Disclaimer: I wish I owned Danny Phantom! Desiree: -turns me into Butch Hartman- AHHHHHHHHH! CHANGE ME BACK CHANGE ME BACK! -is changed back-
Danny stared at the map. After much examination, he groaned in annoyance when he realized that he pretty much nearly had to go back the way he came. He glanced up at the sky, noticing that it was slowly growing dark. It'd have to wait until morning, it would be dark before he reached Riverwood. He had no clue where he was going, and he did not want to discover the dangers that lurked in the night here.
He turned back towards the inner town. He remembered seeing an inn, and sure enough, it was right in front of him. Then, he paused.
"I don't have any gold," he remembered, murmuring aloud to himself. His stomach also rumbled a little. Glancing around, he noticed that there were still market stalls open. He would never steal, but maybe if he talked to a few, explained he had no money, maybe they'd give him a piece of fruit that didn't sell or something.
"I'm glad I took your advice, Ysolda," a dark haired woman was telling a short-haired blonde. The blonde had a light blue dress and a basket, facing the woman in red and yellow behind the counter. "Those apples sold quickly, and I tripled my original price."
"I'm telling you, Carlotta, those apples are too delicious to resist!" the blonde, Ysolda, replied with a smile.
"Do you have any advice on how I should stop Mikael from bothering me?" she teased, and Ysolda laughed.
Maybe if I stop this Mikael, she'll be willing to give me one of those apples she's talking about, Danny wondered. He smiled, and he walked up.
"Uh, hi!" Danny said, walking up to the stall. The women looked at him curiously.
"May I help you?" the dark haired, Carlotta, asked.
"More like, may I help you," Danny smiled. "I think I can help you with this Mikael guy."
"Really?" Carlotta asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm serious here, kid. The arrogant bard keeps going on about how he'll 'conquer her as a true Nord conquers any harsh beast.' Please. I'm just not interested. My number one priority is my daughter."
"I'm serious too!" Danny insisted. "Look, if I help get this guy to stop chasing you, will you...oh, I don't know...give me one of those apples you two were talking about?"
They glanced at each other before looking at Danny's innocent smile.
"Come back when it's done, and I'll give you a little something," she promised.
"Deal!" Danny agreed. "So uh, where is Mikael?"
"He's the Bannered Mare bard," Ysolda told him, pointing to the inn. Danny nodded, walking inside of the inn.
The air was a warm and filled with the smell of food and spices. It made his stomach grumble more with hunger as he walked further in. He saw a man standing near the fire, strumming a lute and singing a soft tune.
Danny sat down at a table.
"May I help you?"
Danny glanced up at a dark-skinned woman standing near him. She looked a little sweaty, but smiled almost flirty at him.
"I'm just waiting for a friend," he lied. She nodded and walked away.
When Mikael's tune came to an end, he gently set the lute against a chair and walked over to the bar. Danny stood, walking up to him. He felt himself feel a little nervous as he tapped his shoulder. Mikael turned his attention to him.
"Do you need something?" he asked, examining him up to down.
"Yes," Danny said firmly, standing a little straighter. "I need you to leave that stall vender, Carlotta, alone."
"I'm sorry, but that fiery widow is mine. She just doesn't know it yet," Mikael replied with a small chuckle, bringing his attention back to the woman behind the counter. "Sorry, Hulda, can I get a glass of-"
He was interrupted by Danny grabbing his shoulder and forcing him to look at him.
"She's not yours," he informed him. He felt his eyes glow brighter at him. "This isn't a discussion, this is not a request or a debate either. It's a demand. Leave Carlotta alone, or else."
"Or else, what?" Mikael growled. Danny glared at him.
"Do you really wanna know?" Danny asked back.
"How about we just settle this the old-fashioned way?" Mikael asked. Danny noticed the bard's hands balled up into fists, and he copied the actions. "A good old bar brawl. No weapons, no magic, no potions, no kicks. Just fists."
"You're on!" Danny grinned. Mikael smirked and swung a punch at Danny, which he blocked with his fists. Danny immediately responded with a punch, hitting his eye.
"Come on, put your hands up!" one of the patrons growled at Mikael, who threw another punch at Danny. It hit his cheek and he stumbled backwards a little.
"I got twenty gold on the bard!" another shouted, throwing said gold on the table.
"Hey!" Danny exclaimed, allowing Mikael to throw another punch. Danny grumbled before throwing a powerful punch at Mikael. It hit his jaw, sending him stumbling backwards and into a post. Danny hit him two more times before Mikael slid down to the floor, breathing heavily. Danny put his fists down and knelt down some, giving the bard a worried look. Did he accidentally use some ghostly strength? "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Mikael said, wheezing some. He began to wipe some blood from his nose. Danny winced. He must have broken it. Mikael grinned slightly. "You know how to throw a punch, I'll give you that. On my honor, Carlotta won't have to worry about me again."
