Here we are with chapter 23. Our heroes head to Kynesgrove. What awaits them there?

Oh, by the way, if you haven't checked it out already go over and read Dragon Rose Chibi. It's both adorable and hilarious, and several writers contributed to the stories within it.

While the others had left with Ruby to deliver Torygg's Horn to the Talos Shrine, Blake, M'rissi, and Inigo had to take care of Guild business. Lydia normally would have attempted to stop it, but given how Blake was going to make Mallus fail she let it pass. It took about an hour, but in the end the mission was a success, at least for her. Maven would think otherwise, but the Faunus honestly couldn't care less what she thinks. Regardless, Blake watched with an amused smirk as Mallus was led away in chains, desperately trying to prove his innocence to the owner and Guard Captain. As they slowly disappeared into the distance, Blake and her Khajiit companions turned to make their way back to their friends. It wasn't long until she found them waiting for her on the road. Ruby was currently getting magic lessons from Weiss and the other mages, Lydia and Delphine were working on their weapons and armor, and Yang was currently tending a fire, cooking some sort of venison stew by the smell of it.

"Have fun?" Yang asked as they approached, stirring the contents of the pot.

"Well, the tasting's been put on hold, but now Mallus Maccius has all the blame."

"And M'rissi has a fancy decanter now!"

"Don't show it off here," Blake chided with a small smile before sitting down and grabbing a pewter bowl, M'rissi and Inigo echoing her. Yang quickly scooped up some soup and poured it into their waiting hands.

"The others and I have already eaten," Yang answered the unasked question. "Was just keeping it warm for you three. Dig in." M'rissi complied immediately, eating her soup with gusto. Inigo was more subdued, allowing the flavor to seep onto his tongue, but even still he quickly ate his food. Blake, on the other hand, slowly ate hers, deep in thought.

"There was something else." Blake took a bite and swallowed. "I think the person who bought Goldenglow is the same one who helped finance Sabjorn. It's…really suspicious."

"What makes you say that?" Yang dumped the excess soup and began putting the cooking supplies away. M'rissi and Inigo had already finished eating and handed their bowls to Yang, while Blake stood up and continued to eat.

"In both Honningbrew and Goldenglow, there were letters from the same person. I know this because both had the same handwriting and the same signature," Blake declared as she finished eating her soup. "A stylized dagger."

"Huh, so what does that mean?" her partner asked as they walked over to where the others were preparing themselves in an almost caravan like fashion.

"I'm not sure, but both of these actions do two things; they piss off Maven, and they loosen up her monopolies on one of the biggest economies in Skyrim. I think someone might be targeting her, but I don't know who."

"Do you know why?"

"You might as well ask why someone would kill a Grimm. Maven has to have made plenty of enemies, weak and strong."

"Sir Butterfly thinks that it may be a small step in a bigger plan," Inigo put in. "In fact, I would not be surprised if Maven was not the ultimate goal of this mystery person."

Ruby strummed her lute as the group rested at the Valtheim Towers. After a full day of travel either on foot or horseback, the twelve people were just starting to find their stride. With darkness closing, it would be better to have the shelter provided by the massive constructs than not, so a few of them began gathering wood for a fire while others prepared a space to sleep. The first thing Delphine wanted to do was set up a watch, which she discussed mostly with Lydia and Ruby. Now, everyone was relaxing before finally turning in for the night.

"~ This is the time that we let it go. These are the words that'll take us home. Singing the song that's inside us all. If we just open our eyes… This is the time that we let it go. And this is the pain we are forced to know. Singing the song that's inside, inside us all. Inside us all… ~" As she played out the last few chords and notes, Ruby looked up and smiled over at Weiss and her classmates, M'rissi sitting near them, having tried to learn some magic earlier.

"I must admit, I hadn't thought you were such a skilled musician," Weiss admitted with a smile and nod. "Or a singer. Your voice just…doesn't scream 'skilled at music'."

"No, it normally screams fire, or pure concussive force," the younger girl joked with a laugh. Weiss rolled her eyes and shook her head, but her smile didn't leave.

"Well, I suppose we should turn it in then," Onmund said as he stretched before heading into the tower. "Good night everyone."

"'Night, Mundy," Yang called after him.

"I was more surprised by the song," Blake brought up from her corner of the fire. "I didn't think you were a fan of Never More. Always struck me as more of a sugar pop type."

"Ew, pbbt!" Ruby rejected with a raspberry. "Okay, maybe I like a few of the funnier ones, but overall? No way!"

"Yeah, Rubes has been a little head banger since she could push the radio buttons. Never the really dark and gross stuff, but she did like bands like Squareknot, Kernal, Metalla, Seven Times Vengeance, but then she likes White Hot Ghost Peppers, or even Beringalz and Azure Steel." Yang smiled, while Ruby grumbled.

"Just share all my information why don't you?" Ruby groaned.

"Heh, I already told Blake about the tub monster debacle."

As Ruby gasped, Blake couldn't help but chuckle. At the same time, M'rissi yawned, exposing her mouth full of sharp teeth and long canines.

"Guess you're ready for bed," Blake decided and stood up.

"Wait! Whatever she told you it wasn't true!" M'rissi flailed about weakly, trying and failing to deny her tiredness.

"Yeah, I'm sure," the Faunus brushed off as she helped her friend go find her place to sleep.

"Well, I'm interested. What exactly was this 'tub monster debacle'?" Brelyna asked. Yang smiled and was ready to answer, but then Ruby flung herself over at her sister and tackled her right off of her log seat. As the two tussled, J'zargo stood and nodded towards Weiss, who also stood and went into the building. Brelyna sighed and cracked her neck before looking towards Lydia, who was sitting as quietly as ever, her new steel plate armor set aside for comfort.

