Skyrim: A Tale of Two Dragons
Chapter 11: Dragons Rising
Thomas watched quietly from the far table as Orgnar, the barkeep, polished clean the inn's glasses behind the bar. He was nursing a pint as he listened to the inn's bard sing Ragnar the Red, doing his absolute best to look anything but interesting.
Thomas winced as the bard played a shrill note on his lute. 'The man's got a voice but his playing could use some work.
He'd been here for about an hour, keeping an eye on the comings and goings of the inn. It was fairly empty with only two of the dozen rooms filled and he'd yet to see either occupant. The town blacksmith, Alvor, had been in earlier for a drink as had a drunkard named Embry but both had since left.
A Breton woman named Delphine was going here and there, tidying up the various rooms as well as counting out their gold. Thomas assumed she was the inn's owner but he couldn't be sure. She certainly had the demeanor of someone who had to deal with unruly guests in the past.
He flinched when the inn's door burst open as Wulfric stormed inside, face set in a heavy frown. Thomas heard the bard drop his lute behind him with a curse. The massive man slammed it shut behind him and marched to the bar, heavy footsteps sounding like thunder in the quiet room.
Delphine intercepted him before he could make his way to Orgnar. "Welcome to the Sleeping Giant Inn," she said without preamble. "What would you like?"
"I'd like the attic room." Wulfric growled out as he dropped a handful of Septim on the bar top.
"Attic room?" Orgnar asked confusedly. "We don't have an attic room."
"Orgnar is correct, we don't have that here," Delphine cut in, tone clipped. "Why don't you take the room to the left instead? Make yourself at home."
Wulfric snorted but walked away all the same. He yanked the door open and pulled it shut behind him without a word or a glance back. The pair at the bar watched him go, as did Thomas. He took a long drink of his ale and strained his ears to overhear their conversation.
"That man is a giant, Delphine! We can't let him stay here if he's looking for trouble." He heard Orgnar say in a harsh whisper.
"Don't worry," the woman laid her hand on the man's arm. "I'll take care of this. Let me go talk to him and see if I can't calm him down."
Thomas quickly drained the last of his ale as he watched Delphine head into Wulfric's room without a knock, closing the door behind her. He took that as his cue and sauntered up to the bar. He slammed his empty mug onto the bar top, catching Orgnar off guard.
"I'll have another please," Thomas asked with as wide a grin as he could muster.
Orgnar stared at him for a moment before grabbing the empty mug and turned to refill it.
"Fus."
Even through the doorway, Wulfric's voice rang clear. Orgnar dropped the cup and immediately turned to head for the room.
Thomas frowned but thrust out a hand. He didn't enjoy this part of the plan.
Lightning arched out from his palm, blasting into Orgnar's back and sending the man sprawling. He quickly spun and shot another blast of lightning at the bard. The man jerked wildly for a moment before Thomas ended the spell and he slumped to the ground.
Orgnar was just beginning to stir when Thomas approached him.
"For what it's worth, I am sorry about this." the scholar said before he blasted the man one more time. Orgnar didn't stir again but to Thomas's relief he was still breathing.
"Whelp," he said to himself. "Let's go see how Wulfric's doing."
A few minutes earlier…
This was not Wulfric's favorite plan but it had been the most practical one that he and Thomas had come up with. He was just happy he didn't have to fake his irritation at having to go through this at all.
He said nothing as the woman from the inn stepped into his room without announcement, pulling the door shut behind her. Her casualness immediately set him on edge.
"So, you're the Dragon-born I've heard so much about," she began as she reached into a deep pocket of her apron. "I think you're looking for this."
She held up a piece of ancient iron twisted into the shape of a horn, no longer than a dagger. She tossed it to Wulfric like it was little more than a loaf of bread. The larger man caught the horn carefully and placed it on the table next to him.
"We need to talk." The woman said.
"Indeed, we do." Wulfric agreed. "Fus."
The blast of force took the woman completely off guard, sending her stumbling back against the door. Wulfric was on her immediately.
She yanked a dagger from her apron but Wulfric seized her wrist before she could do anything. He twisted it from her grasp, the blade clattering to the floor. Without pause she began slammed her free hand into his lower ribs.
