrow were you in? What did this Word Wall say?"
"We were in Bleak Falls Barrow. It said: Here lies the Guardian, Keeper of the Dragonstone, and a Force of unending Rage and Darkness."
"Fascinating! Well, then this should be simple if you've already been there." He walked over and picked out a blank parchment while taking out an inkpot. "Well, assuming that it's there. I need what's known as a Dragonstone, which the Word Wall was referring to. It's a map of ancient dragon burial sites. Since you've gone through it once already, all you need to do is reenter the main chamber, where it most likely is, and bring it back. Now, what did the Wall say again?"
"Wait a minute." Blake pulled the tablet from her pack. "You mean this thing?"
Farengar looked at the stone and began laughing. "Truly, you lot are a different sort. That's it exactly! Tell me, can you read what it says?"
"Sure. Het nok un mahlaan drogge erei suleyk se Alduin vokrii. Here lies our fallen lords until the power of Alduin revives." She suddenly went still and then gasped. "What if it was a zombie dragon!? The one that attacked Helgen!"
"Don't be absurd," Weiss reprimanded her, slightly smug at how she was mostly right about the stone map.
"It's unfortunate I don't have much else in the ways of Dragon script. Perhaps you can visit sometime and read another thing or two for me?"
"Eh, I don't mind."
"Actually, I have some questions," Weiss started. "Do you think you could show me some things about magic?"
"Ah, an aspiring mage? Certainly, I could show you a thing or two. How good are you with alchemy?"
"Um, I'm not sure?" she said with uncertainty.
"We'll just have to see then."
"While you do that, how about the rest of us check out the town?" Yang suggested.
"We haven't gotten our reward yet," Blake pointed out.
"After we get our rewards, of course."
"So, I can get you a tusk, but it will be at least a hundred," Blake explained.
"A bit much, but I can meet that," Ysolda answered.
"All right. I'll bring it by the Bannered Mare tonight then."
The two shook hands and then parted ways. Blake smirked at the deal she'd just made, though she did have to wonder why no one in the caravan approached them about wanting a mammoth tusk. As she walked, she began eyeing the tree, wondering just what it was. It looked dead. As far as she knew, it was the tail end of summer in Skyrim, and a tree shouldn't have lost all its leaves already.
"Such a shame, isn't it," a woman in priest robes said to her.
"Is it dead?"
"Dying, but…it may as well be dead. It was struck by lightning some time ago, and it has only faded since. I've done everything I could think of, but I'm afraid it will be lost to us soon."
"Maybe you can plant a new one."
"It wouldn't be the same. The Gildergreen is no ordinary tree. It grew from a cutting of the Eldergleam, the oldest living tree in all of Skyrim. Maybe the oldest living thing in Tamriel."
"Wow, that's actually…pretty amazing." Blake wondered for a moment about such a tree. "The oldest trees where I come from are known as the bristlecone pine. They grow on Sanus, and can reach almost five thousand years old."
"They sound amazing."
"I've actually seen them. They look kinda gnarled, to be honest. They aren't pretty to look at. This thing looks like it must have been beautiful."
"It was." The priestess seemed to think to herself for a moment. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Danica Pure-Spring. I work in the Temple of Kynereth."
"Blake Belladonna. I…guess I'm an adventurer."
"Most people are quick to use the title. I suppose you know what it's really like, though. Which is why, if you don't mind, I'm asking this of you. See, there may be a way to restore the Gildergreen. If it were treated with the sap of its parent tree, I could likely restore it. No, I'm almost certain I could."
"I guess it's in a hard to reach place."
"Not the Eldergleam, no. But I don't have anything that could draw sap from it. It's an old tree, older than metal. There is one thing though that might work. I've heard that there are some Hagravens at Orphan's Rock who have a weapon they use to sacrifice spriggans. They call it 'Nettlebane'. If it is the one I think, then…it should work."
"Hagravens?"
"Evil creatures. Completely unnatural. Some witches turn themselves into them with human sacrifice. Very dangerous, too. Hence why I don't get it myself."