"Does this happen often?"

"Things like it tend to."

"Look, all I'm saying is that if it's a real university, it shouldn't be limited to one kind of people," Yang argued with Weiss. Just as the heiress seemed to be formulating a response from her position on foot, everyone slowed to a halt.

"What's going… Oh." Weiss looked forward to see right at the river's bend, two groups of Giants were facing off against each other. The group across the river seemed, in general, to be less muscular and slightly more tanned, while those on their side tended to have bodybuilder like frames and paler skin. The one at the head of the tanner ones wore an array of pelts and seemed to be holding a staff with antlers at its top, gripping a Grand Soul Gem. In contrast, the leader of the more muscular ones was wearing a thick iron armor piece and, rather than a primitive club, had a discernibly squared-headed hammer. Both were saying something back and forth, of which none of the group understood, until Ruby took out one of her Giantspeech talismans and placed it on her neck.

"Go take your cattle and goats back to your mountains!" a younger Giant from the tanner group yelled at the other.

"They need to graze, but we cannot take them to the west! Our southern fields are already too low! They will overgraze!"

"We need to use your southern fields, for a short time," the armored Giant requested. "The gatherers are tending our fields now, but the cattle are starving. Your mammoth fields will be more than enough until they finish in five days."

"They may be more than enough for your cattle, but what of our mammoths?" the staff holder countered.

"Oh, it's a… Uh, Weiss. What do you call it when ranchers argue over whose herds graze in places?"

"A grazing dispute?" the vampire guessed, her face twisting in confusion. "Wait, is that what they're arguing over? Grazing privileges?"

"Yeah. Hey, give me a hand with them." Ruby passed over her other Giantspeech talisman to Weiss, who only had enough time to look at it for a moment before she was dragged forward by her partner.

"What is she doing?" Delphine demanded as she dismounted. Lydia held her arm up to stop her before she ran after the Dragonborn.

"It's fine. She's done this sort of thing before."

"Talked to Giants or stepped into a situation that's not really her business?"

"Both." Delphine incredulously looked between Lydia and Ruby, the housecarl merely shrugging. To the housecarl, the sooner Delphine got used to the intricacies of her charge the better. That's what she had to do.

"Hello," Ruby called out to the two groups as she approached. All of the Giant men turned towards her, a few snarling at her presence. One of the tanner Giants shook his club at her, only to get whacked across the head by his leader. Weiss tried to put on her talisman, only to wince, take off her amulet, and place it on again.

"Stupid enchantment dissonance," she muttered.

"Who are you?" the muscled leader asked. "Do you want something from us?"

"I just wanted to help. I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose."

"Ruby?" he repeated in interest as he began to stroke his peppered beard. "We heard of a small one called Ruby who helped the Talking Stones with a poacher problem, and taught them to make the hard pieces from special stone. The Sleeping Trees have learned from them, and they gave me this." He beat on the painted armor piece with a fist. "You are a friend of the Jo'Tunn."

"Jo'Tunn?" Weiss whispered.

"It's what Giants call themselves," Ruby whispered back.

"That tiny speck is important to you rock-biters," a Giant across the river taunted, only for his own leader to turn on him and shoot a quick flash of magic from his staff. The Giant blinked and then rubbed his throat while trying to mouth words.

"Be quiet or be silenced! Friends of Jo'Tunn have been rare since the Dark Years. If she is friend, let her speak."

"Thank you, sir. What exactly seems to be the problem here?"

"We of the Guldun tribe must feed our herds," the armored Giant began to explain. "We have no mammoths, but instead cattle and goats, because we live on the Guldun mountain's feet. But many of our fields caught fire, and burned. There's not enough to feed them, though our gatherers work hard to heal them. Many of our cattle will starve before they can finish it. Cattle that we trade often," he finished as he looked over to the other tribe.

"They're asking to use Cradlecrush fields, but mammoths eat much more than simple cattle. We might still have a lot for cattle when they're done, but our mammoths will suffer. I wish to help, but there is much risk in this."

"And you can't go west because of the farms." Ruby nodded in understanding. "What do you think, Weiss?"

"Well…" The heiress scratched the back of her head a moment before looking over at the Gulduns. "What exactly are your…gatherers doing to heal the fields?"

"I can't believe you just settled a grazing rights dispute betweens Giant clans," Delphine groaned.

"I can't believe Giants know magic," Weiss muttered. "And magic that can apparently be applied to farming. Did you know this?" she directed towards her fellows. "Do other people know this?"

"News to me," Brelyna admitted. "Though it does sound like the magic House Telvanni uses to create giant mushroom houses, if applied differently."

"So you mean there's a possible way to get free housing and a cheap, constant food source," Blake asked with raised eyebrows, "and the methods rest in the hands of a Dunmer noble house and some Giants?"

"You might be able to convince the Giants to show you how theirs works, but good luck on a Telvanni teaching you anything without oaths to fill a few volumes, proceeded by a multitude of tests to see if you are worthy of even being a guest in their house," Brelyna explained with a shrug.

"At least M'rissi knows a bit of magic." The Khajiit girl then demonstrated her newfound ability by shooting a plume of flames into the air, startling her horse.

"Easy, Patches," Inigo calmed the beast of burden. "You have four people to think of, and I seriously doubt Miss Bee enjoys being shaken around."

"She thinks Mr. Dragonfly does though."

"Oh yes. Mr. Dragonfly likes a good bit of excitement like fast riding."

Weiss looked back towards J'zargo, who simply shrugged in equal confusion to his fellows' actions and words.

Denor faced off against the Argonian, who looked at her with something akin to disappointment, though all that the young woman could feel towards him was unbridled rage.