The large man winced with each blow. She was much stronger than she looked. Guess he was going to have to be a little rougher then.
Ignoring the blows, Wulfric brought his second hand to her throat, completely covering it. Her saw here eyes widen for a moment before he lifted her clear off the ground, lifting her clean over him and slamming her down onto the bed as hard as he could.
The bed's thin wooden frame gave out with a violent crack and a shower of splinters. Wulfric placed a foot onto her stomach and drew his mace. She wheezed for breath beneath his boot but her glare never wavered.
"Don't try anything funny," he warned her, pointing the mace at her head. "I'd really rather not kill you, which I think is pretty gracious since you made me trek all the way back here."
He glanced up as the door to the room swung open, revealing a smiling Thomas.
"Everything go well enough then?" the scholar asked brightly as he stared down at Delphine. "Or do you need a few more minutes?"
Wulfric rolled his eyes as he looked past the Breton into the tavern hall behind him. He could see the merchant's legs sprawled out on the floor. He assumed that the bard was down as well or else Thomas wouldn't be so calm.
"You took them down easily enough," he remarked. "Watch her while I bring the other two in here. Don't want anybody seeing anything and freaking out."
"Sure thing," Thomas pulled his staff free from its restraints on his back and leveled in at Delphine.
The woman continued to struggle to breathe as Wulfric released her from his boot and left the room, returning shortly with both Orgnar and Sven thrown over his shoulder. He carefully set them on the ground and turned back to Delphine.
"What did you do to them?" she hissed out.
"Nothing too bad," Thomas answered. "Just a bit of lightning magic to knock them out. They'll be completely fine in an hour…at least I think they should be. I'm not exactly as master at this yet."
Delphine glared daggers at the scholar.
"Enough. I'm sure they'll be fine. Now who are you and why did you steal the horn?" Wulfric said evenly.
"We can't talk here," she told him a harsh whisper before breaking into a series of coughs. "There might be spies watching."
Thomas laughed at that. "I'm pretty sure they would've already noticed something by now."
"Listen you idiots," she spat at them as she tried to rise back to her feet. She stumbled once but managed to prop herself up against the wall. "My name is Delphine and I'm the last of the Blades."
"What are the-" Wulfric began before Thomas cut off him.
"The Blades?!" he asked, green eyes bright with excitement. "The ancient dragon slayers? I thought you'd all been wiped out?"
"The very same." Delphine answered with a pained grunt as she pushed herself off from the wall. "Follow me."
She straightened her posture as she led them out of the room. If Wulfric didn't know better, he'd assume that she was completely fine after his attack. Between this and he punches, he was quickly reassessing his views of her.
She led them across the hall to another room with a locked door. She quickly pulled a key from her pocket and unlocked it, ushering them inside. Once they passed her, she pulled it shut and relocked it behind her. Without a word, she made her way over to a large double door wardrobe and pulled it open, revealing a hidden staircase behind it.
"After you," she said, gesturing to the staircase.
Thomas shrugged and made his way down, giving Wulfric a thumbs up once he reached the bottom. "It's just a storage room. Nothing dangerous!"
Wulfric shot Delphine a hard look but made his way down the stairs as well, the woman shutting the wardrobe behind them as she followed him down.
Like Thomas had said, the hidden area was little more than a store room. There was an old wooden table with a large map rolled out across it and bales of hay were strewn about. A few training dummies were propped in the corner with a racks of weapons nearby. A large shelf held various potions and alchemic ingredients with an alchemy table in another corner. Wulfric also spotted an old chest in one of the corners.
"This is quite a random assortment of things to be hidden by an ancient order."
Delphine scowled at him as she collapsed into a nearby chair. "The Blades are no longer what they once were."
"She's right," Thomas spoke up, looking over the weapons rack. "The Blades were formed back in the First Era to hunt dragons. After that, they swore to protect the Emperor but between the Oblivion Crisis and the Great War, their numbers took a massive hit."
"That…is actually correct," Delphine said with some surprise. "How do you know so much about the Blades?"
"The Rise and Fall of the Blades is one of my favorite books." Thomas answered with a smile. 'Between that and a few of my other studies, I kind of put the pieces together."
Wulfric cut in. "I don't really care about you or the Blades. Why did you steal the Horn and make us travel all the way here?"
