Here we go folks. Hope you enjoy. REVIEW! So I can become a better writer and stroy teller for y'all.

POV: Briljof

Stalking inside the doors of the barrow as quietly as possible my companions followed my lead. Brealla casting Muffle on us as usual to help with staying undetected. We made it inside without fuss and Skja closed the doors behind us as quietly as he could. It wasn't really quiet but we didn't attract any attention from the few bandits that were in the area already.

The three that were there lounging around a small fire as they cooked something that looked like a large rodent. A skeever as Skja had told me about the other night. Not the best thing to eat but were plentiful in tombs and as long as they were cooked thoroughly there was no danger of getting sick from the diseases they carried.

Signaling the others to stop they did so, motioning for Brealla to join me in front. She did so without question and knew my plan in an instant. Nodding along she prepared a bolt of magic, ice in nature but that was all that I could gleam with my lack of magical knowledge. Regardless, knocking an arrow and lining up my bow before releasing the arrow. Soaring through the air it struck right into the neck a bandit.

It went straight through the side of his neck all the way through with the man collapsing onto the ground gasping for air. The two bandits with him jolted to their feet looking for where the arrow had come from. They both didn't last another second as another arrow found its mark in the eye of one while Brealla's ice bolt slammed home into the chest of the other. Ripping through their pieced together armor and punched through their chest completely leaving a fist sized hole in it.

That right there was why enchanters and rune inscriptiors were paid so well. Even though their armor was comparable to recycled trash that ice bolt from Braella would've ripped through many different types of unenchanted/unruned armors. Probably only the likes of mastercrafted Orc and Glass armors resisting it along with regular Ebony and Daedric armors. Those armors were all hard to find and far more expensive than regular armors with enchantments. They, of course, backed up the price tag that came with them but it was more efficient to just enchant armors.

Walking towards the dead bodies with the rest of the group behind me all of us made sure that the three were truly dead. Though it was trivial with a hole in the chest of one but it was always better to make sure. Assuming one was dead from a wound while not confirming it was a deadly game to play. One that had gotten many killed, plenty from my hand.

With them confirmed to be dead we looted their bodies and the nearby chest. Skja breaking it open with his sword before reaching in and grabbing a couple potions for both magika and health. All of which went straight into the pack on Nelkrr's back. Along with about 30 gold were found.

Moving on we pushed through the path near the three dead bandits and followed the stairs downwards. Making sure not to make a sound in case others were in the area and sure enough there was. As we made it down the stairs there was another bandit with his back to us walking up to some type of lever. Looked exactly like the one from the tunnel below the prison but something seemed off about it.

Deciding not to kill the man from behind and just watch, all of us saw the man pull the lever. The instant he did needles shot out from all around the man and punched into his body. He stood for a moment seemingly in shock before collapsing backwards. Looking between each other, we slowly moved towards the body as Nelkrr checked it over as the rest of us looked around.

Looking at the man after a moment he shook his before pulling a needle and signaling that it was poison. Nodding to him all of us looked around the room and saw pictures of different creatures on rotating disks around us. On the disks was an arrow pointed at one side of them. Seeing the carved mouths around the room with the same images of the disks it wasn't hard to discern what they were for. Why they were this easy was a bit of mystery for me until I remembered the Draugr.

The puzzle wasn't meant to keep people out as they would need to bury their dead here. It was meant to keep the Draugr and whatever else inside in case anything happened. A solid plan all things considered, the fact the bandit didn't see it was surprising. They looked like a Nord but… looking over the body something seemed off.

Bloodshot eyes that didn't come from the poison along with diseased teeth and gums. Scratches along his forearms like he had done it himself with yellowing fingernails. This guy was on some type of drug, maybe Skooma but I had never seen the effects of Skooma on anyone. It was violently purged from Hammerfell before the war began and anyone dealing in it was given a kill on sight order. Never even saw a bounty to take care of it in Hammerfell.

"You suppose we should move the disks so they line up with the faces?" Braella asked out loud to everyone.

"Yes. We must be ready though, these puzzles were meant to keep things in; not out," Skja voiced, getting a nod of agreement from Nelkrr confirming my suspicions. Nelkrr however seemed uneasy as the prospect of going inside the tomb. Either he didn't do well in small places or didn't like disturbing the dead. Both good reasons for Nords to not like tombs; the dead should remain at peace.

That's not mentioning that both Nelkrr and Skja's weapons were too big to effectively be used in tight quarters. They would be heavily handicapped inside corridors and both seemed to know this as they sheathed their greatswords. Skja picking up the fallen bandits sword while Nelkrr backtracked to where the other bandits were. Only returning once Braella and myself had aligned the rotating disks with the faces on the wall, including the one on the ground. He had a circular leather shield along with a basic steel sword in his hands.