"Promise?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow. He took a clothe napkin from a nearby table and gave it to Mikael, who winced as he put it on his nose.
"Promise," Mikael said. "I don't want to have to worry about you hunting me down."
Danny chuckled lightly at that. He stood up, holding a hand out to Mikael. He grasped the ghost boy's hand, allowing him to help pull him to his feet. He grabbed the bard's arm, preventing him from stumbling back down.
"Sorry," Mikael apologized. "Feeling a little light-headed now. You got some power for such a scrawny kid."
Danny flushed in embarrassment at the comment, but didn't reply. He instead directed the man to a seat, helping him seat. The woman from behind the bar, Hulda was it?, came over with some water. She took the napkin from Mikael to dip in the water, gently rubbing the blood from his nose. He winced from the pain and her light scolding to not do such foolish things such as underestimate the power of others and chasing after women who clearly had no interest in him.
"You sure you're going to be okay?" Danny asked. Mikael was still wheezing slightly, and it worried him a little.
"I've had worse," he assured him. "You're not the first to come after me over a lady."
"Isn't the first time a hint to not do it again?" the ghost boy asked him. Mikael gave a small laugh.
"You'd think," he replied. "Hey, let me buy you a drink."
"Another time," Danny promised, putting a hand up. "I need to talk to Carlotta, then I have some business near Riverwood."
"Well, whenever you can, come back and have a drink with me," Mikael told him. Danny just nodded before leaving the inn.
Wow. My first bar brawl. And I'm sixteen. He chuckled lightly at that. At least I won.
Carlotta was still with Ysolda, chatting away. The sky had grown a few shades darker, but there was still enough light for her stall.
"Mikael will not bother you again!" Danny called out to her as he strolled over. Carlotta's eyes grew wide as she gave him a look of disbelief.
"Really?" she asked, tilting her head. Danny nodded. "You convinced that lute player to stop chasing me?"
"On his honor, he'll leave you alone," he repeated his words.
"I'd thank the gods," she sighed in relief. Ysolda giggled. "But I'll settle for thanking you instead. Here's your apple, and take this gold."
Danny smiled, accepting both. He took a bite of it, and Carlotta and Ysolda both burst into laughter at his expression.
"This is the best apple I've ever tasted," he confessed, quickly taking two more bites.
"Where are you from?" Ysolda asked him, watching him devour the apple. "I've never seen you before. Are you a traveler?"
"Somewhat," he half-lied, swallowing. "I'm going to leave in the morning for some business near Riverwood."
"What kind of business do you have?" Carlotta wondered. "Is it a shop?"
"Uh, no. It's more of a...classified business...the Jarl asked me personally to assist him with some classified business near Riverwood," Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Where are you from?"
Danny scowled slightly at all the questions.
"Amity Park." Seeing their confused expressions, he added, "It's uh...near the Imperial City?"
"Oh, wow! The Jarl sent for you all the way from there?" Ysolda gasped lightly. "You must be very important."
"Uh, not really," he said, flushing lightly as he bite again into his apple. "I'm just...the only one with experience with a...classified...thingie."
"Very impressive!" Carlotta praised. "When do you leave tomorrow?"
"Early," he told her. She smiled.
"Well, come on by, and I'll give you a little breakfast and a little food for your journey," she told him. She held up a hand to stop a protest that was about to leave him. "I insist. Such an important young man to the Jarl would need some good food on a journey. Plus, you did help me with Mikael."
"Would...would that little food include more of these apples?" Danny asked, flushing more as he held up the nearly gone apple. She laughed.
"I'll be sure to pack you a few," she promised, smiling. Danny grinned.
Danny rented an inn room. He counted out the gold Carlotta gave him, just a little under 230 after paying for the room. Putting it back in it's pouch, he tucked it away in a safe location, removed his armor, turned into his human half and got into bed.
The next morning, he woke up early. He ran some water over his face and washed his hands before changing back. He pulled the armor on over his DP suit, made sure his extra dagger was hidden and pocketed his gold and the map before going down the stairs to Hulda. He thanked her before leaving a small tip.
Carlotta, as promised, had a small bag with food for his journey. They exchanged thanks, his was for the food and hers was for Mikael before he exited the gates.
He looked out at Skyrim. It was so...enchanting. The world was still dark, but the sun showed the faintest hint of rising soon. By the time he'd find Bleak Falls Barrow, it would certainly be high in the sky. Danny shook his head. He had a quest to do for the Jarl.
Speaking of Jarls...
Where was Vlad, a Jarl wannabe?
