Their return to Whiterun was uneventful, and the two soon found themselves opening the doors to Dragonsreach. The pair climbed the stairs to the main hall, and spotted Farengar eating alongside the rest of the Jarls court. Torval made a sound as though he were clearing his throat, loud enough to catch the attention of near everyone in the hall, Farengar included. Torval locked eyes with the wizard, then jerked his head towards the wizard's room with a grunt. Farengar nodded, and excused himself, joining the Khajiit and Nord.

"So, did you find the tablet." Farengar asked, seemingly annoyed at their interruption.

Torval didn't say anything in reply, he merely retrieved the stone from where he'd stored it, and presented it to Farengar with a grunt of affirmation. The wizard carefully took the tablet from Torval, and placed it atop his desk.

Shai'ira cleared her throat, catching Farengar's attention before speaking. "So we got you the stone. What comes next?"

Farengar dipped his head slightly. "Next? You retrieved the stone, so your job is done. Now mine begins, the work of the mind, which is sadly undervalued here in Skyrim." Shai'ira cocked her head, and wondered if the nord mage would prefer living in the more magic friendly Cyrodiil, before her ears perked at the sound of someone running past the room. She turned and poked her head outside the room, spotting Irileth and Balgruuf traversing a staircase that led deeper into the keep, with a guard of Whiterun in front of them, their steps almost frantic in their pace. She idly wondered what could be causing such commotion, before Balgruuf turned midway up the stairs, and saw Shai'ira gazing at him. He beckoned her to follow him with a motion of his hand. Shai'ira turned back, and called for Torval to follow her as she swiftly left the room and bolted to join Jarl Balgruuf.

Torval huffed in annoyance as the Khajiit swiftly and easily left him behind. He grumbled to himself as he ran up the stairs as fast as his armor would allow, taking them two steps at a time. Once he reached the top, he saw Shai'ira had already joined Balgruuf and his companions, and they were all listening intently to a guard standing before them. Torval didn't move to rejoin Shai'ira, but remained at the top of the stairs so as not to interrupt the conversation. Torval couldn't hear what was being said, but judging by the body language of those before him, the news the guard brought must have been deeply troubling.

Almost a minute passed before the conversation ended, and the dark elf Irileth sprinted past Torval so quickly he felt the air being displaced by her passage, Shai'ira following close behind. Torval cursed before he moved to follow them down the stairs deciding not to waste time by trying to find out what had driven the two to such haste. By the time he reached the bottom, he could see that Shai'ira had overtaken Irileth, and had reached the top of the stairs leading to the entrance to Dragonsreach, before she realized that her nord companion wasn't with her.

As Torval approached, running as fast as his armor and weapon would allow, he saw Shai'ira scanning the keep for him, before her eyes finally settled on him.

"Meet me at the western watchtower!" The Khajiit yelled, before bolting off again. Torval cursed the Khajiit's natural athleticism as he gave up on trying to catch up with her.

Shai'ira didn't run down the steps before her so much as she leapt down them. She sprinted to the doors to Dragonsreach, reaching them in the blink of an eye as she threw her shoulder into the door, tearing it open without breaking her stride, causing the guards outside to curse in surprise. She passed the wooden walkway that led to the keep, and came to a stop at the top of the stairs leading down into Whiterun proper. Her eyes settled on a portion of the staircase roughly halfway down that flattened, allowing the stairs to change direction. Shai'ira braced herself and jumped. Her catlike agility and grace netted her a perfect landing on her intended target, skipping half the stone stairs, and ran through Whiterun, ignoring the startled passersby. She skidded to a stop as she came to the city gates, taking a moment to catch her breath. A dozen guards approached her, and only now did Shai'ira realize that a Khajiit sprinting through town probably didn't look good to the nords living here.

Shai'ira growled in frustration at her own ignorance, but before the guards could accost her, Irileth and Torval came into view. Just as the guards reached Shai'ira, Irileth was upon them. "What are you fools doing!" She roared. One of the guards turned to address the Housecarl, confusion on his face, before the elf cut him off. "There's a dragon nearby, and we have to stop it! Move to the western watchtower now!." She ordered.

Barely a moment passed before the confusion among the guards dissipated, and they opened the gate. Shai'ira, scolding herself for leaving her companions behind, decided to stick with the group this time, and the fifteen warriors, twelve guards, Irileth, Shai'ira, and Torval proceeded to the watchtower. They could see fire rising on the horizon as they moved.