"A shame. You all would have made worthy heirs to my business. Now, you're only impediments to our plans." He drew his ebony greatsword while his four, Dwemer metal clad guards pulled forth their own weapons. Denor pulled out her hammer with no hesitation, ready to use it against her foe. The other four young heroes also armed themselves, ready for battle, but none as eager as her.

"Listen, we shouldn't have to fight," Lerian called out to the warlord. "We could just-"

"You won't change my course, boy," the Argonian interrupted. "It's all been laid out before me." Desann clenched his hand as magics flowed through him, strengthening him further. "However, for your past services helping my sister and mother, I will make sure to make your deaths as painless as possible."

Denor growled as she took her battle stance. "The next time they see you, it's going to be at YOUR FUNERAL!" she screamed before charging him. He caught the haft of her hammer upon the flat of his blade as each of the others faced off against their own opponents. Nicaea almost immediately began battering her foe around, his armor and her mercy the only things saving him from a near instant death by the Champion's hands. Lerian fluidly dodged around sword swings and struck out with his daggers, his opponent finding himself at the beginning of death by a thousand cuts courtesy of the Watcher. The Unknown's enemy could barely defend himself in the weapon-wielding confusion laden by the madman. Yohannes stood like a bulwark against futile blows that almost bounced harmlessly off of his shield, showing the maceman just a fraction of the Hero's steadfast defense.

The Guardian's battle, however, was going far differently, for her opponent was no mere elite mercenary. Desann, who had ventured deep in ancient Dwemer ruins, fought and killed thousands of mortals, and had become such a name of notoriety among certain circles as to be seen as a legend, was far stronger than anything she had ever faced. After her third power-filled blow was almost effortlessly blocked or parried away, he swung out his sword with lightning speed and precision, cutting across the side of her shoulder deeply. She tried to block a downward swing, but found herself dropping to her knees from the power behind the blow.

"You were strong and brave, but foolish, and not nearly strong enough." Desann then twisted his blade and sliced upwards, cutting into Denor's face. The Guardian screamed as she fell back and clutched her wounded eye, a bleeding line leading from her forehead and down her cheek. "Forgive me. That was meant to kill you."

"Denor!" Lerian cried out, seeing his oldest friend lying down and bleeding. The others cried out for her as well, but Lerian's was the most desperate. He looked at his opponent as an untellable fury enveloped him, and then he struck out with a palm covered in lightning, denting the Dwarven plate and sending electric energy through the being before him with such intensity he began to turn into ashes within his armor. The young monk charged the Argonian raising his sword over his friend and stabbed upwards into a gap in the gold-filigreed ebony armor. Desann shouted in pain, but then Lerian's hand reached up and grasped his scaly throat before sending waves of lightning through him as well. He bowled them both over before stabbing into the Argonian's unarmored face and throat with his other dagger rapidly. Desann shouted and tried to pry the crazed man from off of him, but went still moments later.

As Lerian realized the warlord was expired he turned to look back to his closest companion, bleeding out all over the floor. She was going pale, and his stomach was twisting in knots, even as Yohannes finished off his own foe and knelt by her side. The paladin began sending healing energies into her, but already things were looking too late for her. Lerian came to her side as well, clutching one of her hands and sending what healing magic he knew to her.

"Please! Gods, please! Help her!" he pleaded to whoever would listen.

"I'm doing…all that I can," the knight stressed as he pushed his magic to its limit. One look at Lerian's desperate face though, and Yohannes gritted his teeth as he struggled to push himself beyond those limits. Denor groaned, and looked up at them with a glassy eye.

"Lerian…" she got out.

"It'll be all right," the monk tried to reassure both her and himself. "It'll be all right."

"It…will be," Yohannes struggled out as a new sort of power seemed to fill him, a new magic he never knew before. Suddenly light began to shine around the young woman as the deep cut marring her face began to seal up even quicker. "By the Nine, I will not let you go now!"

"Blake, can M'rissi ride Patches now?" Blake looked up from her book and sighed.

"All right, but we're almost at Kynesgrove anyways," the Faunus conceded. M'rissi didn't seem to care about that fact as she hopped up into the saddle as soon as Blake was clear of it. Inigo seemed to chuckle at this as he strode along with them.

"Does she smell…off to you?" J'zargo asked his fellow male Khajiit, who merely chuckled.

"Eh, I don't really mind it so much. I actually find it interesting. In fact, everything about M'rissi is interesting. It is not my story to tell, but she has a colorful past, but cannot remember any of it. A ghost suggested that we try to restore her memory at the College."

"Ah, this one sees. Also, he wants to ask you, about your accent…?"

"Oh, I have traveled all over most of Tamriel for most of my life, so my accent is eclectic, you see." J'zargo nodded at his fellow Khajiit's answer.

"Yes, this one understands. Not all Khajiit are born in Elswyr." Before he could continue, Yang suddenly stopped in front of them and turned around, having heard the conversation.

"So instead of Elswyr, you were born elsewhere?" Yang asked before making finger guns. Inigo began laughing uproariously while most present just groaned. Onmund started to chuckle, but his small laugh was mostly covered up by the blue Khajiit's.

The group came upon the small mining village and began unwinding themselves from the trip. Weiss, J'zargo, and Blake went to go find them rooms at the Braidwood Inn, while Ruby almost wandered off towards the sound of a hammer before Delphine caught her.

"Come on, we need to check and make sure we haven't been beaten to it."