Danny hadn't seem him since the dragon attack. He needed to find out where Vlad was and fast. He had no clue what Vlad did in this world, but it seemed much more serious than that time with the Infi-Map. In his world, he hadn't seen Vlad in nearly two months. He probably had two months to do God knows what here.
He felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck.
The Infi-Map!
Danny immediately checked his pockets, even though he knew it was there. He had to return it! Danny promised to return it once he located Vlad! He must have dropped it when that Imperial raid happened.
Could this get any worse?
He sighed, adjusting the food bag on his shoulder as he began to walk. Just standing here, being unproductive would do him no good. Maybe if he got on Jarl Balgruuf's side, he'd help him locate Vlad or at least find the Infi-Map! As he reached the bottom of the small hill, he glanced at the horse stables. How much was a horse? He glanced to his other side. A small camp with a bunch of furry people-were they cats?-was set up. One was sitting in front of a tent, watching the passer-by while another was cooking. A third was watching the one cooking, in battle armor and the last one was skinning a hide.
Danny went to the stables. A man sitting on a stool, bend over as he carved a small piece of wood, glanced up at him.
"Can I help you?" he asked, glancing at the young halfa.
"How much is a horse?" Danny inquired. One of the horses, a pure black one, neighed at him, nudging his shoulder. Danny smiled, petting the horse's nose. It snorted at him, making him jump slightly.
"Looks like Allie likes you," the man smiled, standing. He patted her neck.
"Is that her name?" Danny asked. "Allie?"
The horse's ears moved, and she looked at him, snickering lightly as if to tell him yes.
"We call her Queen Alfsigr, or Allie for short," he explained. "All our horses are a thousand, but all are good, strong and disease-free."
"Uh...I don't quite have that much," he blushed lightly. "Um...I'll be back after I work for some more gold."
"I'll be seeing you then," the man replied, looking a tad disappointed. He felt Allie a carrot, scratching her neck more before sitting down and continuing his carving.
Danny walked out and down the path back towards Riverwood. Once at Riverwood, he was sure he could find somebody who could lead him to Bleak Falls.
After more direction asking and close map examination, Danny found himself walking up the path towards his goal.
He jumped when an arrow suddenly whistled past him. Looking ahead, he turned intangible just in time for another arrow to pass through his chest.
"Least I haven't lost that power," he muttered to himself. "I wonder..."
"Where'd he go?" one of the people yelled aloud. Danny smirked, running past them all, invisible before phasing through the doors of the area.
"Okay, so Farengar told me that it should be in here," he murmured. "Just gotta figure out where it is."
He turned visible and began to walk forward. He saw two people in the distance, and he crouched, sneaking up so that he could hear their conversation.
"So, we're just supposed to sit here while Arvel runs off with that golden claw?" the first snarled.
"That dark elf wants to go on ahead, let him," the girl huffed. "Better than us risking our necks."
"What if Arvel doesn't come back?" the man wondered. "I want my share from that claw!"
"Just shut it and keep an eye out for trouble."
Danny turned invisible again and snuck past them with ease. He went down the tunnel before turning visible again. This place was spooky. It was cold and dreary. Cobwebs and bugs were crawling all over the place, and it seemed huge. How was he supposed to find a stupid tablet? Who knew how big it even was?
He sighed, continuing his way. He paused, walking more carefully when he took notice of a man walking towards a handle. He pulled it, and a group of arrows from the walls flew at him, striking him. The man coughed, groaned before laying motionless on the ground. Danny ran down to check his pulse. He was already dead.
This place is just crawling with death, he shivered. He stood up. Turning intangible, he walked through the gate.
He walked up in front of him at a small table. There was a chest, glass vial with green liquid and a gem. He picked up the gem and examined it in his hands. It was pretty. He pocketed it before picking up a dusty book. It was labeled Thief. He glanced through it before putting it back down.
"What the hell was that?" he asked himself when he heard some noises. He turned around and saw the biggest rat he had ever seen before in his entire life, glaring death at him.
He yelled, holding his hands out in front of him. Ecto-blasts blasted the creature away, and Danny took notice of the spiral stairs. He ran for it, only to see more of the rats. He blast them off, one by one with an ecto-blast before hitting the bottom.
"Ugh!" he spat out as he got stuck in a cobweb. He used some ectoenergy to burn a lot of it away before containing his walk. He kept an eye out for the tablet.
"Is... is someone coming?" a timid voice called out fearfully. Danny stopped in his tracks. "Is that you Harknir? Bjorn? Soling? I know I ran ahead with the claw, but I need help!"
Danny rushed towards the voice, but got tangled in another cobweb. He burst this one with ecto-energy too. Why were there cobwebs all over the damn place!? He used his sword to cut through some more cobwebs that blocked an entrance into an abandoned room. Strolling in, he saw the source of the voice.
A man with grey skin and frightened red eyes was trapped in cobwebs, dressed in leather armor. Danny began to walk towards him.