With everyone together I walked to the switch with Brealla. Confused for a moment as to why she was with me she held up both her hands and cast wards around us covering our bodies in case we were wrong. Nodding to her and pulling the trigger we were greeted by the door in front of us shooting upwards instead of needles.

Breathing a sigh of relief we walked through the door and immediately found ourselves in a small corridor. Putting myself against the wall and motioning at Nelkrr. The man nodded and took the front of our group with his shield out. Myself directly behind him with my bow slung across my body and my ax and ebony dagger in hand. Braella behind me and Skja taking up the rear.

We pushed through the corridor. Getting maybe a dozen paces before something moved in front of us and to my immediate left. Turning my head to the threat deep blue eyes stared at me as the Draugr began moving. Not waiting for it to get any moment my dagger blurred and buried itself in the draugr's neck. The light leaving its eyes only after I twisted the blade and yanked it out making sure to sever its spine. Fucking undead.

Dealing with that Draugr though the movement in front of us showed to be two Draugr's who had their weapons in hand. One with a regular sword and the other a greatsword. Nelkrr charged the one with the greatsword. Slamming his shield into it and pinning it to the wall before it could swing its sword.

Crouching down after Nelkrr was out of the way Braella sent another bolt of ice at the other Draugr. The bolt of ice taking the monsters head off and the moment it was dead I was in motion. Sprinting towards the pinned Drauger and plunging my dagger into its head. The light in its eyes faded.

"That was too easy," I commented wiping my dagger on my armor cleaning the blade off.

"Aye. Draugr have ranks just like soldiers. These were no more than fodder; do not expect many fights with them to be this easy," Skja voiced getting a nod from everyone present. In a tomb of all places it was best to follow the advice of the one who had lived in Skyrim longer than Braella and I had been alive.

With the air clear on what was bound to come about we continued our trek through the narrow corridor. As we kept walking there were a few small happenings with the Draugr but they were all of the same variety as our first encounter. No armor on their bodies beyond rags along with decayed weapons. If any of those weapons were in good condition they would've fetched a decent price to the right person. That or they would've been useful; the craftsman ship was good. Just too old and decayed without proper maintenance.

There were some hiccups, however. The Draugr were quite strong as one with actual armor and horned helm had backhanded me in the stomach, sending me airborn into a wall. My ax blocking its follow up attack but leaving me in no position to do anything but resist the Draugr. Brealla putting a bolt of ice in the Draugr's head, saving me as another Draugr had swung their ax at me. Spinning on my knees around the attacking Draugr I buried my dagger into the small of their back severing the monsters spine.

That was the closest I had been to death in a very long time. Purely stemming from my lack of knowledge on Draugr and Skyrim in general. More knowledge was sorely needed on Skyrim in general. A visit to Winterhold needs to be in order soon. Brealla should get me access to their library, from there my lack of knowledge should disappear. Experience and information from a local like Skja would do for now but would be better to not learn from almost dying. Afterall, near death experiences usually ended with someone getting maimed in some way or scars all over. My pinky and left side of my body can attest to that; luck was the only thing stopping it from being worse.

Shaking my head Brealla helped me up to my feet and we continued. Eventually getting to a point where the corridor expanded into an open room. Taking a few hesitant steps in putting my ax and dagger away and taking out my bow, none of us noticed anything except coffins. Only another couple steps in after the initial entry did the coffins pop open and Draugr stepped out. I sighed before aiming at the head of one with a bow and put an arrow through their left eye. The Draugr collapsed the moment the arrow went through.

Letting Skja and Nelkrr take the front lines for the moment and knocking another arrow I picked my target and fired. It was another archer this time and my shot was a little off but still enough for a kill as it went through the Draugr's mouth instead of between the eyes. It had been on the second balcony and the arrow hadn't been fully pulled back. This bow really likes to dip its shots.

As my second shot found its home the sounds of lightning roared to life as Brealla fired a bolt at a Draugr that was blasting Nelkrr and Skja with Frost. It was a low level spell by the Draugr but with over 15 Draugr still in front of us we needed both of them. Knowing this I slung my bow and got out my ax and dagger joining them in the front lines. Exactly like how we had worked underneath Helgan.

They created openings and I exploited every one that was available. The same went for them as my attacks created openings of their own. Brealla not willing to go for her more dangerous attacks with us so close but was able to be precise. Bolts of ice and lightning shooting from her fingers as she targeted the Draugr farthest from us.

Brealla did plenty of heavy lifting in the fighting. Making it almost impossible for the Draugr to get around us. That put all of them in front of us and with our already great ability to fight together, the fight didn't last that long. Being in as open an area as we were now was definitely helping us.