"So…there are some of these at…Orphan's Rock. And they'll have this Nettlebane. What does it look like?" Blake asked, slightly disturbed.
"Probably a ritual dagger. I'm not certain. I only started looking it up recently because of the Gildergreen. I suppose…look around wherever they're throwing the dead spriggans at."
The sound of hammers hitting metal resounded across the yard as two smiths works to forge a blade. At one anvil was an older man, with arms teeming with muscle. At the other anvil a young girl, and though she didn't appear very strong, she swung her own hammer with as much fervor.
Eorlund dipped his nearly finished blade into the water trough first. Ruby's was only ready long after he pulled it free and set it aside. When the younger smith's blade was sat next to his, three warriors, who hadn't seen which blade belonged to which, came and looked them both over.
"This one," the first said.
"Both are good, but that one's definitely better.
"I agree. Though, I wouldn't mind either blade."
"Ah, pickles," Ruby bemoaned her loss. Eorlund just laughed and patted her on the shoulder.
"Hey, you did fine work lass. I haven't seen a blade come out that well from someone else in an age." He lifted up her work and looked it over. "It's still a beautiful sword. If I didn't see you forge it myself, I'd have thought it to be the work of someone nearly as experienced as I am."
"Aw, shucks, you're just saying that." Ruby blushed, embarrassed at the older smith's praise.
"Hey, does this mean you're finally getting an apprentice?" a woman asked. "Gods know you could use a little help around the forge."
"I can still work it on my own," Eorlund stubbornly insisted. "Besides, the apprentice finds a master, not the other way around."
"Well, I can't really stay," Ruby admitted. "I do love your forge, honestly. And I love making weapons, but me and my friends have to find our way home."
"Don't worry girl. I understand entirely. Though, if you're going to be around, see about helping an old man fill out some orders, hm." He laughed again and took the two blades over to the whetstone.
Yang came up to the forge and stretched herself a bit. "Hey, Rubes. You done beating up old folks?"
"Actually, he won."
"What? No way!"
"Yep. Unbiased judges and all. He's just that much better than me."
"Well, he has been at this for a long time."
"Longer than either of you have been alive," Vilkas said as he followed the blonde up. "You've both got your initiation mission tomorrow. We've got a problem with a mad bear over towards the south, and some people are saying some witches' coven has been causing a ruckus. Feel free to ask someone for assistance. We don't plan on you doing these things alone."
"Well, I guess we could use someone as a guide. You guys know this place like the back of your hands by now, I'm sure."
"That we do. All right. You girls can feel free to sleep at Jorrvaskr if you wish. Free bed and all. I'll be seeing you later."
As Vilkas walked off, Yang took a look at the sword Eorlund was sharpening and whistled. "Now that's a sword!"
Weiss winced when, once again, the enchanted item she was observing seemed to crumble into dust.
'Ruby is not going to be happy about that one. Well, at least I know how to make anything cause a freezing effect upon a hit.'
"Good one to learn. Anything that can be slowed can be more easily killed."
"Um, is there a way to learn these without destroying the items?"
"There is."
Weiss waited for a moment for an answer. "And that would be?"
"Experience. Once you've gotten good at learning enchantments through observing them, you can do it without causing any sort of damage to the item in question. But that's a ways away. For now, let's try adding an enchantment. Let's see… Where did I put those Soul Gems?" Farengar opened up a drawer and pulled out several 'gems' that made Weiss's eye go wide. "No, these are empty."
"Wait a moment," she pleaded while picking one up and observing it closely. "This…looks just like an inert Dust crystal."
"I'm sorry? That's just your everyday Common Soul Gem."
"Well…yes, but… you said it was empty? Do you have 'filled' ones?"
"Certainly. I'm looking for them." He opened up another drawer. "Ah, here we go." He picked up a similar gem, this one with a bit of shine to it. Weiss's eyes narrowed as she observed it.
"What…do these Soul Gems do?"