Delphine's scowl deepened. "Because I need your help. All across Skyrim dragons are being resurrected."
Wulfric stared at her. "Did you say resurrected?"
"Yes," the older woman said with an exhausted sigh. Her scowl dropped for a moment, leaving a woman who looked utterly spent and defeated. "The dragons aren't just coming back; they're coming back to life."
"That's impossible," Thomas said. "There isn't a necromancer alive powerful enough to restore a dragon to life. The amount of magic that would take someone would destroy them before they could even wield it."
Delphine shook her head. "It's not a necromancer. It's not even a person! It's a damn dragon!"
The last of the Blades abruptly stood up, kicking her chair backwards as a swell of rage came over her.
"My order tracked down every dragon we could find and killed them for centuries! Now, as our numbers are small enough that we can't fill a dinner table, they are being brought back from the dead!"
Wulfric barely reacted to her outburst. "How do you know that they're coming back from the dead?"
"As soon as I heard of the dragon attack in Helgen, I made a trek into Bleak Falls Barrow. During the Great War, I came across an old Blades document that said there was a runestone hidden there having to do with dragons. I took it to Farengar–"
"So, it was you under the hood at Dragonsreach." Wulfric interrupted her. "I remember when you brought it to him. You were the one in the brown hood talking about the Dragonstone. You said it was a–"
"A keystone." Delphine said as she cut him off this time. "Yes, the Dragonstone was the keystone that allowed Farengar to decipher this."
Delphine walked over to a nearby shelf and pulled a scroll from it. She walked over and unfurled it across the table. Inside it was a second, smaller scroll that Delphine set off to the side.
It was a large map of Skyrim. It was remarkably undetailed for such a large map, highlighting geographical locations like mountains, rivers and lake more than roads or cities. There were several x's marked across it, all spread throughout the country, many directly next to or (as Wulfric expected) on top of mountains.
"I've been working with Farengar to locate every dragon burial mound in Skyrim. It's far from complete but were mapped out quite a few. Every single one I've been to so far has been disturbed."
"Disturbed how?" Thomas asked, scratching his chin as he looked at the map.
"Ground ripped up around, fallen tress or boulders," Delphine answered back, sarcasm heavy in her tone. "You know, like a fucking dragon pulled itself from the earth."
She picked up the smaller scroll and rolled it out over the larger map. This one was more detailed, clearly highlighting a specific portion of the larger map.
"This," Delphine snapped as he pointed her finger at a large red X on the small map. "Is the most recent burial mound we've been able to find. I planned on heading there but once I heard the Greybeards summon a Dragonborn to them…"
The older woman trailed off, the look of exhausting coming over her features again.
"Look, the Dragonborn were said to be the greatest of all dragon slayers, rivaling even the most legendary Blades. I know that you already killed one outside of Whiterun. I need your help in this. Skyrim needs your help, Dragonborn."
Wulfric stared at her for a long moment, silent as a grave. Finally, he said. "I don't like you. I don't like being manipulated and I don't give a damn about the Blades or whatever you're a part of…but I will help you. I really don't like dragons."
An honest smile flittered over Delphine's face before it vanished beneath a stoic mask. "I can work with that. I've dealt with far worse than that."
She held out her hand as a truce. Wulfric took it, her hand vanishing in his grip. The shake was firm, business-like.
Thomas placed a hand on top of their handshake with a grin. "Well then, where the burial mound located?"
Wulfric rolled his eyes and release Delphine's hand with a grunt. Delphine looked at Thomas strangely but answered all the same.
"It's located near Windhelm, northeast of Kynesgrove." She glanced at Wulfric. "Is he always like this?"
"You have no idea." he said as he turned and headed towards the weapons rack to look for anything useful.
"Kynesgrove…can't say I've heard of there, but I know Windhelm is at least a few days travel from here." Thomas said. "What's the plan there?"
"I've got a carriage that I use to transport goods for the inn. I'll drive us there while you two hide in the back. Most guards around here are used to seeing me and won't think twice about me passing through."
"That's good to hear," Wulfric spoke from the weapon rack as he pulled a Orcish warhammer from it. He spun it around with practiced ease, its weight no bother to him. He gave a nod to the weapon's craftsmanship. "I'm getting real tired of walking back-and-forth across this country."