The last of the Draugr being decapitated by Skja's sword, its body plopping onto the ground with a rattle of bones. Staying vigilant and looking around the room for any more enemies we were greeted by none. Regardless we stayed ready for a few more minutes with the sparking of Brealla's magic being the only sound around us. When she eventually shut it off the rest of us sheathed our weapons.

"Rest here for a bit?" Brealla asked everyone as she sat down on the edge of one of the coffins.

"It'll give us a chance to loot too. See if anything of value was left… do these tombs usually have protections in case of that?" I looked at Skja after asking that.

"The Draugr are it. There may be some magic defenses around here but they are through soul gems. Nothing for curses or the like if that is your concern," Nodding to Skja and then to Nelkrr he dropped the pack before reaching in and grabbing some salted meats for us. Handing two to each of us.

Brealla stayed on the edge of the coffin and looked to be in some type of meditative face. Nelkrr sat down on the ground and put his back against the wall before closing his eyes. Skja sat near his friend and began munching on the meat. While they did that I began walking around the room looking for anything of valuable or of use.

Spent about a third of an hour searching around the place and there wasn't much. Leaving the urns alone along with stuff specifically placed on unopened coffins only left me with a singular chest to loot. It had a Grand Soul Gem and a couple small Garnet's but that was it. Still a good take just from the gem alone. Grand Soul Gems were expensive, always costing 1000 gold at minimum no matter the vendor.

Walking back to the others and giving Skja the Gem and garnets he put them away into the pack. By the time I got back Brealla had eaten her salted meat and looked to be taking a nap. The same with Nelkrr. Upon my return Skja gave me a look and my answer was a simple nod and he too leaned up against the wall before falling asleep.

A short time later, not much longer than my looting had been, Nelkrr woke up. Signing to the man he nodded and finally my eyes closed. Don't know how long it was, no moon or sun to make a guess, before someone was shaking me awake. My eyes darting around and my dagger already in hand and thrust forward it was blocked by a shield.

Shaking the sleep out of my eyes I got an understanding look from Nelkrr as my dagger was buried hilt deep into the shield. Pulling out the dagger it was relieving to see that no blood was on it. Would've been a waste of a rest if someone got hurt just by waking the others up. Knowing now that had happened it will probably be a good idea to tell others to be ready for me to attack when they wake me up.

Outstretching my hand towards him Nelkrr grabbed it and pulled me to my feet. Skja doing the same to Brealla just a few feet to my left. When we were all up we walked to the only other exit in the room besides the way we had come in. A corridor that was completely blocked off by the webs of a spider. At least there shouldn't be a nest here according to the book Farangar had given me.

Motioning to Brealla she got in front of me and started burning the webs away with flames. The webs quickly disintegrating under her flames as she led the way with Nelkrr right on her back just in case anything happened. Burning away the webs for a good few minutes we went through the corridor before it opened again. This time into a far smaller room but with spider webs covering the entirety of the room with several bodies wrapped up on the walls.

"Hey. Hey, you!" a voice shouted to our left. All our eyes zeroing in on the voice as we saw a Dark Elf wrapped up in walls against what looked like another corridor. Though this man was definitely a bandit as the others. Same armor and everything as the others with the same look as the one who had been poisoned by the darts. An addict of something. "Watch out!"

Seeing the man poke his head upwards all of us looked up to see a massive Frostbite spider drop down from the ceiling. All of us diving away as it landed in what would've been the middle of our group. My bow instantly unslung and firing as the massive spider, getting a better look at it now, was at least twice the size of a horse.

My first arrow punched through one of the monsters legs making it stumble for just a moment. Enough time for Nelkrr to cut off one of its other legs right at the joint. The spider squealing in pain as it slapped Nelkrr away with another of its legs. Sending the man through the air he was barely able to block the leg with his shield which was why he wasn't impaled on one of the barbs on the leg of the spider.

As Nelkrr flew Brealla hit the spider with a firebolt exploding on the side of the spider. It squealed in pain as it caught fire while I fired another shot impacting straight through its head. The spider simply shrugged it off and zeroed in on me as my arrow was still sticking out of its head.

Rearing its head back and exposing its mouth I realized it was about to shoot its venom at me and dove out of the way. The venom impacting against the wall releasing a small sizzling sound as it did so. The bigger the spider, the more potent the venom then if that was anything to go by.

It didn't stop at just shooting venom as me though as the moment my feet left the ground it was charging me. Seeing it coming and not wanting to decorate the wall with my body I dove underneath the charging spider. Just barely dodging its mandibles as they swiped where my body had just been.

