Sulla did not think he just ran, heading to the stone tower for shelter as a roar of flames followed close behind him. He felt the heat beginning to cook his metal armour, scalding his flesh within as he leapt over stray rocks and wildgrass, bypassing a groaning soldier who lay in enough blood to suggest he couldn't be saved.

The blond found himself following a queue of panicked soldiers all fleeing into the tower for safety and he realised even as he joined them that they had made a mistake. Now the dragon had them trapped.

Metal echoed off stone as braver soldiers charged up the stairs hoping to get a vantage point to loosen arrows from.

Sulla looked upwards as a resounding roar almost deafened him. He felt the burn of fire as the flames snaked through a gap in the worn tower and instantly incinerated a handful of Imperial archers.

The blond clenched the hilt of his sword tightly as he tried to think up a plan.

They had followed Irileth here as a reluctant group, scattered with the rest of the brave soldiers the moment the dragon had swooped down upon them. Sulla knew nothing of dragons, until very recently they had been considered either myth or extinct by most people. Sulla had never given any thought to them at all until Helgen. He figured since the thing lived it therefore should be able to be killed but with the advantage of wings and a tough, scaly hide, there proved the tricky part.

"We need to make it land," Sulla grumbled to himself.

He searched round the small circular space of frightened faces, trying to pick out his archers amongst them but Christophe and Aela were nowhere to be seen. He couldn't spot the mage or the Penitus Oculatus either and wondered if his party had either fled or died before their real mission had even begun.

"By the Divines I'm going to die as barbecue!"

Sulla turned at the voice, peering out through the small slit to the outside world where chaos and fire reigned. He spied the panicked Christophe running past in a blur.

Knowing it would probably be suicide at worst and stupidity at best, Sulla headed for the exit. He sheathed his sword momentarily so he could run faster as he charged outwards and then round, hoping that the dragon still busied itself with attacking the exposed archers on the tower rooftop.

Sulla caught up to Christophe with ease as the Breton paused to check if a collection of tower rubble might be worth hiding under.

Sulla grabbed him by the shoulder, prompting him to whirl round with a yelp and a dagger ready in hand.

"Oh it's you," Christophe remarked calmly as he lowered his armed hand. "What in the Divines are you doing? We're going to be dragon breakfast!" His fright resumed almost immediately and he tried to break free from Sulla's grasp to either run or hide.

"No," Sulla said, forcing his voice to sound calm. "You're going to shoot its wings and we're going to kill it."

Christophe gave a nervous laugh and shook his head. "Did you bang your head or something? The other archers keep getting eaten trying that!"

"They're drawing its attention that's why. We need that mage to cause a distraction, while it's got the dragon's attention you shoot one wing and Aela shoots the other."

Sulla sighed and looked around them, knowing his plan could only work if he could actually find the rest of his party members.

Black smoke plumes drifted up into the air in columns like morbid signals. The air stank of charred flesh and boiled blood as soldiers lay crumpled on the ground like abandoned toys, some still groaning as they suffered through their burns and pain.

Sulla spied a flash of copper hair just to the right and gave a bitter smile. There Aela stood, shouting abuse up at the dragon and demanding it come down to face her.

"Now where's the damn mage?"

"This isn't like the last one you know! This one's a lot more huff and puff, mostly puff, bit of an asshole don't you think?"

Sulla glanced over his shoulder as he heard Sam's excitable voice. His eyes widened as he saw the mage moving at a jog, smiling as he pointed up to the dragon leisurely whilst attempting to converse with an unimpressed Arcturus.

"Over here!" Sulla called to them.

When they glanced his way, the blond waved them over to them.

Sam jumped and jogged at the same time as he approached the spellsword. "This is turning out to be quite the afternoon isn't it?"
Sulla ogled him briefly like he had two heads before shaking his own. "You, mage, need to distract that thing. While you're doing that, Christophe and Aela need to shoot its wings, they're thin, which makes them weaker than the rest of it."

"You think it'll hover still enough for them to do that?" Arcturus quipped sardonically.

"Hey I can shoot moving targets!" Christophe protested. "Although none of them have breathed fire," he added quietly.

"Do you have any other suggestions?" Sulla demanded.

Arcturus shrugged causing his metal shoulder pads to creak slightly. "It's worth a try."

Sulla nodded and looked to Sam. "I'll help you, you take the behind, I'll take the front."

"Of what?"