He set the warhammer aside and place both of his hands to his side. A brief golden glow illuminated them, healing the damage Delphine had done upstairs. Breathing more comfortably, he turned to look at a surprised Delphine.
"You got anything else around here to help us with this mission of yours?"
"That depends," she answered after a moment, heading over to a chest and opening it. She pulled out a set of stylized armor that Wulfric didn't recognize. "I'm not exactly an armory here but anything you see you're welcome to. I've amassed quite a few different items during my time and managed to move more than a few here."
She paused for a long moment, staring down at her armor. "This is actually the longest I've ever willing stayed in one place. It's been almost three years now."
Both men stared at her for a moment, unsure of what to say to that. Eventually Wulfric broke the ice.
"Well," he said as he cleared his throat. "I doubt you're going to have any armor that'll fit me. I saw a small forge down the road. I'm going to pay a visit and see I can't get something for myself."
"That sounds like a plan," Thomas said. "We're all stocked up on potions already. If it's alright with you Delphine, I'd like to go over a few of my books that I've borrowed from High Hrothgar while you two get ready. Besides, I'm rather interested in seeing what I'm capable of with that."
He pointed over to a small table that Wulfric hadn't noticed before. Sitting atop the table was a carved piece of wood with bright teal etchings carved into it. Even at a distance Wulfric recognized it as an Enchanting table.
Wulfric eyed him warily but said nothing.
"That's fine with me." Delphine answered. "Just don't destroy anything while you're down here. I'll have to deal with Orgnar and Sven before we go. Orgnar know enough to keep silent but I'll probably have to bribe Sven. The man doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut."
"Why don't you let me handle that?" Wulfric said, face splitting into a wide grin. "I'm told I cut a rather imposing figure. We'll meet back up here at nightfall."
"If he's got that handled," Thomas said to Delphine, a grin slowly stretching across his face. "Would you be willing to come back down and talk to me about the Blades? You've got to tell me everything!"
Delphine looked at Wulfric uncertainly. The large man smirked at her. "Yeah, he's always like this."
The hours passed quickly until night was upon them.
Wulfric, with Alvor's help, had managed to modify a set of steel armor to fit him. It was snug but he'd manage. Wulfric had managed to make an entirely new set of boots while Alvor adjusted the chest armor. Wulfric had opted to go large horned helmet to complete the set, figuring that any sort of intimidation factor he could get was a bonus.
He strode into the Sleeping Giant Inn with purpose, the heavy steel of his armor making him sound like automaton was moving about. He passed Orgnar without word, ignoring the man's glare. Idly, he noticed that Sven was also nowhere to be seen.
Wulfric made his way down the hidden staircase and found Delphine and Thomas waiting for him. Wulfric noticed the Thomas's shirt now shimmered slightly in the torchlight but said nothing. Who knew what the man had gotten up to with the Enchanting table?
For her part, Delphine was dressed in the same stylized armor she had pulled from the chest earlier. It was a unique design of steel and leather, much different than what Wulfric had seen throughout Skyrim or even Morrowind. Particularly distinct were the larger-than-usual pauldrons, the left side even extending up to protect her exposed neck. It looked old but very well cared for, almost like an heirloom that still served a purpose.
If Delphine gave an extra care for it she didn't betray it to them. Her face was set in her usual stoic state, fading blonde hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. She pulled a dark brown cloak from a nearby hanger and threw it around herself. Wulfric was surprised to see how quickly her armor disappeared beneath the cloak. If he didn't know better, he never would have guessed it was there.
"Let's get a move on," Delphine said. "I've already spoke with Orgnar so he'll keep an eye on things here. Head through here."
Delphine walked over to a bookcase and pushed it aside, revealing a dark tunnel behind it.
Thomas goggled at the sight. "Another one? How many hidden entrances do you have?!"
Delphine shrugged. "The staircase wasn't hidden when I bought the inn, I just chose to do that to keep my secrets. This, however, I found completely by surprise."
She plucked a torch off the wall and handed it to Wulfric. "Head through the tunnel. It goes about forty feet before it dead-ends into a ladder. Climb that and it'll lead up to a small storage shed we have near the woods. The carriage is parked nearby, so just hop in the back and try not to be seen."