"Eh, okay. But I'm still not sure about this whole thing." Ruby had tried to find something, anything in the dragons' collective memories that could point to them coming back to life as being plausible, but nothing had revealed itself to her but a few whispers of a handful of words. Half of them were useless, but one stood out. Vo: undo or, more specifically, reverse. It made sense if one stretched their imagination, but that was like trying to stretch a foot of nylon over a whole stadium. Meditating without any real direction got her nowhere fast, so she gave up on trying that and focused more on words she did know.

The two climbed a pair of hills before topping a third, where a circular stone mound filled with dirt lay. A quick look confirmed what Ruby already suspected.

"Still here. So whatever it is hasn't come by yet," Delphine replied with her characteristic scowl while Ruby silently gave her the stink eye before gaining a thoughtful look.

"You know, I never did ask, but how did you find these things?"

"You dug up the Dragonstone for Farengar, who got it for me," Delphine explained as she turned away and began heading back to the village.

"That was you?" Ruby exclaimed as she followed the Blade down the hill.

"Yes. It's how I found all the sites that've already been emptied. If the pattern holds, this one will be next." She looked across the distance and hummed to herself. "We'll need to keep watch on this thing. I get that you have doubts, but I need you to trust me for a bit longer."

"Sure, fine," the Dragonborn groaned. "Just know that you're seriously holding me back from my Voice training, which I kinda need and stuff to fight dragons effectively."

"I can help you with other things. Weapons if you're interested," Delphine offered

"Nah, I'm good there," Ruby declined politely with a shake of her head. "Hm, actually, I'm gonna look into what this place's stuff is. It's a malachite mine, right?"

"Last I checked, yes."

"'Kolb stopped at the tavern to rest before fighting the dragon. High elves ran the tavern, however, and poisoned his mead so they could steal his gold.'"

"Darn it! She keeps getting Kolb killed," M'rissi pouted. "She just wanted him to be well rested before fighting the evil dragon."

"It is okay," Inigo comforted her. "I think you are getting the hang of it. Perhaps next time will be the one."

"Why in Oblivion would high elves poison a traveler in their own inn?" Weiss questioned. "That's bad for business in several ways."

"You're trying to apply logic to a story made for small children," Blake pointed out.

"A story that promotes a racist viewpoint." Blake blinked her eyes at Weiss' answer.

"…Fair enough." Blake looked toward her notebook and jotted a few things down.

"What are you writing there, anyways?"

"Oh, it's, er, some notes," Blake bashfully admitted. "I've been…reading what I could about Alessia and the events surrounding her. Trying to get what I can on Morihaus, specifically."

"Hah, take that, orc!" M'rissi cheered, catching an actual orc's attention for a moment before he growled and went back to his drink. The girls turned their attention away from the avoided situation and back to each other.

"Morihaus was supposedly a demigod and son of Kynareth, and his descendants became the Minotaurs, correct?"

"Yes, but, uh, that's the thing about…that." Blake chewed at the end of her pen.

"Hm, what is it?" Weiss asked, her eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"It's…weird, but kinda beautiful. I'm just not sure how…"

"Oh just spit it out, already."

"He believes she's referring to how Morihaus and Alessia were lovers," J'zargo interjected. Weiss looked at him disbelievingly then over to Blake, who slowly nodded while blushing a bit.

"Wait, what?"

"Alessia's son was Belharza the Bull. Second Emperor -or first depending on how you look at it- and he was a Minotaur, likely the first."

"Oh, that's…odd. Really makes me wonder how… Anyways, why exactly are you researching that, Blake?"

"Well, I just realized no one's ever really…novelized the story. There's just bits and pieces from the Song of Pelinal and The Abadal-a and some other places. I was going to see if I could write a version of all the events in one cohesive story as a historical fiction piece, kinda like what Gyorge Marren did with Journey of the Heroes."

"That actually sounds pretty interesting. Let me know if you need any help researching details. And I'd love to read it as you go," Weiss offered.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks." Blake blushed, knowing that if Weiss knew what she had planned she might not be so eager.

Ruby looked over her newest creation, a shortsword made out of malachite, with the blacksmiths and Dravynea looking on with awe.

"Hey, you were right! The moonstone really is holding it all together. Any other material and this stuff would just be falling apart like the world's driest cookie. And it's so pretty how it veins out into the cracks of the malachite!"

"Glad you like it. And…I'm very surprised you got it on your first try. You must be a prodigy at the forge," Dravynea slowly replied, her eyes never leaving the glass sword.

"Thanks! Eorlund said the same thing, but it always feels nice to hear people say it."

The Dunmer's eyes seemed to nearly pop out of her skull. "Eorlund Grey-Mane?"

"Yeah, he taught me how to work moonstone and quicksilver to make elven stuff, and how to work Dwemer metal. Guess I need to learn how to do orichalcum next. Oh, and I'll let my buddy know about your frost salt thing. She and her classmates probably have some between the four of them. Thanks again! I'm gonna go show off this baby to my team." Ruby bounced away from the forge, leaving behind the dumbfounded smiths. Once Ruby fully disappeared, the head blacksmith wiped his head with a cloth rag.

"Ain't that about the damnedest thing you ever saw?"

"Hey, anybody seen Weiss?" Ruby asked, sitting on the bar stool and looking around the inn for Weiss.

"Not since lunch time," Yang admitted. Blake just shrugged as she penned more thoughts down, now having nearly half filled her notebook.

"J'zargo might know," Onmund suggested.

"Yeah, but he's not around either, Mundy," Ruby pointed out to the mage Nord.

"No, please, not you too!"

"I just don't-" Ruby's words were caught in her throat when she opened up the door to her rented room to finally find Weiss, who was currently sitting in J'zargo's lap, their faces pressed together and arms wrapped around one another. The two's eyes shot open and then they both looked over in shock.

"Ruby?!"