"Of the dragon!" Sulla shook his head despairingly before he moved from them to Aela.

He grabbed the huntress just in time to jerk her away before she became singed by a mouthful of fire.

"What did you do that for milk drinker?" the warrior snarled at him as she jerked free from his grasp.

"So sorry, didn't know you were fireproof," Sulla sneered. "Look, I have a plan. Sam and I are going to distract the dragon while you and Christophe shoot at its wings and try to bring it down, alright?"

"What do you think I've been doing this whole time?" Aela frowned as she raised her bow again.

"Almost becoming barbecue. Please, just try and help with plan."

"I am."

Sulla sighed and glanced up to the dragon. It was huge, too big to be comparable to any other creature he knew except maybe a giant and even then he felt it might be worth four of them or more.

The blond took a few steps back before raising his hands ups and sending up a bolt of lightning.

As he attacked, he wondered briefly if his team had bothered to listen to him or if he might be committing suicide right now. He gritted his teeth and kept his focus on the dragon as he aimed for his eyes, trying to dazzle it with sparks if he couldn't hurt it with any.
As the dragon roared back either in pain or irritation, Sulla couldn't be certain, he caught an image of Celestia. He knew he couldn't end up as dragon food and leave her alone in the world. Skyrim had shown itself to be a cruel and unforgiving place, even for its natives it served as a cold, survival of the fittest domain. Young, orphaned girls did not stand a chance.

Sulla's eyes widened as he thought the dragon might be wobbling. He blinked, certain he had imagined until he saw that its veered to its right side.

The dragon kept turning its head back to snap at the air in irritation as it shook its tail. Sam had been doing his part, sending forth plumes of fire and ice shards at the beast.

Sulla kept up his attack, ensuring that the beast got badgered from both sides, leaving it turning about in a fury as it tried to respond to both.

It gave a roar of shock as its body tipped to the right without warning. Its wing fluttered feebly, weighed down and torn up with arrows and unable to support it anymore.

"Run!" Sulla bellowed.

The group moved to escape being crushed by the falling beast. Except Aela. She stood crying out to Ysgamor and vowing to chop off its head when it landed.

Sulla cursed as he found himself sprinting towards the danger, all too conscious of the descending shadow above him. He collided with the woman, using speed and force to try and propel them from danger.

The pair fell, rolling over grass and dirt with curses and gasps before their world grew dark.

It took Sulla a few minutes to work out that he hadn't perished beneath the girth of a dragon. Glancing up, he made out a distorted daylight and realised they were underneath a damaged wing.

Feeling Aela beneath him, prompted Sulla to roll to the right, coughing up dirt and dust as he did.

"What did you do that for?" Aela grunted.

"You really are suicidal aren't you? I saved you from being crushed."

"Nonsense, I was ready for the beast now I am deprived from its execution!"

Sulla ignored her complaints as he searched the shadows under the wing for an exit, whilst trying to avoid the edges of arrows. He moved on his belly, slow and low, conscious of the sounds of loud teeth snapping and men shouting. He could feel the heat of the beast's body and the vibrations as it fought for life. He glanced to his left and swallowed hard as he spied its torso and realised how close he lay to the mammoth predator.

Aela moved quicker, scrambling past arrows with little interest to how they snagged at her hair and flesh. She freed herself quickly, jumping to her feet with a dramatic cry before she sheathed her bow and reached for her sword.

"Too late," Christophe said.

He stood, calmer now, with his arms folded and gestured with one hand up to the dragon's skull.

Arcturus stood on top of it, sinking his blade deep through its scaly head.

"By the gods he stole my kill!" Aela cursed as she clenched her free hand into a fist.

Sulla came to join them, dusting himself down as he gazed up to Arcturus, uncertain if he felt relief or envy.

Arcturus tugged out his bloody blade as the beast died beneath him.

"Wait, wait, wait!"

The group glanced over at the babble, eyes widening as they saw a woman sprinting towards them hastily. She stumbled twice, almost falling before righting herself once more. "Dragonborn coming through, got to be quick, need the soul, it's a whole Dragonborn thing!"

The woman skidded to a halt by the corpse, panting as she raised up a hand to its flank and leaned against it.

"Are you seriously tired out after that?" Arcturus demanded as he stared down at her.

She let out a heaving gasp for air. "Yeah, I didn't know dragon killing was happening over here. I had to run for ages!"

"From where? Who are you?"