"Help me!" he pleaded. "Kill that monster!"
"What monster?" Danny asked him. Before the man could answer, a spider landed in front of him. Not just a tiny spider. A spider that was bigger than the GAV.
He screamed in understandable fright. The spider launched for him, but he put up a dome shield just in time. The spider crashed into the dome, bouncing back slightly. He put the dome down and froze the spider. The spider completely paused in it's movement, encased in ice.
"You stopped it!" the man cried out. "Cut me down before anything else shows up! Or before that thing thaws!"
"It's so cold in here, I think you shouldn't worry about that thing thawing," Danny replied. "Where's the golden claw?"
"Yes, I have the claw," he said, hurriedly. "I know how it works. The claw, the markings, the door in the Hall of Stories. I know how they all fit together! Help me down, and I'll show you. You won't believe the power the Nords have hidden there."
"Calm down, I'll free you in a few," Danny assured him. He took out his dagger and began to cut away at the cobwebs.
"Sweet breath of Arkay, thank you," he told him, looking relieved as Danny slowly loosened him from his webby-prison. He cut the last piece, and the man sighed in relief. "
There you go. Now, how do you work the claw?"
"You idiot!" the man hissed, instantly taking off down the hallway. Danny stood there, stunned, before running after him. "I'm keeping the claw and it's treasures for myself!"
"Hey! Get back here!" Danny yelled after him. He saw the man just shortly ahead of him. He ran into an opening, surrounded by skeletons and coffins. The man paused slightly, and Danny slowed down.
"Oh, no! Drauger!" he yelled in fear. Danny turned slightly to see what he was seeing, and he yelled in fright himself.
One of the skeletons, dressed in some armor and holding a huge greatsword, was stumbling towards them, swinging. He moaned and spoke a foreign tongue to them. The eyes were glowing blue. Two
"Fusrodah!" one spat out at Danny. The result was the teen to fly backwards and hit the wall. He winced as he saw a lifeless skeleton arm fall in his lap. He threw it at the drauger.
It hit him in the face, and the drauger swung at him blindly. Danny turned intangible, barely missing a hit before jumping up. He punched the drauger, causing the head to fly off. It dropped to its knees, and it fell over, ceasing movement. He shot an ecto-blast at the second drauger, which caused a small bone explosion. The third one he took out with his sword.
Danny glanced down, and he saw that the man laid on the floor, dead.
This place is violent, he observed. He reached down. The man had a small bag, which he opened. Inside was a book and a golden claw, which he picked up. He flipped through the book. Only one page had any writing on it.
My fingers are trembling. The Golden Claw is finally in my hands, and with it, the power of the ancient Nordic heroes. That fool Lucan Valerius had no idea that his favorite store decoration was actually the key to Bleak Falls Barrow.
Now I just need to get to the Hall of Stories and unlock the door. The legend says there is a test that the Nords put in place to keep the unworthy away, but that "When you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of your hands."
Danny sighed. He laid the book back down. He took the simple clothe bag that the man had, almost like a one-strapped backpack and dumped it's contents out. Danny mentally debated for a few moments before keeping the ten gold the man had on him. He put it in the small bag with his other gold before resting it inside alongside the golden claw and his Skyrim map. The bag was buttoned and on his back, snuggled in between his back and the armor so that it couldn't be slashed during battle.
After adjusting himself, he began to continue on. He avoided a spiked wall trap before turning invisible and intangible, rushing through a swinging blade tunnel and other draugar, rushing until he reached a little cave with a waterfall. It flowed down past a caged door with a handle next to it. Danny had just pulled it when another drauger popped out of an upright coffin. He quickly went with the flow of the water, pulling on the handle again and reclosing the gate. The drauger angrily banged on the gate with his sword. Danny smiled before walking calmly down the river. His feet were a little soaked through his boots, but decided that he'd dry them out when he reached the outdoors. Danny paused when he noticed that he couldn't go any further.
The water was able to flow under a bunch of rocks and towards who knows where. It was nowhere near close enough for Danny to squeeze through. It was a dead end.
Danny began to walk back upstream before glancing to his left. There was a narrow tunnel, just wide enough for him. He rushed towards it before slipping through. The path widened, and he found himself going down another pathway, on a bridge halfway between the top and bottom of a water fall.
"Damn it!" he hissed to himself as he noticed a drauger, and the drauger noticed him.
It growled, raising it's sword and coming after him. Danny blasted it with an ecto-blast, causing a mini-bone explosion once more.
"How come I can use intangibility, invisibility and ecto-blasts, but not fly?" he complained to himself. He sighed before making his way down the bridge and into another pathway that lead him into another small room. A drauger was guarding a door.
