The Legend of Zelda: Skyrim: Chapter 3: Escaping Helgen
This chapter was changed a lot. Hope you enjoy. Over 1-3, the rewrites added over 15000 words.
Please note that this chapter is violent due to creature attacks. I also describe a grievous injury in great detail later on in this chapter.
Reviews for 1-3 on and past today (2-12-21) are for the new 1-3 chapters.
The keep shook and rained dust from its carved stone ceiling as its occupants stumbled into its depths in an effort to escape from the raging mythical beast that was ravaging the village that the keep called home.
The Hero of Twilight was at his wits end; it was enough almost being executed for false reasons, but a dragon? He supposed Hylia and the Three were laughing at him from the Sacred Realm. Not that he would say that aloud, of course.
It had been maybe five minutes since Link, Ulfric, Ralof, and Hadvar had ran into Helgen's Keep; the three older men were discussing how to proceed from their current situation while the young Hylian had become interested in a fallen Stormcloak that was sitting against a wall.
On first inspection, the dead man was wearing scaled armor and had an axe as a weapon. Not as good as a sword, in Link's opinion, but it was a weapon. He couldn't do much at the moment, due to his hands still being bound by rope, which begged the question of when he was going to be unbound and who was going to cut his bindings? He soon got his answer.
Ralof waved him over. "Come over here so I can get those bindings off."
Once Link walked over to the Stormcloak, Ralof took a dagger and sliced through the ropes, then motioned to the dead man sitting against the wall. "Get yourself some protection and a weapon. The three of us will try to find a way out of here."
Link spent the next few minutes absentmindedly rubbing his wrists to get back the circulation as he further inspected the dead man's armor. There were fur boots, fur pants, a blue cape thing that covered the front, a scaled chest piece and what he assumed was chainmail underneath the chest plate, judging by the short cut chainmail covering the fallen soldier's shoulders and half of his arms.
He decided to keep what he was wearing for undergarments until he could find proper ones, but removed the sorry excuse for foot coverings.
After some hesitation - he was taking a dead man's armor after all - he eventually pulled off the fur boots and put them on, then stood there for a moment while he got used to them.
The Hylian began to ridicule himself as he nonchalantly took the boots off, set them aside, then hesitated again before stripping the dead man of his armor - the Stormcloak was thankfully wearing clothes underneath - and put on the pants and chest piece, then the boots.
After that, he picked up the small axe and tilted it from side to side, then swung it once. It was a bit off balance, though he supposed he could get used to it. After all, the Triforce of Courage had proven time and time again that he could master most weapons almost immediately. Perhaps this wouldn't be any different.
Link spent a few moments attempting to make the armor look presentable but gave up and walked over to Ulfric, Ralof, and Hadvar; the three nodded approvingly while Ulfric stepped over to a locked door and began trying to open it.
"I think Gunjar would be happy to know his gear is still being used." Ralof crossed his arms and inspected the young Hylian standing before him. "That armor looks a bit big on you, that shouldn't matter too much."
The Nord was interrupted by yells across the room and he drew his sword before motioning for Hadvar to follow him over to Ulfric, who had come across more Stormcloak soldiers.
Link didn't pay much attention to what was said, as he was inspecting the right barred door. The keep was soon filled to the wooden rafters with worried voices, the subject being about the end times and the dragon. Thankfully, Ulfric quickly restored order to his men and said, "I promise you, you'll leave Helgen alive. But if not, do not fear death, for Sovngarde awaits."
The Stormcloaks seemed to take Ulfric's words to heart and set about checking their weapons and seeing if anyone was injured. Meanwhile, Link had found a lockpick and had decided to try to open the right door. At first glance, the lockpick was a crude thing, but maybe it would work.
As he got down on one knee and inserted the lockpick into the lock he heard voices behind him, he heard what sounded like the start of an argument and looked back over a shoulder to see Hadvar and Ralof standing together. Three Stormcloaks were standing opposite the two men, the five seemed to be arguing about Hadvar being with them.
