Alrighty then. Here's chapter 18. Please give me some feedback and/or ideas for the upcoming chapters. This story may be coming to an end soon but DON'T WORRYY! There will be sequel. I haven't decided if I wanted to make the sequel first or third person quite yet. Again, if you fellas gots any requezst, then please let me know! I keep all ur ideas in consideration.
Disclaimer: I don't own Skyrim, but I do own my characters
Enjoy!
::Steve's POV::
The four of us approached the gates of Whiterun. It's good to be back. From what I've seen, Windhelm is a frozen solid city and I'd never want to live there. I haven't seen the other cities yet, but still, it's nice to be back. The peaceful atmosphere reminds me of home.
We went through the gates and walked to the middle of the road. Cain looked over at us. "So what do you want to do? You want to trap the dragon now or stop at Jorrvaskr?"
I shrugged. "I guess Jorrvaskr first." He nodded and we walked up to the mead hall. We swung around the side of the building to the back. The first person I saw Kodlak. Vilkas was sitting next to him talking about whatever. Kodlak saw us and waved.
"Well, if it isn't the extraordinary band of young men. How did the meeting go?"
"Pretty good I guess. We got both sides to stop killing each other, at least for a little bit," I replied.
"We are going to trap a dragon momentarily, and I'd like to ask for your help. Can you guys help us out?" Cain asked them.
Kodlak shrugged. "I can contribute."
"I'll help you whelps out," Vilkas said with a smirk.
"Alright, can anyone else?" Cain asked.
Vilkas shook his head. "No. It's just going to be us two. Aela went on a hunt for a bear earlier today and Farkas took the rest of the whelps on a raid for the Silver-Hand."
"Remind me again, who are the Silver-Hand?" I remember Bame saying something about them, but I can't remember what exactly.
Vilkas smirked. "Just a bunch of thugs that think they can take us down."
"Now Vilkas, don't be so naïve," Kodlak casually refuted. He turned his head back to us. "They are a band of werewolf hunters for the most part. The only reason why they hate us is because of that reason alone."
"Are they big?"
"Yeah, I'd say for the most part. Nothing to worry about though." He focused his gaze on Cain. "Now, what can we do to help for your trap?"
"Well, I'm not sure. Maybe helping us with the trap," Cain replied.
"We can do that. Those guards could use some help. When are we doing it?"
"Now."
...
I'm not very situated on the war between these Stormcloaks and this Empire, but I have to say, it's weird to see two sides that hate each other work together. Especially at a time like this. However, they both give each other evil stares. This is probably a 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend' type of thing. Well maybe not, they both are enemies.
My job is to protect Cain and everyone else for that matter from the dragon's fire and/or ice attacks with my wards. It doesn't seem like a hard job for me, but it would mean a great deal to some of the others that would probably get burned alive.
Kevin's job is to, for a lack of better words, piss off the dragon with his bolts along with a couple of guards. Jon's job is to help the Imperials with the lever and latching. Kodlak and Vilkas are helping the Stormcloaks with the other lever and latch. We planned this out carefully, I hope we can pull this off.
"Dragonborn, are you sure you know what you're doing?" I can see the uneasiness in the jarl's eyes. I can see it in everyone's eyes, except for Cain's. I hope he knows what he's doing. This dragon must be powerful considering that he's the black dragon's sidekick or whatever.
"Yeah I'm sure." He looked up at both sides that had the levers to drop the trap. "You guys ready?" Both sides yelled back a yes. Now that I see it better, the trap is set up pretty well. All you have to do is lure the dragon inside the dome, then two guys at the least would pull the lever on each platform, which is roughly two stories high, and the trap would drop. The trap would latch around the dragon's head and around both hands, or claws. I don't know what call them. The latched are made of steel so hopefully the dragon is stuck whether he likes it or not. Well, I guess we'll see.