Rolling under the spider and gripping my dagger. I slammed it into the soft underbelly. Dragging it a few inches with me as I ran before ripping it out, the spider leting out another squeal of pain. The cut from the dagger would hurt but it wouldn't do much to the spider overall. My dagger was too short to do anything to a beast of that size unless it hit something vital.

Running away after ripping my dagger out, Brealla hit it with another firebolt right in the monsters head as it turned. It left the spiders face blackened and charred. The eyes that had been there reduced to ash. Taking the opening and lining up another shot as the spider tried to orientate its now blind body, Skja and Nelkrr charged at it.

Firing my arrow as Skja and Nelkrr closed in, the arrow slammed home right into the middle of the spiders face. Rearing up on its hind legs in pain and exposing its entire underbelly Skja and Nelkrr slammed their swords home. The spider released a shrill squeal for a moment before going silent as Skja and Nelkrr ripped their swords out and moved away. Flopping down dead the spider lied on the ground unmoving. Deciding to take the cautious approach Skja and Nelkrr moved away before Brealla hit it with three consecutive firebolts. Burning the monster to ash.

"Good. Now get me down!" the bandit shouted at us once the spider had been reduced to ash. Looking between each other we were all on the same page that the guy was a bandit. Regardless Brealla burned the webs around him and he dropped to the ground.

The man said his thanks for a moment before taking off down the corridor behind him. We didn't rush after him as there was no point. If there was anything waiting for us down the corridor he would be the one to run into it first. We simply followed behind the Dark Elf letting him activate all the traps for us. There didn't seem to be anything though as there had been no shouts of pain or anything else for a decent time as we followed him. Then there was a scream and nothing following it.

Looking between each other, we began to move more cautiously with our weapons out. The corridor opened into a hallway in front of us with several frostbite spiders scurrying around with two smaller ones biting into the corpse of the Dark Elf. Nothing lost there.

Lining up a shot as the spiders began turning to look at us it was loosed the moment they had fully turned around. Brealla of the same mind as me as she fired an explosive firebolt towards them. My arrow slamming home through the face of one spider. Dropping it to the ground as Brealla's attack slammed into the midst of them exploding and taking several of the spiders out. Leaving only the young ones that had been eating the Dark Elf.

Brealla sent another explosive bolt of fire at the body and incinerated all of them. The smell of burning spider wafting through the air and it was not pleasant. Probably a defense mechanism from them so they aren't hunted themselves. No point in hunting the spiders if they weren't edible as long as they didn't get close to people.

Walking forward regardless of the smell at the end of the hallway was a door. It was similar to the one earlier but had a key imprint with three separate entrances in the middle of the door. Looking down at the charred body of the Dark Elf, I saw a shiny thing and grabbed it pulling it out of the mans pouch. It was a golden claw that looked to perfectly fit into the three holes in the door.

Looking at the pictures on the claw as well I couldn't help but chuckle. It was the same thing as the previous puzzle. Moving the pictures to line up with the claw before inserting it into the three holes. The door rumbled for a moment before moving downwards opening up for us. The claw put in the pack Nelkrr was carrying. Stepping through the now open path Breall and I sucked in a breath at the beauty in front of us.

There was rolling and lush plantlife everywhere around the room with sun light poking from the ceiling down around the room. Soft falls of snow came through the opening as well giving the room ecstatic beauty. A small flowing stream and even the sounds of birds accentuating the beauty. Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed there would be something like this under the ground.

"Skyrim is the home of hidden beauty you two. Nords who do not know of her never truly live until they find it," Skja spoke behind us with not mirth but appreciation of the beauty as well. We could only nod our heads in agreement with the man.

Spotting a massive stone wall up on a hill on the other side of the room we strode towards it. Up the stairs we went noticing that an ornately decorated coffin was up there along with the stone wall. Getting closer we also noticed that the stone wall had carvings into it that looked eerily similar to the dragon from Helgan. My thoughts on that were halted when I felt someone grab the back of my armor stopping me.

"We need to be careful," Skja whispered as his hand went over my shoulder and pointed at the ornate coffin. "This is their tomb and they will not be as easy as the other Draugr. Be ready."

"Brealla. If something comes out of that Coffin hit it as hard as you can," I whispered to her and immediately lightning sparked to life around her hands but it wasn't like before. The lightning before was a constant hum of energy. This time it was wild and chaotic, violently waiting to be unleashed. Almost as if it had a will of its own.

"Stay well clear of it if you want to live," were her only words and we took them to heart staying well clear of the coffin.

A path we were intent on keeping until we spotted what could only be the Dragon Stone on the table next to the coffin. Exchanging looks all their eyes fell on me which I responded to with a nod. Stalking forward as quietly as possible towards the table with the stone everything was going well. Until voices began leaking into my mind.