"What? I- What is- I don't-"

Weiss waved a hand and the door slammed shut. Ruby blinked a few times then turned to see the astonished faces of her other teammates and a few others. The girl smacked her head a few times and then shook it.

"What just happened?"

"You didn't knock, that's what happened," Yang pointed out before sighing. "Well, at least we know where they are now. Doing what I figured, just not where I thought."

"Where did you think they'd be?!" Ruby shrilly screamed.

"Like out in the woods or something. Somewhere where we wouldn't look or be able to find them easily." The lock on the door clicked and Yang hummed in thought. "Guess they forget that the first time."

"But…when did…?"

"They've steadily been making bolder and bolder advances towards each other since after Weiss' first week," Onmund groaned. "Gods, at this rate they'll be putting on Amulets of Dibella in a month, and Amulets of Mara in two."

"They'll what?!"

"Ruby, Weiss got a boyfriend," Yang slowly explained.

"But…we don't know anything about him! As our friend and newly adopted sister, it's our duty to vet any potential boyfriends she might get! That's why you tested Sun before we left."

"You did what?" Blake exclaimed in a higher pitch than normal, looking straight at Yang.

"Hey, I had to make sure he wasn't a creep. Turned out he's just pure happy-go-lucky. A little too much at times, but you'd be a perfect leash for him."

"I feel like I should be more upset than I am about this."

"If it makes you feel any better, this isn't the first time we've done this. I went and vetted Jaune when he started flirting with Weiss, and he was basically the same as Sun. Only clumsier, less confident, and lacking a tail." Yang shrugged, not really seeing the issue here, while Blake just looked more and more flabbergasted.

"I feel confused," the Nord mage admitted.

"That's because it's girl talk, Mundy. Right now, just make like Lydia and sink into the background."

"I'm not in the background. I just have nothing to add."

Onmund nearly jumped out of his seat and looked over at the steel-plated housecarl, sitting at a table and eating a small loaf of bread.

"Wh- when did you get here?"

"I came in with Thane Ruby. Did you not realize?" Lydia actually looked offended, causing Onmund to begin to stammer.

"I, uh, er…"

"No, he did not." Yang chuckled and patted the mage on the shoulder. "It's okay, pal. Took me a few days to get used to her…ways. She's not trying to sneak up on anybody, she's just quiet."

"Well, she might want to sneak up on anyone that means me harm, but that seems to be in the job description." Ruby muttered and drank from her cup. From the smell, it appeared to be Cyrodiilic Brandy. Blake wondered when Ruby became such a connoisseur of drinks, but that was for a later time.

"In that way, my unassuming demeanor is a boon to my duties. If threats are unaware of me, then I can handle them more easily." Lydia shrugged it off.

"Back on topic, we need to make sure J'zargo is worthy of our teammate!" Ruby declared, pointing her hand into the air, with Yang boldly following and Blake halfheartedly so.

"You know, you're lucky they can't hear you through that area muffling spell they used."

"Frost salts for a few Alteration tips. A handy trade!" Weiss happily told herself and her friends while turning a stone into dirt and then back into a solid rock.

"Well, we might not have as many fire resistance potions, but we'll manage," J'zargo stated, causing Weiss to go rigid.

"I may have made a mistake." J'zargo chuckled at Weiss' blanche look and patted her shoulder.

As they walked from the mine, the four students stopped and looked to where they heard a series of loud, metallic clashes to see Ruby and Lydia sparring, the young girl using two iron swords in place of her normal weapon. Watching her, Weiss noted how both her hands seemed to be used almost equally, neither favoring her right or left. As she began to wonder about it, Yang came up from the inn's porch.

"Wassup?" Yang put her arms around both of their shoulders, keeping her eyes on her sister.

"Oh, just wondering what Ruby's doing." Weiss gently removed Yang's arm, J'zargo doing the same, albeit with greater difficulty. "She doesn't normally use swords, let alone two. Do you know why she's doing this?"

"Yeah, well, you remember how she told us about when she lost Crescent Rose for a while there? Well, trying to teach her plain hand-to-hand isn't working out at all, but Lydia did teach her some useful disarming tricks, and she's had a sword at her side since we first went to Whiterun. She wanted to relearn how to dual-wield, so they're working on that."

"Re-learn?"

"She used to do it all the time." Yang lightly shrugged before leaning against a fence with her elbows. "Back when she was just starting out with the scythe and had no idea what she was doing, she'd fall back on dual swords or mom's bow for practice. She just sorta dropped them when Uncle Qrow taught her scythe wielding."

"She found dual-wielding easier than wielding a scythe?"

"You ever wield a scythe before? Not that easy. I tried. Uncle Qrow said I might as well have been swinging around a battleaxe. Not fast enough for that, though." Yang shook her head.

Suddenly Ruby pulled off a flip where she spun mid-air and brought her swords colliding with Lydia's shield at a rapid pace. The woman went to one knee, but held her shield up steadily before forcing herself forward and knocking Ruby onto her back. The girl twirled her legs and spun off of the ground while righting herself, but then had to block a slash, only for her swords to give and the blunt, practice blade hit her.

"We need to work on your defense," the housecarl judged. "Your offense is good, but your guard is flimsy, and you often forgo defense for attack, relying too much on speed to get you out of a tough situation. Pick a sword and block with all of your might behind it."

Ruby nodded and made a blocking stance, but awkwardly tried to figure out how to put more strength behind one sword. As she tried to block Lydia's next swing, the others noticed Idda running from the north. She was panicked, by the looks of it, and frantically looking back as she ran.