Cain pointed a cue at Kevin and couple of the guards. Kevin injected a bolt into his crossbow and the guards pulled their arrows out. "Alright, here goes nothing. Od.. Ah.. Viing!" The three syllables erupted through the air and I heard them echo through the land.
Minutes passed by and nothing. The jarl was getting a little uneasy. Cain scanned the skies restlessly but didn't see anything. Suddenly, we heard a roar in the distance. "There!" One of the guards shouted. He pointed straight out in the sky and there was a dragon flying in this direction. Wow, it actually worked.
"Alright gents, prepare to get your boots muddy!" Another guard rallied. The dragon came closer and whirled around in the air. The color of the thing was red. Suddenly the dragon swooped down at the balcony with his claws opened and I noticed Kevin was in the way! I sprinted over to him and tackled him to the ground. The dragon flew down, snatched two guards in its feet and let go of them when he was clear of the balcony.
The dragon flew to the front of the balcony and hovered. Cain took in a big breath. "Joor.. Zah.. Frul!" A light blue ray shot at the dragon and made it stagger in mid-flight. It then flew toward the balcony and landed.
"Go go go! Get back now!" The jarl ordered his men. The dragon inhaled a deep breath and focused its head on the jarl.
"Oh God!" I sprinted over to him and used both hands to form the best shielding ward I know. The dragon exhaled waves of fire at us and i started walking backwards. "Go back! I have you covered!"
Waves of fire kept coming at me and I can feel my magic getting weaker. "Guys, I can't hold him off forever!" I can feel the heat of flames begin to go through the shield.
Suddenly the flames stopped and the dragon jerked its head around in the air. I can see a bolt sticking out of the dragon's lower jam. "Steven, go! Now or never!" Kevin yelled out as he placed a bolt in his crossbow and made a run it. I turned around and sprinted for cover with the jarl.
When I turned around, I saw Cain just standing before the dragon completely unarmed. "Hey, dragon! I'm the one who called you! Come and get me if you dare!" The dragon shook its head again and started crawling towards Cain. As soon as it was under the trap, the levers were pulled and the trap dropped onto the dragon's head and claws, then the latches were pulled in place so it couldn't escape. The dragon realized that it was trapped and he stopped struggling for freedom. It focused its glare onto Cain.
"Odahviing, am I right?"
The dragon slowly nodded its giant head. I can hear him inhale huge intakes of air. "Nid! Horvutah med kodaav," the dragon suddenly spoke. The voice was low and dignified and definitely fits the dragon. "Zok frini grind ko grah drun viiki, Dovahkiin." Cain glanced back at us and shrugged his shoulders. The dragon rolled its eyes. "Ah. I forget. You do not have the dovah speech."
Cain smirked. "My apologies, Odahviing."
"Why do have in this.. Humiliating position?" The dragon demanded.
Cain crossed his arms. "I need to know where Alduin went. Can you tell me?"
"Ah, surely you would want to know where Alduin has gone to. Dovahkiin, why would you believe that I would tell you?"
Cain raised two fingers. "Two reasons why I know you will tell us. One: if you don't tell me, Alduin will destroy the world meaning the extinction of everything, including dragons. Two: you will be locked in Dragonsreach until the world ends. So what say you, Odahviing?"
The dragon turned his head and studied the chains and the trap. "I see. Alduin has proven himself unfit to rule. Many of us already questioned Alduin's lordship. Fine, I will tell you where he has gone."
"Where?"
"Hold on there, Dovahkiin. If I tell you, will you grant me my freedom?"
"And if you serve me."
Odahviing raised his head a little. "Serve you? No. Assist you in a time of need, yes."
"Deal. I will grant you your freedom if you tell me his location."
"He is in Sovngarde, consuming the souls of the mortal dead. And to get to the land of the dead, you must go to Skuldafn." The dragon looked at the chains again.
"And where is this place?" Cain asked as he folded his arms.
"To the east. Straight shot," the dragon replied.