Unintelligible, ancient and powerful. Deadly but innocent in a way that was animalistic. Like whoever the voices belonged to was just obeying the nature of themselves. Calling me towards them, the voices demanded my attention. Like it was an intricate part of me, always there but hidden.

Shaking my head the voices were still there but the Stone took priority. Stalking forwards and grabbing the stone the voices began screaming. Not in anger or sorrow but in a demand for attention. That whatever they had to share was something that couldn't be ignored. It seemed my body went on by itself too as the moment the stone was in my hands I stood up straight and began walking towards the wall.

Noticing that on the wall were engravings that could have been words. The language they represented was completely foreign to me but at the same time it felt like I knew it. Instinct telling me that it was a part of me. Walking towards the wall the sound of the coffin opening and the shouts of my group were drowned out by the voices coming from the wall.

That is until someone tackled me to the ground and a thundering boom went off behind me. Shaking off the daze that the voices had put me in I untangled myself from the body on top of me, dropping the stone and aimed with my bow. Seeing a massive Draugr with ornate armor slowly climbing out of the tomb even as its armor sizzled and sparks danced around its body. It looked to be in bad shape but was still moving fine.

Loosing an arrow, it went straight through the Draugr's neck but it completely ignored the shot like it didn't matter. Looking over at who had tackled me, Nelkrr, we exchanged a quick look and he nodded. Bringing his shield to bear he charged forward with me right behind him sending another shot from my bow that slammed into the Draugr's sword arm as we ran.

Sticking to his back as Nelkrr's shield slammed into the Draugr he pushed the monster backwards until it had nowhere else to go. Falling over the edge of the small hill all the way down to the small rocky stream a good 20 pace fall. We heard the bones breaking upon its impact but just in case called Brealla over. She looked tired but nodded at our request and summoned the same spell from before and sent it straight into the fallen Draugr. Making sure it was dead.

Seeing the aftermath of the spell as well it was sobering to realize that if Nelkrr didn't tackle me my death would've been certain. The spell slammed into the Draugr and blacked the entire area around them for a good ten feet. Residual sparks dancing around the area and even a small fire starting. That's not to mention the absolutely thundering boom that came with the blast of magic. Brealla was fucking terrifying as a mage.

The spell of course had a cost and casting it twice in barely a minute took a toll on her. If it wasn't for me catching her she would've collapsed to the ground after the spell. She gave me an appreciative smile as I made sure she didn't fall and brought her over to the coffin where she sat down on the edge. The moment she was there though the voices returned with fervor.

Walking towards the stone wall my hand was on the wall before my mind registered what was going on. It was an incredibly foolish decision but it seemed to not matter at all. There was a rush of something into me but it was gone mere moments after it appeared. Nothing felt different and the voices were gone. It was… interesting.

"You okay Briljof?" Brealla's voice cut through my curiosity. Looking back at her Skja and Nelkrr had their hands on their weapons. Couldn't really blame them, this was not something to mess with.

"Yeah… Just… weird."

"Well, you aren't cursed so that's a relief. What happened to you though?" she continued.

"It was speaking… Not to me but just in general. I could hear the voices of the wall if that makes sense," all three shook their head in the negative. Fantastic.

"Let's just get out of here and get back to Whiterun with this stone. The sooner the better," we all nodded in agreement and made to leave the way we had come. Brealla stopped after only a few steps though and pointed out some more steps to us.

Deciding to see where they led we followed the steps to a wall. One that had a handle right next to it. Looking between each other, we shrugged before getting our weapons ready, Brealla backed off as she looked exhausted. Pulling the handle the door went downwards like the one that opened into the area.

We went through the small corridor before coming across another handle. Pulling on that one as well the wall went downwards again. Opening up directly into the main area right next to the doors we had entered. That… was just annoying.

"This is bullshit," Brealla breathed out getting a chuckle out of both Skja and Nelkrr and a nod of agreement from me. "All that just for the door to be right next to us at the beginning. Stupid."

"It is what it is lass. Let's just get back to Whiterun where a nice bed and some warm food and mead will be waiting for us," She looked at me for a moment before nodding and we left the Burrow.

Walking out without a care for being stealthy as we already killed everyone. The outside of the Burrow was much the same as the inside, just with more dead bandits than inside. With the sun beginning to rise over the mountains it told us we had been inside the Burrow for little over half a day. Not terrible considering Brealla and myself weren't experienced with tombs or how to navigate them.