"Dragon! There's a dragon attacking! It's up at the old mound!" She didn't even stop as she screamed past everyone and hid in the mine. The village went silent as they contemplated her words, before a distinctive roar was heard overhead. Miners and villagers screamed and began scattering, trying to find shelter. The rest of Team RWBY's companions burst out from the inn including Delphine, having heard both the roar and the villagers' screams.

"Where's the dragon?!" Inigo shouted as he strung his bow.

"Hurry, up the hill!" Delphine commanded as she sped for the dragon burial mound. Ruby shot after her then sped ahead, sheathing her swords and pulling out Crescent Rose in its folded form. As she crested the last hill, she stopped and gawked at the sight before her. It was the same dragon from Helgen, blacker than the void and hovering next to the old mound. Ruby's attention was focused purely on it as the others finally caught up, but she could still hear the faint gasps of recognition from her team and of fear from the others. It roared as rain began to drizzle down, then some sort of magical swirling happened around the large grave.

"Sahloknir," the dragon commanded, "ziil do dovah ulse!"

"By the gods!" she heard Brelyna whisper in fear.

"Look at that big bastard!" Delphine exclaimed, her hand hovering near her blade.

"He's…" Yang gulped. "Guys, he's gotta be at least five times bigger than Mirmilker or whatever his name was. Was he that big at Helgen?" Ruby just stared forward at the black dragon, memories not her own playing in her mind. Part of her kept saying she had seen him long before the time at Helgen. Before she was ever born.

"Slen Tiid Vo!"the dragon shouted at the burial mound. The ground shook, not from the Shout, but from something else. A dragon's skull then burst forth from the dirt, followed by the rest of the skeleton as flesh seemed to appear from nowhere and attach itself to the bones. Soon, a yellow and grey dragon with a frill around his head and a paddle-like finned tail stood before them, looking up at the black dragon with wonder.

"Alduin, thuri!" it cried out as though with joy. Ruby felt bile rise in her throat as she looked back at the black one.

'Alduin? He's…real…' She didn't want to believe it, but now she was forced to face the truth.

"Boaan tiid vokriiha suleyksejun kruziik?" he asked the much larger dragon.

"Ruby, what's going on?" her sister asked while snapping her fingers in her face. "Come on, what's happening?"

"I… He…"

"Geh, Sahloknir, kaali mir." The black dragon then turned towards them, his eyes focusing right on Ruby. Sahloknir followed his gaze and growled at them while shifting his body into a predatory ready stance. "Ful, losei Dovahkiin? Zu'u koraav nid nol dov do hi."

"I… I am…" Ruby winced and then looked back at the two. "Zu'u… los Dovahkiin,…Alduin. Zu'u…pogaan dovahsil"

"Feh, you can barely speak our tongue. Such arrogance, to dare take for yourself the name of Dovah." He looked over at the other dragon. "Sahloknir, krii daar joorre."

The dark dragon then swooped low and away, flying out of arrow's reach within seconds. The newly revived dragon then leaped up and took to the air before winging around in a circle.

"My lord Alduin requires your death! I am glad to oblige him."

"Hit the deck!" Yang screamed as fiery breath leapt from the dragon's maw. Ruby snapped out of her daze just in time to take a breath.

"Fo!" she shouted, clashing against the wave of fire coming for her and successfully blocking it for a moment. She gasped a few times, then unfolded her scythe, preparing for the battle ahead.

"Here we go!" Delphine yelled as she leapt up from her cover and drew her bow. "Take it down!"

"Blake, go for the wing joints! We need him on the ground! Weiss, make sure he doesn't scorch anyone!" Ruby barked her orders.

"Got it!" the two Huntresses responded, their followers taking after them. Blake, M'rissi, and Inigo fired arrows at Sahloknir and into his path, but few hit and fewer did damage, though it seemed Inigo's ebony arrows were doing the most in both categories. Weiss threw lightning bolts while J'zargo threw fireballs, Onmund focusing his magic into a harder incantation, and Brelyna seemed to be trying to find some sort of position to take.

As the dragon winged around and took another breath, Yang jumped from the top of a boulder and grabbed onto one of his claws. As fiery breath leapt from his mouth again, this time nearly roasting Lydia and Ruby, Yang began punching the dragon's thigh with the booming of shotgun shells accompanying her. Sahloknir roared in pain then performed an aileron roll while tucking his wings. Yang held on, but then the dragon banked down and scraped her off against the earth. The blonde rolled out, but managed to right herself after a moment and tried to send a shot after the dragon, only to find her gauntlet's guns clinking empty.

"Uh oh," she muttered as she opened them both to find that there were no shots. "That was my last clip."

Ruby checked herself over real quick to find that she was low as well, only a clip full of fire shots and a few rounds of gravity. Gulping, she loaded the fire Dust bullets and readied herself. The dragon zeroed in on her and began to hover close by her position.

"I am Sahloknir! Hear my Voice and despair!" he declared before taking a breath and then unleashing an icy vortex upon her. Ruby managed to get clear of the blast as it turned muddying ground frozen, and then turned before jumping up towards him, but the dragon merely flapped harder to get himself out of the way of a cut towards his belly. Gritting her teeth, Ruby looked up and Shouted.

"Fus! Ro!" the concussive force hit the dragon and knocked him off course. With a yell, he fell towards the ground and landed with a booming and shaking of the ground. Delphine charged him, her katana held at the ready before she swung at his closest wing. The blade seemed to almost slip by the scales of the dragon to get directly at the softer flesh, but after two slices he pulled his wing away and snapped at her. The woman managed to move out of the way, but was still smacked away by the dragon's head. Yang then came in with a battlecry and punched down on his head. Sahloknir roared and then began slinging his head around to dislodge her. The brawler tried punching in his skull, but quickly found the action to be ineffective and so reached behind her back and drew her Dwarven axe. With a cry she swung the weapon with both arms and smacked the dragon in the forehead, eliciting a roar of pain before he twisted his neck and smashed down against the ground.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled as she saw her sister lying on the ground in a dragon skull shaped imprint, slowly filling with rain water. Sahloknir turned his attention towards the young Dragonborn and leaped up. Ruby gasped as she saw herself heading straight for his talons in mid-air, and then suddenly she was caught in his grip. The girl struggled to get loose as her friends and housecarl saw her predicament and all became terrified.