"Alright I'll get ya outta here." Cain turned around, gave us a thumbs up and walked upstairs.
Farengar walked out to the dragon. "Excuse me, but I need to test a couple things on you for the betterment of our well being."
The dragon snarled. "Get away from me, mortal!" The dragon exhaled a large wave of fire into the side of the stone wall above us. We all ducked down away from the flames. I could feel the heat fill the air around me.
"Farengar," Jarl Balgruuf started. "Maybe it is not wise to test on him, especially when considering the fact that he's helping us." The mage nodded sheepishly and ran back to us. The dragon lowered its head and glanced at me with its large eyes. I stood there awkwardly staring back and I had no idea what to do or if I should say anything to the red dragon.
"Open the trap!" One of the guards yelled from the Imperial side. He opened the latch and the dragon's left hand came free. There was a lot of commotion on the Stormcloak side, obviously about if they just think what they heard.
Cain stepped out into view. "Hey guys, it's alright! I know what I'm doing!" The Stormcloaks fell silent and hesitated. Soon they opened the latch and released the dragon's right hand and his head.
The dragon looked at me once again but it didn't say anything. Cain came running down the stairs and noticed the dragon staring at me. "What's wrong?" He asked the dragon.
The dragon's gaze didn't change. "Joor," the winged beast started, "you have shown me great compassion." It crawled a little bit toward me and I took a step back. Was the dragon really complimenting me?
"Uh," was the only thing I managed to spit out of my mouth. Kevin walked up next to me and wrapped his crossbow around his arm.
The dragon made an amused rubble in its throat. "I wish to know your name. I would rather not refer to you as a Joor because your name is worth knowing."
"Uh, it's Steve," I said to him in a shaky tone. The dragon slowly nodded.
"Steve. Steve fin Norok - Steve the Fierce." Steve the Fierce? "And is this your zeymah? Your brother?" The dragon asked as he looked at Kevin.
"Yeah."
The dragon directed his attention on my brother. He gave him a long stare down and then turned his head to the bolt still sticking in the right part of his chest area. "Zeymah do Steven, what is your name?"
Kevin had a complete poker face. Actually I've never seen a poker face like the one he was pulling. "Kevin."
"Mmm, Kevin." The dragon looked at his wound again and looked back my brother. "Kevin fin Vahlok - Kevin the Guardian." My brother smirked and glanced at me briefly then looked back at the dragon.
"Thanks, I'm sorry I forgot your name," Kevin said in a polite manner.
"Odahviing, in your tongue, Winged Snow Hunter. Besides Alduin, I am the most rel dovah, the most dominate dragon." He looked back at me then at Kevin again. "We will meet again Fin Krilot Zeymahle." The red beast focused his gaze on Cain. "Krosis Dovahkiin."
"So how do I get to Skuldafn?" Cain asked.
"Drem, patience Dovahkiin. I neglected to tell you how to get to Skuldafn. You have proven that you have the Thu'um of a Dovah, but without the wings of one, you will never set foot in Skuldafn."
Cain scratched his head and winced his eyes. "Then I'm screwed, unless.." He refocused his attention on the dragon.
"Unless I fly you there. I know what you were implying. Geh, yes. I will fly you there." The dragon turned its huge body around and crawled back to the balcony. It then expanded its huge crimson wings and looked at Cain. "Are you ready to see the world as only a dovah can?"
Wow, Cain is actually going to ride on that thing? Very awesome, but seems a bit risky for my standards. I never liked flying. Cain glanced back to us and Jon came running down the stairs.
"Well guys. I'll be back soon. I gotta sorts things out." I noticed that his right hand was trembling vaguely.
"Are you alright?" I asked while looking at his hand.
He glanced down at his hand grabbed ahold of it with his left. "Nervous. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to expect."
I pulled out my glass knife and brought it him. "Take this, it might be just the thing to deliver the final blow." He took the knife and adjusted it onto his holster. He looked back at us and nodded.