"They have a number of uses, but most of them are as power sources. In the case of enchantment, they are what you use to 'fuel' the enchantment you add. Well, I say fuel, but it's more than they're sort of the bonding agent. I suppose you don't know how Soul Trap works?"
Weiss didn't like the sound of that. "I don't. Enlighten me."
"Well, I'll teach it to you afterwards. So, every size of Soul Gem can hold a soul of a comparable size." Her eyes widened again. "But of course, they only hold White Souls. That is, the souls of your everyday animals. The souls of sentient beings like ourselves require Black Soul Gems, which are, quite obviously, rarer, and don't have size classes. I also…object to their use."
"You…capture souls…as fuel."
"I can see the worry in your eyes. Don't be apprehensive about it. Captured White Souls pass on into the Aetherium and are reborn just as they would be if they'd died normally. As for Black Souls…it's more complex. Which is why I don't like their usage. Better to use a White Soul I know won't suffer than risk sending someone into eternal damnation."
"But…it still seems so…wrong."
"I suppose it takes getting used to. Just think of it as using any other part of the animal. Skin for clothes, meat for food, bones for hilts, that sort of thinking," Farengar advised. Still unsure, Weiss continued to look over the Soul Gem. "You know, normally one wouldn't expect a vampire to care so much about the fate of another creature's soul."
Weiss froze, fear tingling down her spine as she slowly looked over to Farengar, his stoic expression now gazing into her soul.
"Don't be so surprised. You aren't the first one I've met. And you've done well with the eye-color changing trick, but it lets up when you're feeling emotional." He smiled and shook his head. "Relax. I know there's a difference between a mindless, blood-thirsty vampire and one who simply wants to continue their life as before. You're the latter sort, I can tell. There's no point is trying to 'slay' you or turning you over to the guards. You traveled with a cadre of friends, none of them vampires, none of them enthralled. I assume their helping you of their own free will, and no doubt know about you. And if someone who goes out of their way to help a village in the back end of the hold can get said village and the Jarl himself to trust you, then there's no risk in me trusting you either."
"You've...thought this through really well."
"Of course. I've been observing you this entire time, even as I taught you. It's no big trick to hold two lines of thought at once. I daresay, it looks like you'd rather leave your friends out of the whole vampire deal."
Weiss nodded. "There's no way I'd ever do something like this to them. I'd rather die."
"That's good to hear. Now, seeing as you haven't tried to use your enhanced strength to break my neck and your natural invisibility abilities to sneak out of here after my little reveal, I think I can trust you a bit more." As Weiss stood there, confused as to what he meant by that, he pulled an iron dagger out of another drawer and set it on the enchanting table. "Your first few enchantments are going to be pitiful, but, once you gain mastery of it, you will be able to bestow enchantments the like of which only gods can better. Try enchanting that dagger then."
Mikhail fell back onto his rear, nursing a swollen and bruised eye.
"From now on, know that no," Yang cracked her knuckles, "means no."
"Undershood," the bard lisped through a swollen lip.
"What was that?"
"Understood, ma'am!"
Yang smiled and nodded. "All right then. Have a pleasant evening."
One Nord watching seemed to have a twinkle in his eyes. "The arms on that woman!"
"Wouldn't mind going a few rounds with her," his friend said before wagging his eyebrows. Both laughed and returned to their mugs and banter. Not noticing her new admirers, Yang strolled over to her team, who were eating their stew while waiting on her return.
"All hail Yang, defender of the single mothers," her sister teased, failing to hold back her giggles.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh at me. Weiss, what are you doing?"
The heiress looked up from whatever she was fiddling with. "Uh, what?"
"What're you doing under the table?"
In response, the white-haired girl lifted up a sack and set it on the table.
"While you were off punching insistent bards in the face, which I thoroughly support, I counted through our money twice," she explained. "One ebon, four denars, two malks, and six septims, or nine-hundred and twenty-six septims. …And sixty three cents."
Yang let out a low whistle. "Sounds like a good bit!"