"Ruby!" Weiss, Blake, and Lydia screeched and tried to leap for the dragon, but he seemed to be dropping as he pointed himself straight up.

"Wuld Nah Kest!" he Shouted before firing straight up into the air. Ruby screamed as she was pulled along, and then she was so high up that she was unable to make out details of her friends below.

"Your Voice is strong…for a mortal, but it is no match for mine! Let us see how the Dragonborn fairs against the sky!" Sahloknir taunted, continuing his ascent.

Ruby struggled to pull herself free as the dragon climbed higher and higher into the sky. The air began to feel thinner, and she was finding it harder to breath, even as she pulled her arms free and tried to get a hold on Crescent Rose.

'I…have to get loose. I have to get back to the ground…alive. Have to…beat him… Beat…Sahloknir.' Ruby blinked as she grew dizzier, and then held onto her weapon before collapsing it.

'Su,' her mind said. 'The life-giving air that you breathe weaves in and around all things. It is the essence of them.' Her breathing seemed to come more easily, even though Sahloknir had only climbed higher, the arrows her friends sent after them falling just as they became visible to her. 'Talent and skill can make one swift, but su will make one graceful. Commanding its essence to stand aside and submit with haste.' Ruby twisted Crescent Rose where it was trapped in Sahloknir's talons, positioning it by sheer memory and familiarity with its parts and functions. 'Release su and unleash your fury!'

"Su!" Ruby Shouted as Crescent Rose unfolded, forcing open Sahloknir's claws before swiftly spinning around, hooking her scythe onto one of them, then swung herself over and up while slicing against his side, firing shots to direct herself. The dragon roared and began turning to see Ruby holding herself ready. Lightning flashed around the two and let loose a ripping of thunder.

"It's to be a real fight, then," the dragon snarled before grinning. "Good!" As he moved, Ruby moved as well, going with the air currents to move herself through with surprising speed. The dragon snapped at her, but she dodged with a flip and then cut across his neck as he went by. He bent himself flexibly and hit her with his tail, knocking her across the sky even as she blocked. He dove at her again, but this time Ruby hit his face with her weapon, knocking herself out of the way and giving herself a little spin. She changed her trajectory with a shot and went across his back, cutting off one of his spines and then partly into one of his tail fins. He roared as dragon blood spilled out through the sky and then dropped before positioning himself below Ruby and coming up at her with his maw wide open. Ruby swung her scythe down with a yell and a shot and stabbed deeply into a part of his neck before letting go.

Sahloknir thrashed as Ruby glided away from him in a flurry of rose petals. He looked back at her and saw the cold fury in her eyes as she drew the two swords from her waist, Dawnbreaker in her right, and the glass sword in her left. He growled as he went for her.

"Su!"

"Su Grah Dun!"

The two clashed as they fell, Ruby slicing across a frill spine as Sahloknir snaked his head out of the way. His wing came at her and she barely bent herself just right to avoid it, Dawnbreaker cutting into part of the membrane as it passed. She kicked off from his tail as it came at her then aimed herself towards him.

"Wuld! Nah!" she Shouted and she spun herself and activated her Semblance. Rose petals of red, orange, and grey swirled around her being as she closed the distance between them and raked across his back and part of one wing, nearly clipping him. Sahloknir twisted and tried to catch her in his talons, only for both to be sliced at, the left one having a toe cut through and left a smoldering stump. Ruby spun at him again, both blades cutting at him as she twirled and swung around his body. She stabbed her glass sword into one wing shoulder and then Dawnbreaker into the base of his neck. As he began to drop, Ruby ran down and grasped Crescent Rose before yanking it loose and then leaping up to hook it around his upper jaw, standing on his head. She pulled tightly, holding herself on like a clamp as they plummeted to the ground. As they got close, Ruby fired her rifle, tugging Sahloknir's head up so that his neck would hit the ground with their full force, and closed her eyes.

"Ruby!" Yang screamed as she ran toward where the dragon had crashed. Everyone else ran after her as well, all of them worried about the young girl after falling so far out of the sky. Some of them were beginning to fear the worst had happened, and they were holding on to the slimmest of hopes. The people of the village were also beginning to look outside, a small crowd gathering at a safe distance from the dragon's crumpled body

"Ruby!" Weiss called out as she moved in alongside her teammates. The whole group stopped and gasped when they saw a ghostly figure standing upon Sahloknir's head, but then the figure suddenly gained color and jumped off the dragon's skull. Yang smiled and sighed in relief before running towards her sister, but paused when she saw the young girl's pupils in reptilian slits. Ruby blinked and her eyes returned to normal, just before she turned towards Sahloknir, who slowly opened one eye to look at her while shifting his head.

"I…have lost," he got out. "Ruth! I cannot…feel my body." His head shifted a little more and then a low growl left him. "My Voice was silent…for so long. Must it End so soon?"

"Why then? Why'd you fight?" Ruby sheathed her weapon and knelt down.

The dragon looked at her like she'd grown a second head before another whine left him. "My thuri… My lord commanded me."