There were too many conversations happening at once to discern what was being said and so Link returned his focus to the locked door. The lock hadn't been taken care of and it was somewhat rusted. As the Hylian tried to find the 'sweet point', pieces of rusted iron flaked off the lock.
He first tried turning the lockpick to the left but encountered resistance just past the starting point. He tried the right side, this time getting more favorable results, until the pick was jammed. The lockpick received a crack that split down the middle, rendering it useless. Link got up from one knee and made his way through the crowd of soldiers to the other door, where he found it had no lock.
On closer inspection, the bars were large enough for him to stick his head through and when he did so, he spotted a lever. However, as Link found out, it was just out of reach due to his short arms. He considered breaking a few of the bars but then an Imperial rounded the corner and stopped short.
The Imperial and Hylian gazed at each other in surprised silence before Link retreated from the door after pulling his outstretched arm and head through the bars.
He then half turned to tell the Stormcloaks of the impending arrivals; but then he heard the door swing open behind him and multiple Imperials filed past Link, completely ignoring him as the opposing sides charged each other.
The fight that followed was complete chaos.
Link wasn't ignored for long as he found himself fighting the Imperial who had first rounded the corner. He ducked under the older man's sword, then knocked the Imperial to the ground with the blunt side of his axe.
Before the fight reached its peak, however, the ground shook. Dust rained down from the ceiling as the fighters froze, their eyes focused on the stone roof overhead.
The entire keep rumbled and shook as the dragon that was reigning terror over the ruins of Helgen roared, the sound reaching the keep's occupants within its ancient stone walls.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to say something." Link didn't realize he had spoken until he noticed everyone in the room was looking in his direction. He visibly hesitated, then continued talking.
"I know little to nothing about this war all of you seem infatuated with, but can't you put aside your grievances for now and help each other leave this place alive?
"I don't know any of you personally, but I assume you must have family somewhere, and I assume you want to see them again. You can do that if you help each other escape."
He was going to continue speaking his mind but was interrupted by some commotion over by the left door.
The woman that had ordered him executed was standing in the hallway, a hand on her sword at her waist. "You. How are you alive?"
"I suppose you could call it fate, or luck, or maybe both." Link looked down at the Imperial sitting on the ground before him and held out a hand.
The older man gazed up at him before the Imperial grabbed Link's hand and got up, then nodded at the Hylian as he moved his gaze to the captain. "We're leaving. This young man here convinced us that we're safer traveling in a large group. We don't know what's down here in the keep and we have Battlemages with us. You can join us if you want."
The woman stared, then scowled as she drew her sword and pointed it at her soldier. "Join you? You're all traitors for daring to work with those heathens. I'll have you know that-"
The Imperial Captain was cut off by another earthquake and part of the hallway ceiling collapsed where she was standing and fell on top of her.
When the dust cleared, the woman's sword was lying before the rock pile, it's owner no doubt dead.
Ulfric quickly restored order as the room began to be filled with panicked voices. Those from both sides quieted and eyed each other uneasily while Ralof and Hadvar began to try to open the locked door with the broken lockpick. Meanwhile, Link had approached the rock pile and picked up the captain's sword, as well as finding a lone key at the base of the rock pile.
He left the hallway and stepped around multiple Imperials and Stormcloaks as he made his way to the locked door and showed Hadvar and Ralof the key. The broken lockpick was removed, the key was inserted, and the door was unlocked.
From there, the group made their way down the stairs and into another hallway. Two Stormcloaks were at the far end and noticed the group, but before they could join the mixed crowd, the ceiling collapsed. Link heard a distant familiar roar over the sound of the falling debris and began to somewhat resent the creature flying overheard.
When the dust cleared, the way forward was blocked, the fate of the two lone Stormcloaks unknown.
However, there was another path - there was an open door to the left, Ulfric took the lead and the door happened to lead into a kitchen and store room.