"Not really. It's enough to live off of for quite a while, but there's no telling how much we'll need in the future. And we still have to go by Solitude and get our reward for that amulet. We still have those, right?"
"All five," Ruby confirmed, before pouting. "But I lost my special water-breathing necklace because of you. And my frost sword."
"How many times…! I'll make you a new one, I promise." She sighed in exasperation before quickly looking through the bag of money again. "We should put at least one ebon in savings. I'll open up an account at the bank in the Cloud District."
"Wait, they have banks?" Ruby wondered. "How does that work?"
"Banks existed on Remnant long before instant communication. They just weren't internationally connected until about fifty years ago."
"Then how will we be able to...?"
"Crystal balls hooked up on some kind of interbank network that tells the other banks how much money each person has in their account. At least, that's what Farengar told me..." Weiss interjected before going silent, remembering how he had recognized her condition.
"Ah... Neat."
Seeing how their money problem was currently resolved, and tired after a long day's work, Yang reached for a brown bottle, only to have her hand stopped by Blake. "Ten more minutes."
"Aw!" Yang whined, half serious and half joking. "Come on, Blakey! Live a..."
A loud noise reverberated throughout the inn, sustained for about ten seconds, stopping Yang in mid-sentence, along with the rest of the diners. Everyone went quiet, tense at the unexpected sound. When it started up again, the diners quickly exited their seats, leaving their food and drinks behind in a rush, each sporting a worried look.
"What's going on?" Ruby asked the departing crowd, getting up from her seat, along with the rest of her team.
"War horn," an armored man answered. "Doesn't make sense. There would have been an official declaration of war."
"Whiterun's neutral, right?" Yang asked him.
"Officially, but the Jarl might as well declare for the Empire the way he runs things." The war horn echoed out it's signal once again, making people pick up their pace. At this point, Whiterun itself was in a mild panic. "Ulfric Stormcloak wouldn't have attacked without officially declaring war on Whiterun either. He believes in honorable conflict."
"I doubt he'd have the time either," Weiss muttered. "He probably hasn't even made it back to Windhelm yet."
"Let's go see what's going on," Ruby suggested as she headed straight out the door. People were rushing along the streets up towards the Cloud District, likely to get further from whatever was threatening Whiterun. Near the gate she saw several guardsmen beginning to gather up, with Irileth herself leading them. Seeing Irileth at the front made Ruby pick up her pace, recognizing that if she was here, this was not just a bandit raid. Her team followed her outside while the other patrons still inside the tavern began heading up towards the Cloud District. Looking over the crowd, Yang recognized and waved at four people moving against the crowd.
"'Sup guys!" The other three turned and saw Aela, Vilkas, Farkas, and another man only Yang knew the name of leading them. "What's going on?"
"I still don't understand your greeting," Skjor scowled before shaking his head. "Doesn't matter right now. We just got word. Someone just ran all the way from the Western Watchtower. Says it was attacked by a dragon."
The girls froze up. The memories of that black beast they had fought and barely escaped from coming back to them.
"S-so it's here?" Ruby queried with a slight shake in her, the rest of her teammates not much better.
"Near about. The Western Watchtower is a short ways from Whiterun proper."
"We're going out to help the force being put together to hopefully fight it off," Aela added. "It caught Helgen off-guard, and while they were occupied with other matters. Hopefully we stand a better chance."
Not wanting to waste any more time, they began walking towards the gate, Team RWBY right behind them. Upon realizing this, the four companions halted in surprise.
"You four not planning on heading to the keep? Maybe Jorvaskr?" Farkas asked them.
"No," Ruby stated simply, resolute and determined. "I mean, I'm not. You guys-"
"No way we're letting you go alone," Yang interrupted.
"You're our leader. If you're brave enough to go out there and face a dragon, then it'd be shameful if I ran," Weiss explained.
"We're better prepared this time," Blake said with a nod.
"Yeah, and besides, it's our duty to protect people from monsters."
"Atta girls," Farkas quietly cheered for them.