The drauger looked different than the others. It looked a lot more powerful, more...menacing. he weighed his options before finally turning invisible and phasing through the door.
For a short while, he just kept phasing through swinging blades. He then came upon a room. Two drauger immediately noticed him. One began to shoot arrows, which Danny dodged. He noticed the shining of oil, and he blasted it with ecto-blast. It immediately began to roar into flames, which the second drauger ran into. The other wisely stayed away, choosing to shoot arrows. Danny dodged and phased through them until the fire died down, in which he ran at the archer drauger with his sword. With one hard, smooth swing, he cut it in half and it fell to the ground in a pile of bones and arrows.
How big is this place? he wondered as he put his sword away and walked up the stairs and across another bridge.
He pushed an iron door open before wandering inside. This hallway was not dirt and cobwebs, but instead carved stone with ancient-looking drawings. It lead to a large door with circles. Each circle had a selection of animals.
Danny glanced at the claw, then back at the circles.
"Okay, so this obviously goes here," he mused, putting the claw into the area. He pressed against it and tried to turn it, but it wouldn't budge.
He studied the claw for nearly ten minutes before he saw a connection. The order of the animals on the claw and the wall must have to line up.
Danny did this, and the wall opened flawlessly. He put the claw back into his bag before continuing his way.
A few bats flew at him, so he ducked before he walked forward and over a little bridge. There was a large wall with strange etched carved into it. A small portion of it was glowing blue. He walked up a few steps. There was a chest, and a sarcophagus, but otherwise nothing. Why was that portion blue?
He moved forwards to examine it. The glow seemed to float towards him, circling him.
Danny jumped, turning when he heard a crash. A powerful-looking draugr had burst through the sarcophagus. Danny immediately began to blast at him with ecto-blasts. The draugr stumbled backwards before rushing towards Danny.
"Fusrodah!" it grumbled. Danny flew backwards against the carved wall. He sent another ecto-blast, but he missed and the draugr slashed his shoulder. The armor protected him, but he punched him backwards in time to grab his sword. It took two powerful swings and dodging a swing before the draugr collapsed.
Danny knelt down, noticing something weird amongst the bone pile that used to be a deadly skeleton. He brushed away some of the bone dust and armor to find the tablet in the shape that Farengar drew for him. He examine it. It had weird writing that matched the carvings on the wall. He studied it a bit more before he turned intangible. He walked through the walls of Bleak Falls Barrow until he hit the side of the mountain. He trekked his way down, the tablet tucked away in his bag before walking back to Whiterun.
"You see? The terminology is clearly First Era or even earlier," Farengar insisted. "I'm convinced this is a copy of a much older text. Perhaps dating to just after the Dragon War. If so, I could use this to cross-reference the names with other later texts."
"Good. I'm glad you're making progress," the strange woman replied with a small sigh of relief. "My employers are anxious to have some tangible answers."
"Oh, have no fear!" Farengar assured her with a huge smile. "The Jarl himself has finally taken an interest, so I'm now able to devote most of my time to this research."
"Time is running, Farengar, don't forget," she informed him, a small frown. She didn't looked amused or excited by his news. "This isn't some theoretical question. Dragons have come back."
"Yes, yes," he sighed irritably, reminding him of his sister. "Don't worry. Although the chance to see a living dragon up close would be tremendously valuable... Now, let me show you something else I found... very intriguing... I think your employers may be interested as well..."
"You have a visitor," she interrupted him, staring at Danny, who blushed. He didn't mean to walk in mid-conversation.
"Hm?" Farengar spoke, looking up to Danny. His face lit up. "Ah, yes, the Jarl's protege! Back from Bleak Falls Barrow? You didn't die, it seems."
"I have your tablet," Danny said, cautiously holding it up for him to see. Farenger immediately took it from him.
"Thank you!" he chirped.
"Farengar! Daniel!"
Danny saw Irileth rush towards them.
"What is it?" he asked.
"There's been a sighting of a dragon at Whiterun's Western Watchtower," she explained. "The Jarl wants you to meet with him. Come with me!"
Farengar immediately set the tablet on the table, and he and Danny rushed after Irileth up the stairs. The Jarl was talking to one of the guards.
"So, Irileth tells me you came from the western watchtower?" he began.
"Tell him what you told me," the dark elf cut in. "About the dragon."
"Uh... that's right," the guard replied nervously. "We saw it coming from the south. It was fast... faster than anything I've ever seen."
"What did it do? Is it attacking the watchtower?" Balgruff asked.
No, my lord," was the reply along with a head shake. "It was just circling overhead when I left. I never ran so fast in my life... I thought it would come after me for sure."
"Good work, son," Balgruuf lightly praised. "We'll take it from here. Head down to the barracks for some food and rest. You've earned it. Irileth, you'd better gather some guardsmen and get down there."