With the sun beginning to rise it wasn't hard for us to find our way. Going straight to the cave that we had left the horses in. A sigh of relief coming from all of us as we saw that all four horses were still there. Getting on them, I had to help Brealla up as she was still exhausted. Even as she had been munching on some salted meat. She just didn't have much energy, the lack of a proper meal or sleep during the exploration taking its toll on her. Magic was always demanding on the body, its why you never saw fat mages; magic didn't allow it.

We left the cave quickly after that and made our way back to Whiterun. Brealla began to fall asleep on her horse before we stopped and moved her to my horse. Holding onto her as we moved at a slower pace with the horses. With our slower pace we didn't need to let the horses rest and instead kept up a steady pace until we reached the edge of Whiterun. Stopping at the stables and dismounting while waking up Brealla.

She gave me an appreciative look and we marched to the gates together. Promptly let in by the guards we walked through the town as the sun was beginning to set over the mountains. With it being as late as it was about to be, Nelkrr took Brealla to the Inn so that she could get some sleep and food. She needed it. Skja and myself just went straight to Dragonsreach. The guards outside the door recognizing us but once again asking for our weapons which we gave up.

Another guard escorted us in and the mood in the hall was tense. Far more tense than it should've been for the amount of delicious smelling food that was laid out for everyone. Walking forwards we got the attention of those eating and held up the stone for Farengar to see. The mage nodded before standing up and walking to his room, which we followed him to escorted by the guard.

"You have done a good service to Whiterun and Skyrim with this. Thanks," Farangar stated as he took the stone from my hands. "I am sorry your friend and mage didn't make it."

"They're at the Inn. Our mage was tired from lack of meals the last few days and pushed herself to far," Farangar let out a little 'ah' as his shoulders relaxed in mild relief.

"Good. Skyrim needs more mages around with everything going on. The College so rarely sends theirs out to help anyone, half the reason I left them," that was interesting.

"You were at the College," from his face it seemed like it was a bad memory but nodded all the same.

"I did not see eye to eye with them. They were content to be academics, something I respect, but to do so when there is a war going on against our very people wasn't right. They refused to be a part of the war when the Thalmor attacked. I left them not long after the war began to join the fight. A rash decision of a younger me and others.

Many of my friends didn't make it back home but what we learned during the war could not be taught in a school. To truly become of a different class of mage, war and fighting is required. It is probably why your mage friend was able to stick with you the entire time through the Burrow. Mages of the college except for the best teachers wouldn't have been able to; especially one as young as she is."

"Was the College alone in that? Not fighting in the war I mean," being a slave for almost all of it with the entirety of the Empire I still didn't know much about who fought in it.

"No… Many mages across the Empire did not fight. Those that did were often younger but that is neither here nor there. A talk for another time perhaps," he tapered off as he reached into his desk and produced a large sack of gold coins for us. "Your reward for getting the Stone. You can show yourselves out."

Taking the dismissal for what it was Skja and I took the sack and placed it into the pack before leaving. We were being escorted out of Dragonsreach when the door banged open and a singed guard ran inside. Sprinting straight towards the Jarl everyone could hear him as he shouted his words.

"Dragon! Dragon at the western Watchtower," immediately silence enveloped the room before the Jarl slowly stood looking over to Irileth, his Dark Elf guard.

"Get a company there. You will lead it," his voice was hard with determination. His eyes landed on us after a few moments and motioned for us to approach. Taking the invite as it was we walked up to the man still with our guard. "You have done a service to us but I ask another of you."

"We'll help," I said instantly. With no money as an incentive it wasn't as appealing but being in the good graces of the Jarl of Whitrerun was a good place to be.

"Good. If you survive you will be compensated," the man nodded at us and pointed at Irileth. "She will give you the information," she saw our exchange and walked right up to us.

"Western Watchtower. Go there with haste. My men and I will not be far behind you."

We left the palace without a word after that. Picking up our weapons from the guards outside before going straight to the Inn where Brealla was enjoying a bowl of soup with Nelkrr next to her. They needed no convincing and mere minutes later we were out of the city and headed west. We didn't know where the Watchtower was exactly but it had to be west with that name. Sure enough it was and with the darkening sky we plopped behind an outcropping of rocks.

The tower itself a 100 or so paces away from us and it didn't look pretty. Partially destroyed with a good portion of the top half just rubble. The ground around it still burning but in a controlled fashion instead of stretching to the rest of the plains. Rubble from the tower stretched all over the area as well with a few pieces farther back from the watchtower than we were.

When it had become fully dark and the moon shined through the skies Irileth and her company of about 20 men came into view. She settled down behind a group of rocks about 15ish paces to our right and waited just like us. Time seemed to stretch agonizingly slowly as we waited for the Dragon to show up.