Two more Stormcloaks joined the group and some of them decided to make use of what was in the kitchens and storage rooms. Hanging from a central pillar were two garlic braids and when questioned two dried leaves of a plant called elves ear. Hanging in front of the fireplace were a rabbit and a peasant. On the other side of the pillar was a small round table with a bottle of what presumably was wine.
Opposite the entrance was a large wooden table with two chairs. Around said table were three sets of shelves. Among the utensils on the table was a slice of bread and more wine. On the left shelf was a salt pile and a blue potion that restored what they called "magicka", while on the right shelf was a red potion of healing and another bottle of wine.
Through the connecting archway was a storage area. When inspected, a barrel held three red potions, a blue potion, and a green potion. Three sacks were underneath a nearby overhanging shelf while there was another on the other side of the steps leading up to said shelf. There was a table to the right with a salt pile and a red potion. Above that hung two more rabbits. Just in front of the table was a nest with four eggs. The soldiers took all of the supplies in the two rooms for themselves, all of them attempting to reassure Link they'd heal him if need be.
From there, the group walked through an open doorway and down more stairs. There appeared to be a fight in the next room along with the sound of lightning and most of the soldiers drew their weapons and advanced through the open doorway.
Link didn't see how exactly the two people in the room died. It was explained to him by Ralof that the room he was currently in was a torture chamber, and the two men lying on the stone floor were the torturer and his assistant. The two rescued Stormcloaks thanked the group and joined them, then the group spread out to look for more supplies, the Stormcloaks giving the Imperials judging looks as the group briefly separated.
Link was left to his own devices as the soldiers scavenged what they could. He decided to stay near the central pillar while he waited; from where he was standing, he saw three cages against the far wall, only the middle was occupied, and it held a skeleton that wore blue robes that seemed to shimmer in the dim light.
Behind him was another cell, but larger. It contained a weapons rack against the far wall that held an iron mace. A shield rested against the wall next to the mace. There was a table in a L shape next to the door; two lockpicks rested on the wooden surface at the southern end.
There was a knapsack on the table in front of the pillar, when inspected, it held a red potion and two lockpicks. Link decided to pocket the three items for further use. There was also an iron dagger on the table and he took it as well.
The Hylian then noticed a book lying on the table, the cover was black with a white dragon etched into its surface. He looked back to the occupied cell to find it housed another book. He walked over to it, then reached into the cell and grabbed the book from between the bars and returned to where there was better lighting. This book had a green cover with a red symbol on it that depicted an open faced hand with a swirl for the palm and fingers that appeared to be on fire.
Link decided to check out the other cell and when he looked underneath the shelf he found another book and took it as well. When he returned to the table he inspected the book he had picked up, its title was 'A Brief History of the Empire, V2'.
The book on the table had a name as well, 'The Book of the Dragonborn.', whatever that meant. Link decided to take the three books with him for further reading.
After the soldiers had regrouped, they left the torture room and headed down a narrow corridor that was lined with cells on either side before the corridor opened up into an older torture room that was in worse condition. Smaller cages hung from the ceiling, some were occupied, some weren't.
The walls had become more natural by this point and as the group stepped through a broken wall, the room opened up into an open cave, one filled with makeshift wooden bridges and small waterfalls.
After walking across the bridges, the large group happened upon an upturned wooden bridge. A lever was just beside the bridge and Hadvar walked forward, then pulled the lever. Once the lever was pulled, the group began to cross the bridge. However, that didn't go as planned.
The walls shook, dust rained down from the ceiling and those in the front of the group began to run across the bridge. Link found himself next to Ralof and Hadvar, while Ulfric was in the very back, surrounded by Imperials and Stormcloaks.
There was a roar and the ceiling fell, destroying the bridge as a few stragglers reached the main group.
When the dust settled, everyone was still alive, although Ulfric and some soldiers from each faction - eight Stormcloaks and two Imperials - were on the opposite side of the destroyed bridge. Everyone heard the faint roar of the dragon as a few of them began discussing what to do next.