"What about you guys?" Ruby asked. "Are any more Companions coming?"
"The rest are preparing a defense, just in case," Vilkas explained. "We volunteered to go sally forth. Besides, fighting a dragon? Victory or Sovngarde, this'll be a tale to tell."
Nodding their heads at each other, the eight marched up to the front gates upon the gathering guardsmen. As they neared, they could hear Irileth finish what must have been an inspirational speech to her men.
"Could you call yourselves Nords if you ran from this monster? Are you going to let me face this thing alone?" she challenged to the group of warriors, briefly noting the new arrivals before nodding in approval, and then redirecting her attention to the soldiers.
Several of them yelled out a throaty 'no', but one guard nearby muttered under his breath something that they all thought at least once.
"We're so dead…"
"But it's more than our honor at stake here! Think of it! The first dragon seen in Skyrim since the last age. The glory of killing it is ours, if you're with me! Now what do you say? Shall we go kill us a dragon!"
The crowd of guards, now thoroughly enraptured, started giving out battlecries. The nervousness and fear wasn't quite gone from them, but it had been greatly diminished. Even the teen girls felt a little better about their chances.
"Let's move out!" the housecarl yelled before hopping down from her raised stone and heading out the gate, the small army following her. The Companions and Huntresses ended up somewhere in the middle as they jogged out of the city and down the path towards the west, with only the light of the moons guiding them, with a faint orange glow coming from the west.
After several minutes of jogging, and then slowing to a brisk walk, the crowd neared the watchtower to see much of it ablaze, and its walls crumbled around it. The tower itself was still standing, but there was a large scorch on one side of it. Men and women stopped just behind Irileth, who looked about with a small spell in her hand that fizzled away after a moment.
"No sign of any dragon, but it sure looks like he's been here." She looked back to the crowd and waved one arm out. "I know it looks bad, but let's figure out what happened." She looked back at the damage before muttering, "And if that dragon's still skulking about anywhere. Spread out, and look for survivors. We need to know what we're dealing with."
Aela walked over to the teens with a bow in hand. "Look like the dragon's handiwork to you lot?"
"Yeah, but…" Ruby tried to search for the words to describe her thoughts.
"We didn't have much time to observe the damage done to Helgen before we had to focus on the dragon itself," Weiss explained. "The fire fits the bill perfectly though."
Yang lifted up a chunk of masonry and sighed as she dropped it to reveal a charred body. Farkas and Vilkas worked together to remove some heavy stones only to reveal a man that was more paste that anything.
"Anyone find anything yet?" a guard asked after looking around a small, collapsed wooden structure.
"Nothing here," the blonde called back.
"Hey, I found someone," Blake announced from with the tower. Several people began running for the broken opening, seeing a man with a partially scorched uniform, groaning where he leaned against the wall.
"You should-" His coughing interrupted him. "You should all leave. It's still around somewhere."
A roar, one familiar to the girls resounded through the tundra, making everyone turn toward the mountains south of them.
"No…" the survivor muttered. "Kynereth save us…"
"Get ready!" Irileth shouted before pulling out her blade from its sheath.
"Where is it?"
"What does it look like?"
"You four!" the Dunmer called out for Team RWBY. "You've seen the dragon before. What can we expect?"
"That was definitely it!" Yang called out in reply, trying to keep the fear inside from coming out. "We heard that same noise before we reached Helgen!"
"It flies faster than you'd expect," Weiss described. "It mostly breathed fire, but it can breathe frost too. And the scales are harder than steel! Aim for the wings!"
"It really doesn't like people, and called us dumb mortals before threatening to kill us," Ruby added.
The other three paused at that.
"Ruby, what?" her sister asked before a louder roar shook the air around them.
"Look!" Blake screamed as she pointed up.
The whole crowd looked at the sky to see a shape passing in front of Masser. As it passed by Secunda, it blocked nearly the whole of the smaller moon before seeming to drop and grow as it rapidly approached.