She turned to leave but stopped, glancing back at Wulfric with a smirk. "You may have to duck a bit."
The large man grunted. "What a joy."
Without another word, he ducked his head and began to head down the tunnel, Thomas following right behind him. Even with the torch, Wulfric couldn't make out many distinction of the tunnel other than the floor was a patchwork of broken stone and that it looked ancient.
Lucky for him, the ladder at the end seemed brand new.
Wulfric smothered the torch against the floor and left it as the pair made their way up the ladder. The shed was a tight fit for the two of them with the various supplies for the inn filling the majority of the building. Still, they managed to make their way out of the shed and into the closed wagon without anyone noticing. The fit there was even more confined than the shed.
For a brief second, Wulfric found himself missing the open-air wagon that he'd been on when he first came through Skyrim. He quickly banished that though with an ugly grimace.
A few minutes later, they heard Delphine speak to the horse attached to the carriage and they began to move.
The journey felt far longer than it actually took.
Between Thomas pestering both of them for any sort of information he could get from then – Wulfric swore the man was like an addict when it came to knowledge – and the bumpy cobblestone, the larger man was about ready to snap. Luckily the scholar had taken to one of his many books about a few hours ago and hadn't said a word since.
Still, he felt relief watch over him when he heard three solid, deliberate knocks outside the carriage. That was the signal Delphine had instructed them for when it was okay to exit the wagon. Sure enough, a few seconds later they came to a stop and Wulfric burst out of it. He let out a long groan as he twisted and stretched his body, happy to be free from its confines.
Thomas hopped out after him, eyes still glued to his book. After a moment, he placed a hawk feather into the book and closed it, glancing around the area. "So where exactly are we?"
Wulfric could understand the question. He was struck again that for all its beauty, much of Skyrim look remarkably similar. All of the tall tress and mountains tended to be indistinguishable from one another in the early afternoon sun.
"We a few miles past Kynesgrove right now," Delphine answered from the head of the wagon. "The burial mound should just be up ahead. Thought you might want to stretch your legs a bit before we really get moving."
Wulfric went to say his thanks when a scream pierced the quiet air. A thunderous roar followed, bouncing off the mountains nearby.
The large man was still reaching for his warhammer by the time Delphine had hurled her cloak off and drawn a sword. "How did you…"
"It came this way!" Delphine shouted back at them, already having taken off sprinting.
Wulfric barreled after her, Thomas hot on his heels as another roar ripped through the air.
He saw a woman dressed in farmer's clothing race past them, screaming and crying at the same time. Wulfric wasn't even sure if she saw them they passed.
A lone guardsmen came running towards them a few seconds later, only recognizable by the insignia on his shield, a blue circle with the outline of bear's head in white. He looked like he'd fallen at some point as his clothes were covered with splotches of wet earth. He'd lost their customary helmet at some point too.
Wulfric didn't want to miss this opportunity.
He thrust out a hand and grabbed the man's tunic as he ran past them, lifting him clear off the ground. The guardsmen let out a startled yelp and began thrashing about, trying to free himself. The large man jerked the fleeing guard to his face, forcing him to focus on him.
"What are you running from?" Best to be straight to the point.
The man thrashed once more in Wulfric's grip, long blonde hair whipping about. Wulfric gave him a firm shake but stopped as the man's eyes widened in terror at something behind them.
"THAT!" he shrieked as finally broke Wulfric's grip. He sprinted off the road this time, racing out into the forest.
Before either man could react, a massive shadow flew over them. They brought their heads up to see the black scaled underbelly of a massive dragon passing overhead.
Wulfric felt the blood drain from his face. He knew that dragon. "…Alduin."
Thomas head snapped towards him so quick that Wulfric swore he heard it crack in protest. "Did you say Alduin?"
Another thunderous roar shook the world around them before he could answer. Alduin continued to fly overhead, paying no attention to any of the people fleeing underneath him.
Wulfric watched him go. "He's heading for the burial mound!"
Thomas glanced around. "Where's Delphine?"
"Oh, Shor's balls! She's probably already at the mound. Let's get there before she gets herself eaten!"
The duo raced down the road, heading to where the burial mound. Wulfric had read enough maps to know better than to expect it lead them directly there, but he figured a mound big enough to bury a dragon would be hard to miss.