"Be careful Cain," Kevin said as he brought out an arm. Cain nodded and shook his hand.
"Thanks Kevin."
"Cain," Jon suddenly said, "when you get to the afterlife place, remember to use the uh.." He paused and rubbed his chin which growing lots of facial hair. "Oh yeah, use the Clear Skies shout. I remember it being foggy there."
Cain smiled and brought out a hand. "Thanks for the tip. I'll remember to do it." Jon smiled back and shook his hand.
"See you later Cain."
Cain looked back at me and nodded. I reached a hand out and he shook it. "I'll see you after it's all over." He nodded and turned back to Odahviing who was still in his lift off stance studying our interactions.
"I'm ready. Take me to Skuldafn."
"As you wish. But be warned, Dovahkiin, when you see the skies as a dovah, your envy for them will only increase." The dragon lowered its head and Cain climbed on the back of the dragon's head. Then in an instant, the red dragon lifted off and headed east.
I could faintly hear Cain shouting out from the dragon making me snort. Well, flying an airplane isn't really like flying a dragon I suppose. From the looks of it, it looked really fun.
::Bame's POV::
I heard the roar of a dragon and from the sound of it, the joyous yells of Cain's voice. I glanced up at the sky and I realized it was Odahviing flying east. "Wow Cain, he pulled it off. What a badass." Well, seems like he has everything in control.
Looking up at the sky was pretty rough,most likely because it was daytime. The sun was setting in the west and I was out of its rays. Just light in general made me weaker.
Earlier today, before dawn, I had to leave the house. Lydia was still asleep and I managed to get her in her bed. Hopefully she'll think it was just a dream, seeing me and all. After that I headed towards Eastmarch and I took refuge in a small cave. In the cave was a saber tooth tiger, but it was no match for me. Instead of cooking it, I ate the meat raw and drank the blood pretty much dry. It wasn't like drinking the blood from the bandits, but it did really help.
I decided that going to Whiterun wouldn't be the best decision. For one, I'm not even sure if changing into a werewolf would work or if it even would help. I could be a more dangerous bloodthirsty wolf-vampire. At that point, I could lose myself to the beast and the vampiric hunger for blood. I'm not going to risk it. Cuddling with Lydia was beyond tempting. I can't believe I actually got ahold of myself.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I just headed towards Eastmarch because less people inhabited the woods there and at the same time, not extremely cold. Even for a vampire, the Pale up north is very cold.
I thought about that Babette, the vampire that did this to me. The way I bashed her brains in. The memory made me cringe. It wasn't exactly justified to make her pretty much headless, and her body is still there rotting. Most likely gone by now. We didn't bury anyone that was part of the Dark Brotherhood, especially that Arnbjorn. Part of me says that they got what they deserved, but the other part of me is saying that we are better than that. Killing them their way only puts us at their level. But then again, they are all dead and we shouldn't be worried anymore.
At the corner of my eye, I noticed a black figure quietly making her way next to road in the bushes. Yeah, it's definitely a woman. She's wearing a hood and.. Dark Brotherhood armor! Fuck, how can I be so fucking stupid and forget about the LEADER of the damn assassins?
I couldn't do anything about it right now. The sun would slow me down and if I tangoed with her in the sunlight, she'd most likely kill me. I have to wait for dusk. She's heading southeast by the looks of it. I might be able to track her with my vampiric senses. Her scent was pretty distinct, some of it had the scent of Arnbjorn.. Ew fuck, I'm NOT going to think about that fucked up image! Too late, it's already engraved into my skull. Fuck the vampiric senses.
...
Finally it was dark. I got to my feet and rushed down onto the road then to where I saw Astrid. Her scent picked up instantly. Thinking about it, it was actually kind of cool to posses such an ability, but it still doesn't even get close to shifting the scale in favor of being a vampire.