She held up a hand to him causing her shirt sleeve to slip back slightly. "Just a sec."

Arcturus turned down in alarm as the dragon began to glow beneath him. His following yell could be audible for a feet as the flesh burned away to ash without warning and he found himself slipping back from an exposed skull and falling through the gaps in the bones that formed the beast's neck.

"Sorry!" the woman cried out as she clapped her hands to her cheeks. "I forgot about that part!"

Arcturus sat up from the dirt with a groan of pain and glowered over to her. "What in the name of the Divines did you just do?"

"I'm sorry," she said as she pushed down the forest green pleats of her skirt. "It's a thing with me these days, can't really explain much about it. Anyway, I've got to be getting on." She let out a burp and clapped her hand up to her mouth as she blushed.

Christophe let out a snicker at this. "Did you just burp up dragon soul?"

The woman whirled her head round to face him in surprise. Her blush darkened slightly as she took in the archer's appearance and her hand dropped away as she reached up to push down her golden-brown waves. "I didn't ask for it, I just wanted to go to Cyrodiil but there was this whole thing where ownership over an emerald necklace got confused and suddenly I'm lumped in with a war criminal. I mean where's the justice there?" She paused and squinted at Sulla. "And you know what, never mind, goodbye!

The woman turned and started running, hurrying out to the wilderness.

"What just happened?" Christophe wondered aloud.

Sam walked over to them rubbing his hands together gleefully. "Well this surely will get me some decent ale for payment, right?"

Sulla sighed and shook his head. "Let's get back to Dragonsreach and Celestia."

Arcturus stood up, rubbing his rear with several curses. "If I see her again I'm getting an apology and an explanation," he grumbled. "What kind of person sucks the soul out of something without so much as a warning and burns up the flesh while they're at it?"

"I thought it was an interesting talent," Christophe mused.

"You would," Arcturus grunted.

The group arrived back to Dragonsreach with the stunned Dunmer Irileth at their head. She told the waiting Jarl and General Tullius of their victory, admitting that it had been Sulla's group who were directly responsible for its defeat.

Sulla might have appreciated the credit more if the Dunmer hadn't kept showing them her expression of disbelief and murmuring over and over that she didn't understand how and that the gods must have played a part.

"Well done," Tullius praised them with a smile.

"Indeed," the Jarl agreed. "You have all earned food and rest. In fact, I will see that a banquet is prepared for you."

"Don't forget the payment," Christophe said chirpily. "Some of us have debts to consider."

"My liege, may I see my daughter?" Sulla queried, uninterested in talk of banquets.

The Jarl and waved a hand in dismissal of Sulla. "Yes, she should be in the kitchen, it's downstairs."

Sulla headed for the stairs, breaking into a run when he heard the sound of screams.

"Celestia!" he roared her name, prompting the others to look over questioningly to the stairs.

Sulla entered the kitchen in a sprint, searching in dismay as he found it deserted. It took just a moment before he realised the screams came from a door at the back. He opened it and found himself staring in a small, closet like room that also lacked life. At the back of it stood another door, glistening with what appeared to be bloodstains.

Sulla's eyes widened in alarm as he heard Celestia's screams coming from behind the door. He rushed to it and grabbed the handle, cursing when he found it locked.

"Celestia! I'm here, I'm here!"

Sulla shook the handle in frustration and cursed as he could not free it.

"Damn it where's the key?"

"Here."

Sulla turned in surprise to face Arcturus and the court mage's curious faces. The mage stepped in the small room, giving Sulla a wary glance at the blond glowered at him.

"Did you lock her in there?"

"Of course not." The mage answered in a haughty tone heavy with the native Skyrim accent.

"Yet you have the key."

The mage produced a single, brass key from his dark robes and nodded. "I do but why would I trouble myself with locking children in cupboards?"

He stepped forward and unlocked the door.

Celestia spilled out with a scream, running forward blindly until her father's hands caught her.

Sulla stared at her in dismay as he picked her up, his eyes widening in horror as he took in the bloody scratches on her face and exposed arms.

"Celestia what happened? Who did this to you?"

"The old woman, she's evil, she's evil!"
Celestia burrowed up against her father and started to sob.

Sulla hugged her close and stared past her into the narrow cupboard she had escaped from with suspicion.

Arcturus frowned as he heard a whispered voice creep out from the cupboard. His frown deepened as he realised the others could not hear it.