"Thank you," the guard said, which was unheard because Irileth was already talking.
"I've ordered my men to muster near the gate," she said.
"Good," Balgruuf smiled before turning serious. "Don't fail me." He turned to Danny. "There's no time to stand on ceremony, my friend. I need your help again."
"Whatever you need, sir," he politely replied.
"Good, boy!" he exclaimed. "I want you to go with Irileth and help her fight this Dragon. You survived Helgan and you've fought them before, so you have more experience with dragons then anyone else here. But I haven't forgotten the service you did for me in retrieving the Dragonstone for Farengar. As a token of my esteem, I have instructed Avenicci that you are now permitted to purchase property in the city. And please accept this gift from my personal armory."
Balgruuf turned around walked to the wall. He took an axe off of the wall and handed it to Danny. It seemed to shine blue.
"It's enchanted, it also does frost damage," he told him. "Now go! Hurry!"
Danny nodded, and he was about to run off before he turned back to Balgruuf. He struggled for a moment before reaching into his bag and pulling out the gold. He held it out to the Jarl, who stared at it.
"What is this, boy?" he asked, picking it up.
"It's the 238 for the armor and weapons," he said, gesturing to himself. The Jarl shook his head and handed it back, but Danny didn't accept it. "I know, you put it on your tab but I'd rather pay you back for your kindness."
"You repaid me by fetching the tablet and fighting the dragon," he reminded him. "Keep it, boy. You need to eat tonight."
Danny smiled and hesitantly accepted it back before putting it in his bag and running out of the door.
Jarl Balgruuf turned to Proventus.
"See?" he told his steward. "That's a true example of a real man."
"You have a good judge of character, sir," Proventus told him, smiling slightly but still a tad irked that he was wrong.
"I should go along," Farengar spoke up to the Jarl. "I would very much like to see this dragon."
"No," the Jarl said, shaking his head. "I cannot afford to risk loosing my court wizard, Irileth and this new boy. I need you here working on ways to defend the city against these dragons."
Farengar looked upset, but nodded and went back to his studies.
Danny breathed heavy, chasing after the others. It was beginning to get dark, and he knew that if it got too dark that they were doomed against a dragon. In Amity Park, it was fine because of all the lighting they had, but here he could only see small flickers of light in the darkness. They were vulnerable.
Once they got closer, he saw that the watchtower was burned and smoking some.
"A dragon's attacked it recently," he spoke up, pointing to it. Irileth narrowed her eyes.
"You're right," she said. "Search for survivors! Put out any fires you see!"
Danny followed her orders, running towards a fire and blasting some of his ice powers at them. They smothered under the ice before turning into smoke to accompany the other existing ones.
A few guards were lighting fires onto torches in order to examine the area. Danny used his ectoenergy to form an unfired ecto-blast as his light. He noticed a ramp that lead up into the tower.
"They're all dead!" a guard called out. Danny began to walk up the ramp. A man peered out at the sound of the voice.
"I found a survivor!" Danny yelled. He saw Irileth run towards them.
"It...it just came out of the trees and attacked," the man stammered. As Danny moved a little closer, he noticed the burn marks on his hands, his left shoulder and the left side of his head.
"You should sit down," Irileth advised him. The man was obviously quite shaken, but he allowed the dark elf to gently guide him down the steps. Everybody froze in their tracks at the sound of a loud, booming roar.
"Kynareth save us," the man spoke under his breath in terror. "Here he comes again!"
Everybody stared at the orange and pink sky as a dragon's form appeared.
"Take cover against the attacks!" Irileth shouted. "Make every arrow count!"
Danny's eyes flashed even more green as he began to prepare ecto-blasts as he ran up the tower staircase. He heard the dragon roar and the sound of fire crinkling. He ran faster until he reached the top. He fired charged ecto-blasts at the dragon. It hit their target, but did little effect.
"Take out the wings!" Danny yelled down at them. "Take out the wings, and he'll have to land, and we can attack better!"
If I could fly, I could just punch the stupid thing into the ground, he mentally scowled but shook his head and fire a few ectoblasts at the dragon's wings.
The men were firing arrows and ducked behind rubble when the dragon blew fire right back at them. It roared, circling overhead. Danny turned intangible when the fire blasted the tower before firing back at him with ecto-blasts.
He noticed two archers had come up the tower at well and were firing rapidly at the wings, hitting them more than missing.
It took a half hour of firing arrows and ecto-blasts for the dragon to crash into the ground, one of the wings finally completely useless. Danny and the two archers ran down the stairs to accompany the others in close-combat. The archers kept their distance, firing at the dragon. Danny got up closer, still firing at him but also punching him with his superhuman strength. A few times he slashed the dragon with his sword, but his ectoblasts proved to work better against the rough scales.