The remainder of the group heard the dragon roar reach them through the rocks overheard and the rock tunnel shook. Rocks fell due to the tunnel shaking, which caused Ralof, Hadvar, and Link to run further down the tunnel. When they risked looking back, there was now a wall of collapsed rocks, separating the three from the others.
On the other side of the fallen rock wall, those trapped behind it were staring up at the misshapen rock ceiling of the tunnel.
The highest ranking soldiers took body counts and then took control of the situation.
A stormcloak raised his voice. "Ralof! Are you alright?"
They heard the man's voice on the other side of the rocks. "I'm fine! So is Hadvar and the kid, we're all fine!"
"Thank Talos! We're trying to find a way past these rocks!"
The dragon roared again and the tunnel shook once more, sending rocks down on those trapped behind the rock wall.
The soldiers noticed smaller rocks hitting the walls and creating alcoves, which they entered before the larger rocks fell from the misshapen rock ceiling to the tunnel floor.
Those inside the alcoves covered their eyes and mouths to avoid the rising dust from the continuous falling rocks. When the dust settled and they opened their eyes, they found their way out of the alcoves had been blocked.
Those in the alcoves felt cold air flowing behind them and when they turned around, they found the alcove walls had collapsed, revealing natural passageways in their wake.
After five minutes, the general consensus was that either they stayed where they were and eventually starved to death, or they could see where the passageways ended up. Those in the alcoves chose the second option.
Some soldiers took their weapons and broke down the walls more to make the entrances to the passageways wider to see where they led. Since there was airflow, the passages had to lead outside, though where exactly, no one knew.
"There's no way we can break any of these rocks." Ralof tried shifting one of the collapsed rocks and stepped back, then examined them in silence.
"Do you think they'll be alright?" Link felt a hand be placed on his left shoulder and he looked up to see Hadvar smiling at him.
"They might be on different sides of the war, but they know that they have to work together to get out of here. They'll be okay." Hadvar removed his hand from Link's shoulder and motioned for the Hylian and Ralof to follow him. "The only way out now is forward. Come on."
The three traveled down a narrow natural corridor until it opened up into a cavern filled with spider eggs and webs.
"Frostbite spider lair." Ralof hissed and drew his sword. "Be on your guard, their fangs emit a deadly poison."
Link was dual wielding the axe and sword. "I take it we don't have any antidotes?"
Ralof shook his head. "We don't, unfortunately."
"I have one." Hadvar spoke up. "But just one."
Ralof nodded in thanks to the Imperial. "Good."
The three heard some noise and raised their weapons, then a massive spider appeared. The creature seemed to study them, before it screeched and lunged towards Link.
The Hylian swung the axe at the giant spider, slicing through a leg as the weapon embedded itself in the arachnid's forehead. The thing died instantly.
As the one frostbite spider fell to the cavern floor, three more appeared and shot venom from their fangs at Link, Ralof and Hadvar. The three dodged the venom and charged the spiders.
Hadvar began hacking at one with his sword, while Ralof threw his axe at the spider attacking him. It missed and the Nord began cursing as he ran to get his weapon from where it had ended up.
Meanwhile, Link was dual wielding the axe and sword and was weaving in and out, dodging the spider's lunges and venom shots.
Then he felt something piece his shoulder and he half turned to see the second spider backing away, blood dripping from its fangs - his blood - then the creature lunged at him, knocking him to the cavern floor and sending his sword to his right, just out of reach. But Link still had the axe.
And so, he raised it, and started to hack at the spider's head as it prepared to bite him in other places. The spider collapsed on top of him as it died and he shoved it aside and sat up, somewhat disoriented.
The Hylian saw Ralof helping Hadvar kill the third spider, but his attention soon switched from them to his injured shoulder. It burned. Link could feel the venom coursing through his veins and he noticed that everything was beginning to fade. Some part of him wondered if one antidote would be enough to cure him of poison, then four more giant spiders appeared from deeper in the cavern.