"Ha!" a deep voice called from it as it passed them by. "I had forgotten what sport you mortals can provide!"
Three of the girls felt a chill overtake them. Ruby stared at it with wide eyes.
"It's…not the same!"
"What?!" Aela and Irileth both screamed.
"It's not the same dragon!" Ruby shouted. "The dragon at Helgen was bigger and all black. This one's more grey colored!"
"Another… Focus everyone!" the housecarl ordered, sending out a bolt of electricity towards the beast, going wide.
With a loud laugh, the dragon swooped down and grasped one of the men with its large talons, his panicked screams filling the night air as he was taken into the sky as the dragon banked upwards. The reptile released the man, catapulting him away, flying higher through the sky before reaching the zenith of his flight and falling back down in the distance, his screams ending with a loud crunch.
"Bows out! Aim for the wings!" At her command, a volley of arrows erupted, speeding towards the flying reptile. Most missed, but a few hit its mark, and to Blake's surprise and relief a grunt of pain came out.
"Guys!" Ruby yelled as her team regathered.
"There's another one!" Weiss shrieked. "Why is there another one?!"
"I don't know, but listen, it's smaller, and we have help!"
"I saw a few arrows hit it," Blake explained. "Only one stuck, but it felt that. It's way softer than the other one."
"So, we have a chance this time!" Yang pounded her fists together, itching for some payback.
"Maybe, but it's…smart," Ruby pondered. "Maybe we can make it back off?" At Ruby's suggestion, her team went silent, the sounds of battle and death overtaking them.
"What are you thinking?" her sister asked cautiously.
"It is intelligent, but I'm thinking it's going to be hard to convince something like that to not try to kill us," Weiss warned.
"I have to try. Even if I fail, I tried my best. Until then," she took out Crescent Rose and set it to gun mode, "we're going to do our best to stop it."
The girls nodded and went into action. Arrows continued to fill the sky, with some hitting their target, only to be repelled as a word left the dragon's maw, scattered by a wave of power. Irileth, noting that the dragon was much lower to the ground this time, raised her hand and fired a bolt of lightning that hit the dragon's underbelly. It roared in pain and turned as fire began leaving its mouth. Guards ducked behind whatever they could, while the Dunmer raised a magical ward, attempting to shield themselves from the flames, but some were still immolated, their screams sounding out as their bodies flailed. The ward spell began cracking, but held until the flames died and the dragon turned again and glided over the ground, circling the watchtower and coming back around. Irileth dodged out of the way of its jaws and spun to fire another lightning bolt at it.
Yang charged up and fired two shots at its side. The dragon roared and banked back up and Yang cheered.
"That hit 'em! Drew blood!"
"So it is softer," Weiss whispered in relief.
The dragon turned back and spun through another swarm of arrows before breathing out a stream of flames at the unfortunate Nords beneath it. It roared more joyously and began hovering while looking for prey.
Ruby fired, her shot bouncing off of one of its horns. The dragon hissed and looked towards her.
"Stop!" she screamed. "We don't have to fight!"
The dragon laughed as it came closer to the ground before it feet landed.
"Wrong, mortal," it taunted as it stepped near her. "The war is begun again. It will not end until our lord has trampled you all under the rule of my brethren and I." It laughed again, much louder this time. "Thuri du hin sil ko Sovngarde!"
Ruby grit her teeth, aimed, and fired, striking its eye. The dragon jumped back and roared in pain. Ruby chambered a new round and fired again, hitting its neck and causing a spurt of blood to erupt. As she chambered a third round, the dragon reared its head back.
"Yol," she heard before disappearing in a swarm of petals. "Tor SHUUL!" Fire filled the area where Ruby once presided, scorching the land and adding to the ever increasing amount of flame that at this point threatened to turn into a wildfire.
The girl looked back to see the dragon taking off again before it turned to make another pass.
"Talking failed," she groaned. "But…it said something about a lord."
"Well, we can hurt it!" Yang shouted as she cocked her gauntlets.