It was pitch dark, minus the stars and torches, when somebody finally delivered the final blow. Nobody was sure who, but the dragon roared painfully before he finally collapsed on the ground, completely motionless.
Danny and a few others moved closer to investigate it until it burst into flames. They jumped back, and it quickly died out, leaving just the skeleton. The skeleton glowed before it began to move towards Danny.
The halfa cautiously stepped back, but, to everybody's amazement, it encircled him and seemed to absorb into his skin.
"I can't believe it," a guard breathed. "You're...you're Dragonborn."
"I'm what born?" Danny asked, looking at the last bit of glowing that went into his skin before it dulled to it's normal color.
"Dragonborn," he repeated.
"The Dragonborn is a myth," Irileth scowled.
"No, the legends must be true! He absorbed that dragon's soul!" another guard cried out. Danny shivered. That sounded...creepy. Like Box Lunch creepy.
"It's a legend for a reason," another scoffed. "Legends are legends."
"Try shouting," the first guard suggested. "If you truly are Dragonborn, you can shout."
Danny raised an eyebrow. Was he talking about his ghostly wail?
"Uh, okay," he said a little slowly. He turned to where they were no guards and took a deep breath before allowing his ghostly wail to briefly force a few rocks and rubble a few feet away. The guards all gasped in shock.
"You are!" one of the skeptics cried out. "You are Dragonborn!"
"You should return to Jarl Balgruuf," Irileth changed the subject. "He's expecting to know what happened here. My men and I will find survivors, and we will heal and attend to them before returning. But I must admit...I never took you for a mage."
"I'm on it!" Danny said, gratefully. He noticed in the shadow of a torch light, a small smile. A mage? Him?
He turned on his heel and rushed towards Whiterun.
Dragonborn? What the hell was that? Was it some fancy term for people who could do his ghostly wail? He shook his head. He would ask Balgruuf for an explanation. And a mage? Maybe it was because of his ecto-blasts.
He neared the gates when the ground below him trembled. Looking around, he noticed other people looking a little frightened, but it quickly ended. A loud boom was heard, before the faint words were thundered in the sky,
"Dovahkiin!"
What?
Danny decided to ignore it, and he rushed up towards Dragonsreach.
Danny welcomed the warmth of Dragonsreach as he walked inside. He approached the Jarl, who was talking to Proventus and another man he didn't know.
"You heard the summons. What else could it mean? The Greybeards," the man began, but stopped when the Jarl put his hand up. He stood up straight when Danny came closer.
"So, what happened at the watchtower?" he asked. "Was the dragon there?"
"The watchtower was destroyed, but we killed the dragon," Danny replied, breathless from the journey back.
"I knew I could count on you two," the Jarl smiled. "But there must be more to it than that."
"When the dragon died," Danny said, taking a deep breath. "I absorbed some kind of power from it."
"So its true!" the Jarl mused. "The Greybeards really were summoning you."
"The Greybeards?" Danny repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"Masters of the Way of the Voice," Jarl Balgruuf explained. "They live in seclusion high on the slopes of the Throat of the World."
"What...what would they want with me?" the teen asked.
"The Dragonborn is said to be uniquely gifted in the Voice," the elder man continued. "The ability to focus your vital essense into a Thu'um, or Shout. If you're really Dragonborn, they'll want to talk to you. In the old stories, they always summon the Dragonborn for training."
"Didn't you hear the thundering sound as you returned to Whiterun?" the strange man asked Danny. He nodded his head. "That was the voice of the Greybeards, summoning you to High Hrothgar! This hasn't happened in...centuries, at least. Not since Tiber Septim himself was summoned when he was still Talos of Atmora!"
"Hrongar, calm yourself," Proventus told him. "What does any of this Nord nonsense have to do with our friend here? Capable as he may be, I don't see any signs of him/her being this, what, 'Dragonborn.'" Proventus glanced at Danny up to down before snubbing his nose up at him. Danny shot him a small galre.
"Nord nonsense?!" the man, Hrongar, roared. "Why you puffed-up ignorant! These are our sacred traditions that go back to the founding of the First Empire!"
"Hrongar, don't be so hard on Avenicci," the Jarl warned.
"I meant no disrespect, of course," Proventus half-apologized. "It's just that...what do these Greybeards want with him?"
"Hey!" Danny cried out, a little offended. Proventus looked a little embarrassed. "I'm good at what I do."
"That's the Greybeards' business, not ours," Balgruuf told his steward before turning to the teen. "Whatever happened when you killed that dragon, it revealed something in you, and the Greybeards heard it. If they think you're Dragonborn, who are we to argue? You'd better get up to High Hrothgar immediately. There's no refusing the summons of the Greybeards. It's a tremendous honor."