It was close to midnight when the moon was at its highest when a roar ripped through the skies. Brealla and Skja, who had been taking a nap jolting awake at the noise. Nelkrr and I kept our eyes on the sky looking for any movement. It was a few more minutes before a shape crossed in front of the moon and an arrow was instantly knocked.

Distance was long and it was moving fast but after seeing it the shape in the sky was easy to track. Lining up the shock and compensating for the droop of the shot the bow made I released the arrow. Soaring through the air, cutting through the windless night and found its home in the side of the Dragon. The arrow not doing much damage but was enough to get the attention of the beast as it roared out again and came straight at the tower.

Landing on top of the already destroyed top portion of the tower it looked downwards at us. An intelligence in its eyes that was not natural for a beast… it was no beast. This dragon, probably the rest of them as well, was a highly intelligent being. A fact that just made this fight all the harder.

Roaring out at us, I loosed another arrow along with a few of the archers that had come with Irileth at the dragon. It took off from the top of the tower, dodging all the arrows as the wind it created by taking off knocked all of them off course. Taking to the sky, it began circling us as we moved more towards open ground. Spreading out all over so that we weren't in one area for it to attack. As we moved, I checked how many arrows were in my quiver, twelve left.

Knocking another arrow and lining up a shot, it sailed through the air but bounced right off the tail of the dragon, missing its target. One of the archers with Irileth didn't miss though as their arrow buried itself in the Dragons side. The excitement from them at landing a shot lasted all of a few seconds before the Dragon swooped in on them. Picking them up with their talons and flying upwards, dropping them high above the tower. Their screams as they fell to the ground echoing in the night even over the sound of our fighting. Hitting the ground the soldier left only a bloody mess.

Seeing what we were dealing with it became frighteningly evident that if we didn't ground the Dragon we weren't winning this fight. Which pinned all our hopes on myself and the rest of the archers as we put everything into making the dragon land. With how fast it was able to move around in the sky it dodged most of our arrows but a few found their mark. One of the several I fired hitting home near the neck of the Dragon.

It was not happy about this at all and swooped down at me. Only a quick and lucky dodge near some rocks kept me from being picked up by the dragon as its clawed talons scrapped against the rock. My heart hammering in my chest at the closeness of death. Skyrim is just determined to see how many times it can brush me with death.

Getting up quickly and firing again though my shot found its home as it tried to fly away. Landing perfectly of the joint connecting the dragons right leg to its body. It roared in pain before it circled around again and came straight at me. Standing my ground and lining up the shot on one of its eyes, I waited until it was a mere 20 paces from me to loose the arrow.

It soared through the air, true in its target before the dragon titled its head and the arrow bounced harmlessly off one of its horns. The next moment it had its talons wrapped around my body and it flew upwards. Knowing that this wasprobably the end I wasn't about to let it go without making it suffer. My dagger biting deep into the dragons leg as it flew upwards.

It didn't just let me stab into it without repercussions though as it's claw tightened around me. I could feel my ribs cracking under the pressure and the edges of its claws digging into my body. Not far but enough to bleed a decent amount blood beginning to soak my armor. The edges of its claws going in about half an inch into my body.

Flying higher than before the Dragon gave me more time to rend into its leg. The dagger ripping apart the tendons in the dragons leg as I kept stabbing and cutting into the beast. My ax might've been of better use but was trapped against my body with the dragons talons. Either way with my incessant stabbing of the dragons legs my dagger severed the tendon controlling its talon and it released me.

Biting the dagger to hold in my mouth I had my bow out and strung with a new arrow and fired. The arrow, so close to the target already, found its home in the bottom of the dragons mouth. Roaring in pain as the arrow must've ripped through the bottom of the dragon's mouth. That gave me some satisfaction as my death quickly approached. It was not to be though.

About halfway towards the ground a white spell hit me dead center in my chest and everything felt lighter. From my body to my weapons and armor, it was an incredibly strange feeling and one that I was curious about until a green spell hit me when the ground was almost close enough to touch. Instantly all of my momentum stopped and my body jerked forward. It was nowhere near as bad as it should've been though. Probably the white spell. My dagger still cut the corners of my mouth but it wasn't anything to worry about.

After my entire body stopped another white spell hit me and the regular weight of my body came back before it was released by the green spell. Dropping me the few feet to the ground completely uninjured. Spotting Brealla a pace or so away she gave me a smile that I returned.

The happiness at surviving the fall didn't last long as the dragon was still flying. The leg that had been my pincushion bleeding profusely. Visible even at the distance and night for how much the blood gleamed in the moonlight. Letting loose a roar, the Dragon swooped back down and crashed into the ground.