Shai'ira turned to address Torval as they marched. "Do you know what's going on?"

Torval nodded. "Irileth filled me in while you were running through the city like a madwoman."

Shai'ira chuckled slightly. "It's not my fault you Nords are so slow." Torval huffed, and was about to reply, but silenced himself as they reached the tower. The smell of fire and smoke, of cooked flesh and burning bone assaulted their noses, just like in Helgen.

Torval hefted his hammer as they dispersed to secure the tower. "Tell me why the Jarl thought me and Shai'ira should come along!" Torval shouted to Irileth, who was moving to the other side of the tower.

"The two of you survived Helgen. You have more experience with dragons." She shouted back.

"If you call running and hiding experience." Torval muttered to himself, and Shai'ria nodded in agreement next to him. Shai'ira approached the entrance to the tower, and as she did, a ragged looking nord bolted out of the doorway, nearly crashing into her.

"What are you doing here? That thing's gone, we need to get out of here!" Before Shai'ira could respond, a bone chilling roar rolled down from the mountains overlooking them. Shai'ira froze, and the guard in front of her devolved into panic. "Kynareth save us."

Time seemed to freeze as adrenaline pumped through Shai'ira's veins, and she scanned her surroundings. Irileth was barking orders at the guards that accompanied them, Torval was looking at Shai'ira, his face set in grim determination, and her eyes beheld the sheer emptiness of the terrain before her. There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to flee, for the dragon would slaughter them should they try to retreat.

And then the dragon descended upon them.

Its roars threatened to rupture the eardrums of its prey, and they could feel the wind created from its wings blasting them. Arrows loosed from the guards found nothing but vacant air as the dragon flew past them, and bolts of lightning cast by Irileth missed by centimeters. Torval yelled something to Shai'ira, and she was shaken from her stupor.

She focused the magicka within her, and it concentrated in the palm of her hands as balls of plasma. The dragon turned in the sky, coming back towards them for another pass, its first evidently nothing more than an attempt to look upon its victims before engaging. Shai'ira loosed her lightning, and the twin bolts struck the dragon in the snout and chest, but the dragon shrugged the attacks off, and rained down fire as it began its fly-by. Warriors dove for cover amidst the rubble of the tower, some were too late, and were bathed in fire, writhing and dancing in agony as they burned.

Shai'ira ducked back into the tower as the dragon's attack came close, and she felt the heat from the fire threaten to ignite her fur. She hissed, fighting back her terror, and stepped back out, channeling her magicka into another spell.

She brought her hands together, focusing the energy in the space between them, creating a more powerful bolt of energy. She waited for the dragon's next pass.

The dragon angled upwards, and climbed for several hundred feet, before folding its wings and turning its body to face the tower as it fell in a display of graceful mastery over gravity and flight. Shai'ira braced, and as the dragon dove towards them, smoke pouring from its maw as it readied itself for another pass, she loosed the bolt.

The crackling plasma lanced forward, and struck the dragon squarely in its head, halting its attack and unbalancing it as the creature hurtled towards the ground.

The beast unfurled its wings to slow its descent, and tried to angle upwards, but its speed, along with the shock generated by Shai'ira's attack, caused it to react too late to the ground hurtling towards it.

The dragon collided with the ground, and the earth quaked as it gouged a long wound in the earth beneath them. For a moment, Shai'ira wondered if the dragon had died, but her hopes were quickly dashed, as a roar shook the sky, filled more with rage than pain. Shai'ira rejoined Torval and the rest of her companions, but before they could move to the dragon's crash site, it came to them. The dragon used its wings to carry it in a long leap, and it landed almost directly on top of them. The band of warriors halted, momentarily shocked into paralysis.

The dragon gazed down upon them, its eyes filled with equal parts respect and anger as it analyzed the people bathed in its shadow. The dragon opened its maw, revealing fangs almost large enough to be swords, and bellowed a sound that could only be described as laughter. Shai'ira could feel the sound in her bones, and before she or anyone else in her party could react, the dragon spoke.

"You are brave, mortals." The beast said, its voice powerful enough to shake the very ground they stood on. "Your defeat will bring me honor. Die well." Irileth growled, and fired bolts of lightning, and several guards fired arrows, but all their attacks were for naught.