The scent got stronger as I headed southeast and soon her footsteps in the snow were vaguely visible. Finally I came across an old Nordic ruin. It looks familiar and her tracks definitely lead into it.
Gallow's Rock. Now I remember. If I remember correctly, it's a place you go to for the Companions quest line, which means the Silver-hand. They hold silver weapons so that's not going to be very favorable on my part, but I'll manage.
I only spotted three guards patrolling around the small fort. One woman wood elf, and two imperial men. I moved up silently around the wall and climbed up on top of the second floor using the stone on the side of the mountain, thanks to my ability to jump higher. The wood elf was looking the other way and I took that to my advantage. I took out a dagger I had taken from the dead bandit and chucked it at the woman. The dagger impaled her in the back of her neck and she fell over the balcony into the snow.
Then I rushed to one if the imperials who was sitting in a chair looking the other way. The wind shielded the noise from my running so he didn't hear a thing. I took out another dagger, covered his mouth with my other hand, lifted his chin up, and slit the soft skin around his neck swiftly. Blood spewed out of his neck all over my hand and I judo kicked him over the balcony. The last imperial noticed the commotion and sprinted in my direction with his sword out.
"Die you filthy bloodsucking fiend!" I smirked, raised my arm back and flung my dagger at him. The dagger pierced him in the chest and he came to a halt. He dropped his sword and fell to his knees looking at the dagger in his chest. He grabbed onto the handle, gasped for air, and fell back into the snow.
I went up to the dead man, picked up my dagger and headed for the door into the small fort.
When I got in, the scent of wet dog pierced my nostrils. Obviously they killed some werewolves recently. I pulled out my war axe and started running down the stairs deeper into the ruins. Astrid's scent only got stronger. I entered the first room and it was empty. Nothing in sight. I did notice that there was a dead werewolf in the small room to my right. I pushed in deeper and came across the next room, still not a soul. This is getting a little suspicious.
As I made my way to the door to the final chamber. Before I opened up, I listened through the door and heard voices. A man's voice and Astrid's voice.
"... and these Companions killed all of my brothers and sisters. If I really didn't need your help, I wouldn't of came here. You and your little band of whelps are going to help me wipe out the Companions once and for all." I never thought it would come to this. Astrid asking assistance from the Silver-hand? This situation just escalated to its highest.
The man chuckled a bit. "Fine Astrid. We will help you. But only this time. We know about your beloved puppy Arnbjorn and-"
"Arnbjorn is dead so stop right there. I just you to kill the Companions. Especially the new recruits."
"Which are?"
"The tall one is named Bame. He's the first on the list and the leader of the little band. The others are named Steve, Kevin, Jon and Cain. I already got into a little situation with that Cain. I poisoned him, but seems like he survived it."
"Tell me more about them."
"Cain can run fast and he is pretty dangerous up close. Steve from what I've heard loves using his little destruction spells as well as using his little glass dagger. Kevin is an archer and a skilled one, but he uses a different kind of bow. One that I haven't seen, but its got range and more power. Jon likes his sword and he seems pretty skilled with it. And then Bame, well.." I raised a brow and listened in. There was silence.
Suddenly the door opened in front of me. Astrid jabbed her palm into my nose, definitely breaking it, grabbed ahold of my armor and threw me down on the floor. Fuck.. "Why don't you just ask him?" She mused with her calm and mischievous voice.
I tried to get to my feet but I was stopped by two muscular Nords. They got a firm grip of my me and brought me to the middle of the chamber. I tried my hardest to get free but they wouldn't let go. I looked around the room and it seems that there were roughly fifteen bodies in here, or more.
Astrid came up to me and rubbed the side of my face gently. "Ah so you're Bame. Didn't expect you to be a vampire." I jerked my face away from her hand glared at her straight into her very soul.
"Astrid. Should of known this was a little trap, you fucking bitch." She smiled evilly. She glanced at the two Nords and signaled them to do something. Suddenly, I get struck at the back if the head and everything went black...