It tried to slow itself and had been able to but with its leg unusable it couldn't truly stop its momentum when it landed. The crash still splattered six of the company Irileth had brough along with sending Skja flying from the impact as it had been so close to him. Picking itself up despite its injuries though the Dragon reared its head back, eyes locked on me and Brealla, before letting loose a torrent of flames.

Both of us dodged out of the way in time but that didn't mean we were unscathed. My Stormcloak scavenged armor was singed and had bits of fire around it. The same went for Brealla's mage attire. Not bothering with paying attention to it the Dragon was in front of us now and my bow was already knocked with a new arrow, two left in my quiver when the arrow was loosed.

The arrow burrowed straight into the snout of the dragon who reared back with a roar of pain. This roar doubled in volume as the soldiers descended upon it from all sides hacking at the dragon. Their weapons barely doing much more than shallow cuts but with the volume of them it was doing damage. Until the dragon spun around. Whipping its tail out and sending a dozen of the guards flying into the ground or rubble around the tower. The ones that hit the ground got back up, the ones that hit the rubble did not.

Only my position in front of the dragon had spared me from being sent flying as it gave me just enough time to jump over its tail as it now faced the opposite direction of me. Unsheathing my ax, I brought it down in an overhead swing. The one handed weapon making direct contact with the dragon's tail. The ax got stuck a few inches in and it wouldn't come back out, so it was left there.

The dragon tried to take off into the air after its tail had been hit but every archer still alive shot at their wings and the wing joints. With it on the ground and as close as it was the shots were easy. Only having two arrows didn't do me any favors but the rest of the surviving archers made up for it. Not a single shot missed a shot at the wings and wing joints.

It roared in pain as its wings drooped to the ground disabled. Even with it grounded it was still a Dragon and made that fact known immediately. Two of the tossed guards who had gotten back up charged at the dragon only for one to be caught in the dragons jaws immediately. The man screamed in pain, high pitched and fearful as the dragon's jaws closed and bisected the man.

The other guard who had charged with him froze upon seeing his buddy bisected and that's all the dragon needed. The protruding bones on the bottom of the dragon's chin piercing through the man's helmet as the dragon brought its chin down on him. He died instantly.

As the man died Nelkrr showed and put his greatsword through the jaw of the dragon from the side. Roaring in pain the dragon thrashed its head about with Nelkrr holding onto his sword for dear life as it did so. The dragon's thrashing head proved too much for Nelkrr as after a few seconds he was tossed as well. Landing weird, the breaking of his leg audible even over the fighting.

Moving with Brealla towards the man, I grabbed him and hoisted him up before running to a group of rocks. Laying him down his face was contorted in pain but he couldn't voice any of it. Looking at Brealla she got the message and sat at his side before starting her Restoration magic. She wasn't the best at it as the quality was visibly below that of her destruction magic but the magic did its job. His leg was straight and no longer broken, beyond that he was still out of this fight as he passed out from the pain.

Leaving him behind the rocks and rejoining the fight one of the wings of the dragon was working again. It used the wing to bash against an improvised shield wall by three guards who got burned alive the next moment. They had been unable to move because of the wing. As it finished those guards its intelligent eyes zeroed in on myself and Brealla.

That focus on us cost it though as Skja came from the side and buried his sword into the base of the neck of the dragon. Roaring in pain the dragon made to roll and crush Skja who saw it coming. Releasing his sword and diving under the body of the dragon the moment its body went to one leg to crush him. Just barely dodging the body of the dragon as it rolled.

Seeing the opportunity for what it was I sprinted forward with my dagger out. A lightning bolt of the same quality with the head Draugr slamming into the dragon as it shot over my shoulder. The booming sound of impact ringing in my ears but the hit made the dragon squeal and twitch taking its turning head away from me. It was all that was needed.

Diving at the dragon and wrapping my arm around its neck as I got no top of it my knife became a blur. Repeatedly stabbing into the eyes and head of the dragon even as it thrashed around it was already too late for it. Brealla and the others capitalizing on the openings my attack was creating. Until finally it stopped moving and lay limp on the ground. What remained of its eye twitched for a moment and then locked onto me.

"It matters not what you have accompli… No! No! NO! Dovahkiin!"

The voice of the dragon was heard to all. A deep rumbling that reverberated in our chests at how close we were. My cracked rib cage flaring in pain as it rumbled. Then the dragon's skin and organs began to disintegrate as a bright orange and white essence seemed to float out of it before heading straight at me. I ran away from whatever the light was but completely ignored me regardless.

Watching the path it took it went straight for Brealla who looked shocked and scared at the same time as the power flowed into her. As the lights disappeared she looked honestly terrified because none of us knew what it meant. Then she opened her mouth.

"Fus."

That's all folks. Hope you enjoyed. REVIEW!