"Yeah, let's show this-" Something slammed into the speaking guardsman and Yang, throwing them both through a partly collapsed wall. Yang struggled to get up, but the Nord hadn't been so lucky, practically exploding upon contact. The dragon banked hard and jumped off the side of the tower.
"Hahaha! Tiid! Clo! Ul!" the dragon said before Ruby felt like the entire world was suddenly covered in molasses. Everything but the dragon slowed, and then the creature was coming straight for her, a foot open to catch her. She pushed her Semblance to the max and got out of the way. Suddenly the world came back to normalcy, but everyone seemed to not notice the effect, instead feeling as if the dragon seemed to have gotten extremely fast.
"What…was that?" she gasped.
Ice spikes flew at the dragon, smacking into it and breaking, save for three that pierced its wings. It turned and unleashed fire from its maw blindly, enraged as it began to slightly lose altitude before recovering. Attempting to disengage, Weiss ran from the flames, but it noticed her and, recognizing that she was the one who launched the ice spikes, unleashed a more directed stream right at her, encircling the teenage girl. The heiress screamed as she was enveloped in fire, her Aura straining to protect her. Before her Aura couldn't take anymore abuse, a yellow blur shot through with the sound of two guns firing at once, grabbing her and pulling her loose. Her clothes were singed, and her Aura was visibly taxed as Yang set her down.
"Get some cover Ice Queen," the brawler told her before turning back and pounding her fists together. "Good shot though."
The dragon landed for a moment, looking at its injured wing and growling. Several men charged, armed with different weapons, only to be enveloped in flames as the dragon unleashed another fire breath upon them, setting many on fire or outright charring them. One man was lucky enough to dodge, but as he picked himself off the ground, dragon's maw enclosed upon him, snapping him up before thrashing about and then tossing the body away.
Yang charged at the dragon with a shout. Its head was smacked away by one punch and then upwards by the follow-up. The dragon flapped its wings and leapt back before smacking at her with its tail again, only for her to meet it with a fist and for them both to get knocked back. The dragon straightened out its flight as Yang skid away.
"Blake," Ruby shouted towards the girl that had relegated herself to firing arrows. "Can you get it if it gets close to the tower?"
The faunus looked at the structure, and then nodded to her leader before heading inside. Ruby watched as the dragon circled out again, closing the distance it made quickly. She hefted Crescent Rose up and sped forward.
"You can't catch me!" she taunted the creature. It looked towards her and seemed to snarl. "Come and get it, you flying lizard!"
"Hi fen oblaan us Mirmulnir, neltiid joor!"
Ruby sped back to the tower, circling around it and waiting for the dragon to show. As it came around, she aimed up towards it, making it flinch back and hover. Just as it did so, Blake jumped upon its back and ran down, swiping at its spine before digging her sword into the skin of its wing between the third and fourth fingers and sliding off. The dragon roared in pain as it was forced to descend. It crashed into the ground, and the remaining guards had come around to see it.
"Is it dead?" someone asked.
The dragon rose up on its wings and snorted outward before growling at them all. Yang came around and charged up.
"Got you this time!"
"Yang! Wait!"
"Tiid!" the dragon shouted as Yang neared it. Once again, Ruby saw the world go into slow-motion and the dragon stepped forward unaffected before snapping down onto her blonde sister. Ruby tried to speed forward, but her Semblance had barely activated before Yang was being lifted into the air and then tossed back down. She bounced once and landed on her back before the dragon jumped upwards and landed a foot on her legs and waist. Time resumed its pace and Yang was screaming as her Aura flared and shattered. Ruby felt the world snap into some kind of focus as her blood pounded in her ears.
"YANG!" she screamed before bursting into petals with Crescent Rose unfurling totally. She charged the dragon and dragged her scythe across its scales as she spun around it from its neck to its torso, causing a long line of a bleeding wound to suddenly burst on the dragon. It roared in pain and backed away as Ruby dashed back, grabbing Yang and taking her back to the tower.