They broke from the road quickly and began to race up the smaller peak that the mound was supposed to be near. Wulfric spotted Alduin circling overhead and knew that they were headed for the right directly.
Soon enough they burst out into an open plateau. A large portion of the ground was domed up, almost like a small hill, a covered with deliberately cut and placed rocks. Wulfric wasn't sure what to make of that, but it looked enough like a burial mound to him.
A short, sharp startled them. Wulfric turned towards the source of the sound and found Delphine poking out from a nearby outcropping of boulders. She gestured at them to head her way.
"What are you thinking?" the last of the Blades hissed as they hid behind the rocks with her. "Do you want the dragon to see you?"
"Honestly, I'm surprised he hasn't already tried to roast us alive. He wasn't nearly as forgiving in Helgen."
Delphine paled. "This is the same dragon that destroyed Helgen. By the Nine, how are we supposed to kill that thing by ourselves?"
Wulfric looked at her. "We're not. We'd be dead before we'd even hit him."
"Quiet, both of you!" Thomas hushed them, peering over the boulders. "Alduin is coming down!"
"Did you say Alduin?!" Delphine said in a grave whisper. Whatever blood that had been left in her face fled instantly. "The World Eater?"
Wulfric said nothing as he peered over the rocks with Thomas.
Alduin was even more massive than what he remembered. He dwarfed the dragon that had attacked Whiterun, nearly double in size. The massive beast flapped its wings lazily in the air, keeping itself a soldi fifty feet off the ground.
"Sahloknir, ziil gro dovah ulse!" Alduin bellowed at the burial mound.
The words ripped through Wulfric's brain as he tried to assign meaning to them. It was like trying to something he'd forgotten in a dream. So tantalizingly close but just beyond his grasp.
"Slen tiid vo!"
The stones that covered the burial began to shift at first, before they outright shattered. Wulfric heard Delphine and Thomas both gasp as a skeletal dragon claw ripped itself out of the earth. A second monstrous claw followed as the long dead beast began to drag itself free from the hands of death itself.
The trio watched in horror as muscle quickly began to grow over the thick white bones. Wulfric's eyes widened as he saw organs reappear from nowhere within the skeleton's ribcage before it was swallowed by more muscle. The resurrected dragon thrashed about on the ground as life was forced back into it, bellowing a cry that forced Wulfric to cover his ears.
A gleaming layer of ivory scales rippled over the pink flesh of the dragon, extending from its spade-like tail to its four-horn skull. Wulfric could hardly believe what he was seeing. Delphine had been right; dragons were being resurrected.
He doubted she was happy about the vindication.
The ivory dragon bowed its massive head before Alduin and spoke. "Alduin, thuri! Boaan tiid vokriiha suleyksejun kruziik?"
"Geh, Sahloknir, kaali mir," Alduin answered as he floated in the sky. He casually pivoted his black head towards the trio, red eyes peering in Wulfric's. "Ful, losei Dovahkiin meyz?"
Not understanding how but clearly aware that Alduin was speaking to him, Wulfric stepped out from behind the rocks. The dragon loomed over him, like a colossus to an ant, yet he met the ancient beast's gaze fiercely.
"You do not even know our tongue, do you?" the dragon asked, disgust heavy in his tone at having to use the language of man. "Such arrogance, to dare take for yourself the name of Dovah. Such arrogance of those withered old husks who sit upon the Great Mountain and bandy about in our tongue."
"What is it that you want?" Wulfric bellowed up at the ebony dragon.
Alduin made a sound unfamiliar to any of them, almost like metal being scrapped across the mountainside. It was loud and hollow, almost alien.
It took Wulfric a moment to realize that the dragon was laughing at them.
"You could not comprehend me or my desires, Joor."
Alduin turned his massive head back to the ivory dragon. "Sahloknir, krii daar joorre."
Wulfric barely had time to see the giant black dragon soar off before the ivory dragon was upon him.
"Fo krah diin!"
Figured it'd be best to end things here and pick-up with the full battle in the next chapter. Hopefully you all enjoyed the dynamic with Delphine. If anyone has an above average dragon speech translator, let me know. I'm not great at it. See you in the next one.