Claudia gaped at the man as he got up, blood smeared over his face. He was Dragonborn.
"My name's Claudia," she said. "And I am so sorry about Farkas, that's what he does when he doesn't like someone, but he's sweet when you get to know him."
Wiping blood on hi tunic, the man replied, "My name is Archer, it is nice to meet you Claudia and Farkas."
"Well thanks for the help Archer, with the dragon and all." Claudia said, not sure how the conversation should continue.
"No problem, but if you don't mind, I really need to be somewhere." Archer began to walk back over to his horse, who had miraculously stayed the whole fight.
"But wait! You were about to explain you being Dragonborn!" Claudia shouted after him.
He stopped, turning back. "I did, didn't I? Well, truthfully I am still as lost as you are on that matter."
Claudia blinked. Here stood an ancient warrior of old and she was okay with not pestering him about it. What could she say? "I hope you find yourself then, and I am sure we will be hearing more of you."
He gave a slight bow, "I am glad I could be of service."
...
After Archer had departed towards Whiterun, Farkas and Claudia continued their way to Dustman's Cairn. A few hours later they arrived, where remains of a fire still smoldered and tents were still pitched, plus horses tethered to a tree. Claudia turned to Farkas. Looking closer at the saddle pads, Farkas saw a messily embroidered hand in silver thread.
"Let's release the horses so whomever is in there doesn't get away." He said darkly.
"If you say so, big guy." Claudia shrugged, failing to notice the emblem on the saddles, as well as Farkas' mood change.
They untied the horses, then banged their shields together, making the horses take off across the plains. The two warriors walked down the steps into the where the Cairns front door was. A dead bandit lay in a pool of blood little ways from the door.
"Best be careful." said Farkas.
They entered the Cairn. It was full of dust and some rubble lay near an opening that led further in. It looked like someone had been digging.
"Move forward with caution, someone's been here and recently". Farkas said.
They went down a stuffy hall, and came to a sort of labyrinth where Claudia took down a draugr to the right, easily knocking its sword away, and slicing through its rotting neck. Farkas took care of the ones straight ahead when they entered. Claudia went to go catch up with him when an arrow came down from one of the rooms to the side of Claudia. The arrow hit her in her side. Her armor absorbed most of the impact but it still bruised. Claudia groaned as she turned into the room and saw the draugr with its bow. It had another arrow nocked and ready to fire. Claudia took out one of her knives and through it at the draugr hitting it in the stomach. It didn't fall immediately but was distracted. Claudia stabbed it through the head ignoring the pain in her side.
"Are you alright?" Farkas said coming around the corner.
"I'm fine, I have a potion somewhere" Claudia said looking in her bag.
"No need." he said.
Farkas handed her one and she drank it. It tasted like snow berries. As her skin healed the pain went away.
As they continued through the labyrinth like room, they came to a wooden door. Claudia opened it and treaded lightly down the hallway. There were some thin cobwebs spanning over the ceiling to the floor. Claudia took her sword and swiped them away. She was not a fan of spiders.
They went a little further when they came to a sort of circular room the only way to continue was to open the gate on the far end.
"We should look around for a way to open that gate." Farkas said.
"Alright." Claudia replied. "Be careful, I don't want you to get hurt," she said. Farkas looked at her.
"What?" she said, "the Companions would have my hide if you died!"
She walked over to where another gate was open. There was a lever on the far wall. Claudia went over and pulled it. As it clicked, the other gate opened but the second one closed, trapping her.
"Oh great." she muttered. "Farkas! This lever is stuck and I can't get out!"
"What did you do this time?" he said, running over.
"Well, I definitely didn't light a kitchen on fire." she pouted.
Claudia heard the clanking of metal and swords. Eight armed men and women ran in.
"Your time is at an end, dog!" one yelled.
"Which one do you think it is?" asked another.
"Who cares?" sneered a burly man, "so long as its dead, it won' matter."
"Killing it will make for an excellent story." jeered a woman with blackened teeth.
Farkas growled, "Too bad you won't be alive to tell it."
Suddenly Farkas started convulsing, his face became longer and his teeth started to sharpen. Fur appeared all over his body and his arms elongated. He had become a werewolf. Howling a challenge, he tore right through the mob, one after the other they went flying. When Farkas had finished with the bandits his werewolf form went and opened the gate for her and then he came back as a man. Claudia stood wide eyed and unable to move from shock.
"You weren't meant to see that, but it was the only way I could take out the Silverhand" Farkas said.
"Silverhand, I thought they were just bandits?" she managed to stutter out.
"The Silverhand are like bandits, except they hunt down and kill werewolves." he said with a flash of teeth. "Let's keep moving."
They kept walking, both unusually quiet, weaving through the winding corridors killing draugr as they went, until they got to a round room filled with crypts. There was a crypt at the top of a dais with a weird wall behind it. When Claudia moved forward, the crypt burst open, revealing a draugr overlord. Claudia drew her sword and one of her knives. The draugr said something in a language send some sort of force that sent Claudia flying to the other side of the room. She slammed into the wall leaving her gasping for breath and her weapons skittering across the floor. She looked up, her sword a few feet in front of her, but another draugr was advancing. Farkas was fighting other draugr, so Claudia would have to fend for herself.
The draugr lunged at her, she dodged the ax and as the draugr went rushing past her she grabbed her weapons. The draugr was angry, it lunged at Claudia. She met its sword with hers and stabbed it in the neck with her knife. The draugr crumbled to the ground. When she turned around Farkas had just killed another.
"That wasn't so bad." he said.
"Easy for you to say, you didn't get slammed into a stone wall." Claudia snapped, sliding her sword into its sheath with a huff.
"Maybe you shouldn't have tried to rush it." Farkas said over his shoulder, walking up the steps to the dais.
"Lets just get the damn fragment already, I hurt." groaned Claudia.
She heard Farkas give a short snort of laughter. Stepping over the overlord's body, he searched the offering table at the foot of the stone coffin. Rubbing her neck, Claudia watched his back as he shuffled through some old book books and spell papers, a few old tools slipping from the table and clattering to the floor. Farkas paused, then, moving were more purpose, he moved back and rolled the overlords body over with his boot, and began to pull what was left of its armor apart, searching.
"Farkas?" she asked, "what's wrong?"
With a frustrated growl that was very much unlike him, Farkas threw down the draugr's breast plate he had been holding. It smashed loudly to the floor. He looked up at Claudia, an orange glow deep in his eyes.
"The fragment isn't here."
Sorry for taking so long, I've been busy with school and I lost my motivation. I am going to try and write more often. Shout out to my sister, BronzeWolf336, for suggestions and editing!