"Yang?" Ruby begged her unconscious sister as she checked her over. Blake hopped over to them and Weiss was looking from the tower's base. The guards tried firing arrows at the dragon while it was stunned, Irileth adding her lightning to the mix, but there were far less of them than before. Vilkas, Farkas, and Skjor were out on the field with some of the guards circling around the dangerous creature, hoping to get it occupied. Ruby blinked back tears and looked at the dragon in rage.
"Weiss," she called out to her partner. "Make a trail! Blake, hold its head back!"
"What are you-"
"Just do it!" she yelled, startling her teammates. She looked at the dragon, and recalled its name.
"Mirmulnir!" she yelled at it, gaining its attention after it tried to knock Farkas away with a wing. "Hi ahraan dii brihnah!" she roared out. "Zu'u los do us krii hi!"
The dragon growled as its tail whacked to ground in front of a charging Skjor, missing the Companion as he backed away. Then it laughed mirthlessly.
"Brit grah! Come then, meyus joor!"
Ruby held Crescent Rose in a ready pose and put herself into a sprinting position.
"Now!"
A trail of white glyphs appeared before her, leading straight to the dragon, as a black ribbon appeared following a bladed gun that fired. Blake grabbed the gun and pulled it and the other end of the ribbon, snatching it into the dragon's mouth and tugging back. The dragon's head was pulled back by the faunus, and then the men on the field rushed to her side to help.
Ruby shot forward, firing her sniper-scythe as her Semblance activated and the glyphs pushed her speed even higher. She released a yell as she swung her scythe forward. The total momentum behind her swing was thus that she buried her scythe's blade all the way into the chest of the dragon where she believed its heart to be. Mirmulnir roared in pain and whipped its head around as it struggled against the pain. Ruby yanked Crescent Rose loose and jumped clear as the dragon fell to the ground and wildly thrashed its limbs about. It looked at Ruby, and the girl could swear she saw fear in its eye as it struggled to escape, rapidly losing strength.
"D- Dovahkiin?! NOOOOOOOO!" With one last pathetic thrash, the dragon went still. For a long moment no one moved, and then the remaining men and women began cheering.
"Let's make sure that overgrown lizard is really dead!" Irileth ordered as she approached.
Farkas tested with a stab to the neck, which elicited no response. At this confirmation, the cheering doubled in strength, with many of the surviving guardsmen turning to look at Ruby in amazement, who herself was still checking over her sister in worry.
"Amazing! You really killed it!" one guardsman cheered. Ruby ignored him as she went over to check on her unconscious sister.
"Yang!" Ruby cried before hugging her, hoping that she'd be all right. Their other teammates came up to try and check on her as well.
"Well done ev- What's going on?!" Another guardsman shouted out in panic, directing everyone's attention
Everyone looked back at the dragon corpse, which had begun to glow and seemingly light on fire. As the flames from within it burned away its flesh into ashes and embers, wisps of energy leapt from the burning dragon and into Ruby. The wind seemed to pick up around them all as the energy flowed into her. Ruby felt as if her soul was being pinched from all around, as though her Aura was being overfilled with power. When the lights died down, she felt as though she could recall seeing things she never saw before, and a deeper understanding of Words and how they differed from words filled her memories.
"I don't believe it," a guardsman muttered as he took off his helmet. "You're…Dragonborn."
Ruby looked around in fear and began patting her torso, feeling like there should have been more wounds there.
"Am…" She blinked and teared up a bit. "Am I going to die?"
Dovahzul Translations
'
Thuri du hin sil ko Sovngarde! - My overlord will devour your souls in Sovngarde!
Tiid! Clo! Ul! - Time! Sand! Eternity! - The Slow Time Shout
Hi fen oblaan us Mirmulnir, neltiid joor! - You will die to Mirmulnir, fleet (fast) mortal!
Hi ahraan dii brihnah! Zu'u los do us krii hi! - You hurt my sister! I am going to kill you!
Brit grah! - Beautiful battle!
Meyus joor - Foolish mortal