Link saw Ralof kick his sword over to him and he grabbed it and swung at the nearest spider as two of them surrounded the wounded warrior while the other two spiders lunged at Hadvar and Ralof, who had just killed the spider they had been attacking.
The sword sank into the spider's side and it sank its fangs into Link's arm, causing his vision to fade for a few seconds as he felt something scrape against a bone. When he could see again, his axe was buried in the creature's head and his arm...Well, he couldn't use it to fight anymore.
The Hylian mentally shoved the pain aside and got up, dislodging his axe from the dead spider as he swung it downwards at the remaining creature with his non-dominant hand. His aim was off and the axe sliced through a spider leg. Link found himself meeting the beady soulless eyes of the frostbitten spider, who lunged and knocked him onto his back, his axe landing just out of reach.
His sword was on his left side, but did he dare risk injuring himself more? Yes, yes he did. Link grabbed his sword with his left hand and swung it at the spider, which was about to sink its fangs in his neck. The spider was decapitated, its blood covering Link as he shoved the creature's remains off of him.
He faintly heard the sounds of Ralof and Hadvar fighting the other two spiders as his senses faded and he moved to a comfortable position before everything went black.
Link didn't exactly pass out, his body was just devoting everything to fending off the poison in his veins. At some point, his vision returned and he found himself limp in Ralof's arms. He felt somewhat better, but not entirely.
Hadvar was holding an empty antidote flask and a health potion bottle. "There. You'll live at least."
"Live" was somewhat of an understatement, but Link wasn't in the condition to argue and he simply nodded.
He felt Ralof shift a bit. "We've stayed here for long enough. We have to keep moving."
The Nord helped Link stand, then steadied him and stepped back. "If we had more potions, we'd give them all to you. Unfortunately, we only had one antidote and healing potion. You don't have to fight, just try to keep up."
Hadvar picked up Link's weapons, the Hylian accepted them with a nod and put them away before silently following the Nord and Imperial further into the caves…
Three soldiers, one Stormcloak and two Imperials, were walking single file down a tight natural corridor.
The Stormcloak was a Nord by the name of Pactar Alraldeson; he had green eyes, ginger hair and beard, and his age was nineteen. His skin was tanned with many battle scars.
The two Imperials were twin brothers of twenty-one years of age with the last name of Cheyicci, and they couldn't be more different. The one behind Pactar, Masir. He had brown hair with dyed blue bangs, tanned skin, and sky blue eyes.
His brother, Arelus, had brown eyes and black hair, pale skin opposed to Masir, and a scar that ran across his forehead that had been caused by a sword.
The three of them had been arguing about things that really weren't important, such as battle tactics and alcohol choices, when they reached a corridor that opened up into a large cavern. A tree had fallen over a large chasm, making a natural bridge.
Masir pointed out the said tree. "Looks like that's our way across." The Imperial began to cross the cavern over to the tree while Areluis and Pactar eventually followed.
Areluis inspected the tree once he got close. "Seems sturdy enough." He placed a Imperial issued boot on the trunk of the tree and tested its weight.
Masir jumped up on the fallen tree trunk. "I'll cross it and see if it's safe or not." Before the other two could protest, the Imperial was off, making his way across the natural bridge.
Masir was halfway across when part of the tree gave way due to being rotted out. The Imperial began to fall but caught himself on a branch and clung to it for dead life.
Areluis quickly but carefully crossed the rotted tree bridge over to his brother and tried to pull him up, but he wasn't strong enough. He looked over his shoulder at Pactar. "I need help."
Pactar nodded and crossed the bridge, then reached down and grabbed Masir by an arm and began to pull him upwards. Together, the Imperial and Stormcloak pulled Masir up and they quickly crossed to the other side without a word. As soon as they hit solid ground, the rotted tree broke up and fell into the chasm.
"That was close."
Areluis glared at his brother. "All three of us almost died because of your recklessness."
Masir looked at the ground. "I should have gone more slowly; I'll admit that."