"So, uh, what exactly does Dragonborn mean?" Danny asked. He then winced, realizing how out of place that question might have seemed. The Jarl seemed to not mind it or find it weird at all.
"Well, in the old tales, the Dragonborn heroes would use the power of their Voice to defeat the enemies of Skyrim. Wulfharth was Dragonborn. Talos, too - the founder of the Empire, back in the good old days. In the very oldest tales, back from when there still were dragons in Skyrim, the Dragonborn would slay dragons and steal their power," he explained. Danny barely grasped half of it, but nodded anyway. "Now, onto other business. You've done a great service for me and my city, Daniel Phantom the Dragonborn. By my right as Jarl, I name you Thane of Whiterun. It's the greatest honor that's within my power to grant. I assign you Lydia as a personal Housecarl. I'll also notify my guards of your new title. Wouldn't want them to think you're part of the common rabble, now would we? We are honored to have you as Thane of our city, Dragonborn."
Danny smiled. Wow. In Amity, they're still suspicious of me, even after I defeated Pariah Dark. Fetch a tablet and slay a dragon here, and they titled you Thane.
"Thank you, Jarl Balgruuf," he smiled. "Uh, one last thing...Do you happen to know where I can find Vlad Plasmius, Whitecloak Rebellion leader?"
Balgruuf gave a slightly annoyed look.
"I would figure Windhelm, that is where he is Jarl," he replied. "Now, it is late. I'll have a maid escort you to a room, where you may stay for the night."
"You don't have to, I can stay at the inn!" Danny quickly responded.
"Nonsense!" he said, waving his hand. "I insist."
Danny smiled and followed a maid to a guest room. He stripped off his armor, safely tucked his bag in a safe location, turned back into Fenton and climbed into bed.
He woke up early once again. Washing his face, he turned into his ghost half, put his bag on and his armor before walking out the door. He accepted a quick breakfast on the Jarl's insistence before moving to leave for the Greybeards.
Danny approached the double doors when a dark haired woman in armor, which looked like the steel armor Ulfberth showed him, rushed towards him.
"Hello!" she said, extending her hand out to him. He awkwardly accepted it. "I'm Lydia. Your housecarl." She suddenly became a little shy, flushing lightly. "It's an honor to serve you...Dragonborn."
"Oh, uh, just call me Danny," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "So um...what exactly do you do?"
"Well, as a housecarl, I basically am your bodyguard, travel companion, pack mule, whatever you ask me to do," she explained. "Almost like a servant."
"Uh...okay," he said slowly. "So um...Lydia...want to accompany me to High Hrothgar?"
"Oh course, my thane!" she beamed. She quickly grabbed her shield and sword from it's spot leaning against the wall. She must have been waiting for him. "I am your sword, and your shield."
"Uh, call me Danny," he reminded her.
"Of course," she replied.
They walked outside of Dragonsreach in slightly awkward silence. Down the steps and down the path to the gates was filled with small talk about the weather.
"Look, you've already been told you're not allowed here," a guard was telling two dark-skinned people near the gate. They wore matching red and purple tunics with tan pants and boots. One wore a purple hood, the other didn't. "Turn around and go back the way you came."
"We're causing no trouble. All we ask is we retrieve her," one spoke. Lydia and Danny both paused, watching the scene. "We know she's here."
"I don't care what you're doing, after what happened you're lucky I don't toss you in jail. Now get lost."
The guard walked away before turning and shooing them. The unhooded one saw Danny and Lydia. He waved at them to come over. Lydia glanced at Danny, and he shrugged his shoulders and walked to him. She followed loyally.
"We are looking for someone in Whiterun, and will pay good money for you to bring them to us," he told them. Danny gasped lightly. The Infi-Map was on the guy's hip, right next to his sword.
"Uh, if I bring this somebody to you, would you give me that?" Danny asked, pointing to it. He glanced at it and shrugged.
"Sure," he agreed. "I have no use for it."
"Great!" Danny exclaimed. "So who am I bringing to you?"
"A woman," he began to speak. "A Redguard, like us. She's using the alternate identity Saadia. Please bring her to us. We are not welcome in Whiterun, so we will be in Rorikstead."
"We'll be there as soon as possible!" Danny promised. Lydia gave him a weird look. The Redguards looked pleased before they exited the city.
"Why are we doing this?" Lydia wanted to know, giving him a curious look. "I thought we were going to the Throat of the World."
"We are!" Danny exclaimed. He glanced at Lydia. "But, we really need to do this real quick, okay? It should take a day tops!"
Lydia rolled her eyes, but nodded.
"Of course, whatever you wish my tha-Danny. So where is this Saadia then?" Lydia asked. Danny shrugged his shoulders. "Any idea on where to look?"
"We can start in the inn?" Danny suggested.
"That sounds good," Lydia agreed, and they turned on their heels and walked towards the inn.