A final breath left the dragon, and then his body began to go up in flames. Ruby stood resolute as his soul flowed into her. She saw similar scenes as before, but then saw a battle against a Nord man who Shouted with skill, despite having a mortal's soul, at the very end, before feeling something like a chain snap free.

"Sahloknir, ziil gro dovah ulse!" she recalled from two different points of view, her grip tightening on her weapon.

"…Gods above," Delphine muttered as she saw the dragon reduced back to a skeleton, its power going into Ruby. "I… It's true, isn't it? You really are Dragonborn."

Ruby ignored her exclamation, instead recollecting her weapons from the corpse as her mind replayed that phrase again and again.

"Sahloknir, ziil gro dovah ulse!"

'Spirit. Bound. Dragon. Eternity,' she instinctually knew. The words themselves weren't much alone, but she also understood exactly what they translated into.

'I bind your dragon spirit for eternity!'

Ruby didn't say much to anyone as they escaped from the rain. People were cheering for them after seemingly saving them from the dragon, but the group only felt so much satisfaction at their victory. They knew there was another dragon out there, and it had the power to bring others back to life.

"I suppose I owe you some answers, don't I?" Delphine began once she and Team RWBY finally got some privacy in one of the inn's rooms, Weiss casting a Room Muffle for extra security. Lydia and the others stood guard outside, keeping everyone at bay, but it never hurt to be prepared. "Go ahead. Whatever you want to know. Nothing held back."

Yang looked to Ruby, who still held a somber look on her face. The younger sister nodded and Yang let out a long sigh.

"All right. First off, we wanna know who you are, and just what it is you want with Ruby."

"I'm one of the last members of the Blades," she answered. "A very long time ago, the Blades were Dragonslayers, and we served the Dragonborn, the greatest dragonslayer. For the last two hundred years since the last Dragonborn emperor, the Blades have been searching for a purpose. Now that dragons are coming back our purpose is clear. We need to stop them."

"And do you know anything about the dragons and how they're coming back?" Weiss asked.

"Not a damn thing. That giant black dragon was as much a surprise for me as it was for any of you."

"We've seen it before," Blake explained.

"Really? Where?"

"Helgen," Ruby threw in. "He was at Helgen. I thought… No, I hoped he was just a really tough dragon. But now… Sahloknir was even bigger than Mirmulnir, and…"

"He could have swallowed some of the dragons we've run into," Yang finished.

"You said Helgen? That's when Ulfric was about to be executed. Interesting. Same dragon…" Delphine tried to think for a moment before hitting her own thigh in frustration. "Damn it! We're blundering around in the dark here! We need to figure out who's behind it all!"

"Well, the dragon is obviously the one bringing the others back to life," Weiss pointed out.

"Yes, but who brought back that dragon? And who's directing it, if anyone? That's what we don't know."

"So what do we do?" Ruby asked.

"First thing is to figure out who's behind the dragons. The Thalmor are our best lead. Even if they're not involved, they'll know who is."

"They do tend to stick their noses in everyone's business," Weiss groaned with annoyance. "Especially if Ancano is any indicator."

"Then there's M'rissi's situation."

"But why would the Thalmor want to bring dragons back?" Yang asked in genuine curiosity. "Dragons aren't exactly…discriminate from what I've heard."

"I've got nothing solid. Yet. But my gut tells me it can't be anybody else." Delphine began ticking off fingers. "The Empire had captured Ulfric. The war was basically over. Then a dragon attacks, Ulfric escapes, and the war's back on. And now the dragons are attacking everywhere, indiscriminately, like you said. Skyrim is weakened. The Empire is weakened. Who else gains from that but the Thalmor?"

"Makes sense, but it could just be good luck for them," Blake pointed out.

"Ancano was trying to get the College to hand over the dragon corpse there. He might not be in the know if they are behind it, but I'm not too sure."

"So we need to figure out what the Thalmor know about the dragons, and hope it's enough to narrow everything down," Ruby thought out before gulping. "I just… I hope they aren't working together."

"But how would we get that kinda info?" Yang asked.

"From the Thalmor Embassy, if anywhere," Delphine explained. "It's the center of their operations in Skyrim. There are about three high-up Thalmor leaders in Skyrim. Elewen, the top of the bunch, is based there. Problem is that place is locked up tighter than a miser's purse. I have a few ideas about how to get in there, but I'll need some time to pull things together. Until then, I guess you all just continue on as before. I can send you a letter once I get something. Yang, you're a member of the Companions. I can count on you to be in Whiterun often?"

"More than most places, at least."

"Good. I'll send a letter to Jorrvaskr once I've got something. Respond at quickly as you can. I have no idea how much of a window we'll have once I find one. You alright, Dragonborn?"

"I'm fine, it's just… That dragon. Sahloknir said his name. And…I remember it."

"Right… You can understand them. I forgot about that. I guess I didn't know what to expect from the Dragonborn, but it was like something straight out of legend. I hope to see you again soon. If you all don't mind, I'm going to head straight back to Riverwood." Delphine grabbed her pack and slung it over her shoulder as she prepared to leave.

"Will you be okay alone?" Ruby asked.

"I'll be fine. Not the first trip I made on my own. Nor the longest or most treacherous. You all keep doing what you do. And Divines watch you."

"You too." Delphine nodded and left the room, leaving the girls to stew to themselves.

Boaan tiid vokriiha suleyksejun kruziik? - Has the time come to revive your dominon?

Geh, Sahloknir, kaali mir. - Yes, Sahloknir, my loyal champion.

Ful, losei Dovahkiin? Zu'u koraav nid nol dov do hi. - So, you are the Dragonborn? I see none of the dragonkind in you.

Zu'u pogaan dovahsil - I )have) many dragon soul.

krii daar joorre - kill these mortals