The dragon spun, lashing out with its powerful tail, striking the tower behind them, gouging a deep wound in the stone. With a large swath of the wall keeping it intact now gone, the tower leaned forward, threatening to crush Shai'ira and her allies. Shai'ira dove out of the way, the tower collapsing with a thundering crash into the ground she'd been only moments before. She stood, planting her feet back underneath her, and froze as a shadow fell over her.

She looked up, and saw the dragon gazing quizzically down upon her. It cocked its head to the side for a moment, perhaps never having seen a Khajiit before. But the dragon's curiosity quickly subsided, and it opened its maw. No fire or smoke came forth however. No, the dragon was intent upon seizing her body in its horrific maw, filling its mouth with her blood and flesh. Terror seized Shai'ira's body from her, freezing her in place.

The beast's mouth came down, but before it could claim her, Torval crashed into her, pushing her aside. The dragon's maw clamped shut on Torval's arm, and he howled in pain as he felt its teeth pierce his flesh, and scrape against his bones. The dragon shook its head, like a dog playing with a toy, and the force crushed the bones in Torval's arm, and the soft tissue was torn asunder by the shaking of the dragon. The dragon tore Torval's arm apart at the elbow, and the nord was tossed aside like a ragdoll. Shai'ira watched breathlessly, as she saw his body tumble through the air, before crashing into the ground.

Tears of pain and anger stung her eyes, and fell down her cheeks. Shai'ira looked about wildly, searching for a weapon, before she spotted an arm sticking out from underneath the debris of the tower, a sword still clasped in its hand, its owner having been crushed. She tore the blade from the corpse's grip, and clasped it as tightly as she could, before charging towards the dragon with a baleful roar.

Having caught the dragon's attention, the creature turned its head to face the source of the sound, and unwittingly presented Shai'ira with her opportunity.

With the full weight of Shai'ira's body and fury behind it, the sword buried itself up to the hilt in the dragon's eye with a sickening squelch. The dragon raised its head to the sky, bringing the unwitting khajiit with it, and roared in agony. The sound shook the sky and the earth, and the soldiers that remained clasped their hands over their bleeding ears, trying to fight back the thundering roar the dragon bellowed.

Shai'ira had gripped the sword as tightly as her muscles and tendons would allow when she'd stabbed the dragon, and now she had to hold on even tighter as the dragon shook its head to and fro, trying to dislodge the khajiit. She was painfully aware of the dragon's maw opening and snapping shut mere inches from her dangling legs, and she shifted her body as much as she could to prevent her legs from being crushed between the dragon's teeth. The dragon was becoming increasingly infuriated by the Khajiit's stubbornness, for it shook its head in increasingly violent jerking motions. Shai'ira gasped explosively, as one such attempt brought her body crashing into the dragon's unyielding scales, ripping the air out of her lungs. She knew she couldn't hang on for much longer like this, and in a last desperate effort, Shai'ira let go of the sword with her right hand, and swung her right leg over the crest of the dragon's skull. Her plan worked, and she was now in a less precarious position resting atop the dragon's head.

She squeezed her thighs against the dragon as tightly as she could, and gripped one of the horns protruding from the dragon's skull for leverage, and began to twist the sword, and push and pull it, scraping the metal against the inside of its eye, trying with all her might to stab the beast's brain with the sword.

But it was too short, and all she did was cause further pain, coming no closer to defeating the dragon. With the sword unable to be of any further use, Shai'ira pulled the weapon loose with a sickening squishing sound, and tossed it aside. Shai'ira gripped the dragon's left horn with her now free left hand, before moving her right to join it.

She tightened her grip around the horn, relaxed her grip with her legs, and shifted her weight, causing her to hang in front of the dragon's wounded eye, a sickly pale liquid leaking out of the wound. Shai'ria braced herself, and plunged her arm as deep into the wound as she could. The dragon roared in renewed pain. The beast twisted and raised its head, and Shai'ira caught a glimpse of the ground beneath her, before realization struck her. Fueled by pain and anger, the dragon was going to slam its head into the ground, which would turn Shai'ira into a bloody, furry smear. She channeled magicka into her palm, and just as the dragon brought its head crashing towards the ground, she fired lightning from the palm of her hand straight into the dragon's brain. The electricity caused the dragon's muscles to clench and seize up, preventing it from killing Shai'ira. The dragon's body was paralyzed as Shai'ira's spell fried its nervous system. She didn't stop the spell until she was absolutely sure she'd killed the beast, and when she finally did, the beast collapsed, the current no longer paralyzing it. Her body shaking from exertion, both physical and emotional, she slid off the dragon's head, and pulled her arm out of the beast's eye, her arm coated with… She didn't really want to think about it too much.

She moved towards where Torval had been thrown, and saw the nord laying down on the ground. Blood oozing from where his arm had been torn asunder. Shai'ira felt a sudden coldness as the blood drained from her face. She quickly knelt at his side, and breathed a small sigh of relief as she heard him breathing. She placed her right hand atop the torn flesh, and energy flowed through it.

The bleeding stopped, and the flesh knitted shut. Torval would no doubt be shaken, but he'd live. Grateful she'd accomplished that much at least, Shai'ira turned back to face the dragon, and just as she did so, she froze.

An aethereal energy seemed to be seeping out of the dragon, and before Shai'ira could fully register what was happening, the energy lunged towards her.

Her mind was invaded by foreign images. An obsidian dragon towering over her, welcoming Mirmulnir, trees and towns no larger than an ant beneath her wings, a stone tower, a furry creature with a strange air of familiarity about it, pain, panic, and a single word echoing through her dying mind: Dovakhiin.

The assault ended, and Shai'ira was left hyperventilating, stunned by what had just occurred. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her eyes flickered, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Irileth, and what was left of the guards they'd accompanied approached her. "Are you alright?" Irileth asked, allowing a small twinge of concern to accompany her words. Shai'ira tried to speak, but found her breath still weak. She slowly nodded, and willed herself to stand. As she did, Torval regained consciousness.

He tried to stand, but fell as he had nothing to support himself with. Confused, he looked at his left arm, and found a stump where his elbow was. A lump formed in his throat, and panicked shock threatened to overtake him. He clenched his jaw and remaining hand, and squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to breathe slowly, deeply, and calmly. Once the panic subsided, he braced himself properly this time and stood. He saw that Shai'ira was standing amidst the remaining guards, and he moved to rejoin her. "Shai'ira!" He called, "Thank the divines you're still alive." She turned to face him, a small, sad smile forming on her lips.

"Yes, I'm fine. You should be more worried about yourself though."

Torval raised his arm, "You mean this? This ain't nothing you need to concern yourself about lass. I still have this arm!" Torval said, raising his uninjured arm. Shai'ira didn't reply, she simply took a small step forward, tears forming in her eyes. Torval felt a small smile creep onto his lips, and he crossed the distance between them, and opened his arms, embracing the khajiit, his hand gently weaving through the fur on her neck as she whimpered against his chest. "It's okay lass, it's okay. Let it out."

Shai'ira's body shook as she let out a shuddering breath. "I thought you were dead. I thought I lost you.. I didn't-" Torval gently stepped out of the embrace and cupped the khajiit's chin in his hand, silencing her.

"I'm okay Shai'ira. Apparently that dragon wasn't fierce enough to kill me, not when I had you watching my back. Besides, like I said, I still have one arm to fight with!"

Shai'ira allowed herself a light chuckle and small smile as she shook her head, wiping tears from her eyes. "Nords…"

Irileth came forward then, having decided she'd allowed the two of them enough time alone. "If you two are ready, I would ask you to return to Dragonsreach to inform the Jarl of our…" Irileth trailed off and turned, gazing at the scene behind her, the destroyed tower, all but three of the men that accompanied them lay dead, and fires still burning, "Success." She finished.

Torval nodded "Aye, we can handle that." The two of them turned, and took their leave. As they trekked, Torval turned to look at Shai'ira. "What happened while I was out?" Shai'ira shrugged, there really wasn't much to tell.

"I killed the dragon, after it… did that." She said after a moment's hesitation, gesturing to Torval's missing limb.

"You killed it?!" Torval boomed, a mixture of surprise and pride in his voice. "Shai'ira Dragonslayer! You've got a proper Nord name now lass!" He bellowed.

In spite of everything, Torval's enthusiasm was infectious, and Shai'ira smiled to herself lightly as the two returned to Whiterun.