Meanwhile, Pactar had noticed a passageway. "Let's see where this leads." It was to the right of the three, it seemed to be naturally made, perhaps the chasm had once been a river, judging by the nearby waterfall, it seemed the passageway had once been an underground river.
Masir and Areluis nodded and followed Pactar deeper into the caves.
Two Imperials by the names of Regleric Mabena and Friber Ampellius, and eight Stormcloaks by the names of Joraing Banner-Strider, Vilkrormr Iron-Veins, Orgorn Cloud-Song, Yrsayllian the Younger, Kodlmeskr Head-Fire, Istaggi the Blackthorn, Torvli Stonearm, and Golkvar Fenrifkssen, had ended up with Ulfric.
Thankfully, none of them fought each other as Ulfric led them through the caves, and soon they came upon evidence of a Frost Troll - chewed on bones and half decomposed carcasses of various species strewn about the small cavern as well as somewhat large piles of dung scattered everywhere.
Ulfric inspected the mess before the group. "I would say the troll is close." He turned to the mixed group of soldiers. "What do you say we find this thing and kill it? Between all of us, that troll won't stand a chance."
The soldiers all gave varying "yes"es and they stepped around the scattered mess as they ventured deeper in the caves.
The evidence of the troll began to increase after a while and they soon entered an open space. At the far end was the troll they had been tracking. It was bent over a deer carcass, tearing at the meat still on the bone. It sensed movement and looked back. It began snarling as it saw the humans and as they all drew their weapons, the Frost Troll rose to its full height, roared, then charged at the group.
Eight Imperials by the names of Nostinis Caerelliun, Thescus Sextelian, Murbis Septey, Dyucyon Decildor, Leonunus Sestician, Furiscius Maccellia, Quinerio Salloria and Attestantius Malette; and three Stormcloaks by the names of Odfeof Ulranersen, Beirvaul Winter-Heart and Elseli Torvansdottir, had been traveling down the narrow corridor for a while. The corridor opened up into a large cavern, where the group encountered a large pack of wolves.
There was one wolf for each soldier, and as the wolf pack lunged at them, all eleven humans drew their weapons and charged.
Elsei swung her sword at the wolf that was attacking her, burying the blade within the creature's neck. As it dropped to the ground, Murbis fired his bow at the wolf lunging at him, smiling as he saw the arrow sink into the creature's throat.
Quinerio cast Fireball on the wolf that was attacking him and before it could burn everyone while running around in its death throes, he cleaved it on the head with his axe.
Odfeof stabbed his wolf in its open maw, the blade piercing the top of the creature's mouth and punching through its muzzle, killing it instantly. Thescus and Beirvaul shot arrows at the two wolves attacking them, hitting each one in the head.
Nostinis was knocked to the ground and clawed in the chest, but he stabbed the wolf in the heart with his dagger and threw it off of him as it died.
Dyucyon fired an arrow at the wolf attacking him, watching as it pierced the wolf's right eye in such a way that it sunk into its brain.
Attestantius used his twin daggers on his wolf, stabbing the wolf in the head and chest several times before it dropped to the ground. As it did so, Furiscius and Leonunus took out their wolves with well timed arrow shots.
The group rested for a few moments before Legate Leonunus looked Nostinis over and all of the others for injuries. Finding that everyone was okay, he led the others deeper into the caves, being the highest ranking person of the group.
"So where do you come from, Pactar?" Masir asked as he ducked under some sort of large visible root.
"Whiterun. My family has lived there for generations."
Masir nodded as Pactar asked him the same question. "My brother and I were born in the Imperial City."
"What's it like there?"
"Mages everywhere, fighting clubs, large housing districts…"
Pactar nodded. "I assume the two of you have been to Whiterun already?"
Areluis shook his head. "We haven't. Tullilus picked us from the group of graduates to travel to Skyrim with him. Never expected to nearly die to a dragon of all things."
"I don't think anyone did, Areluis, but we got away from the thing and that's what counts." Pactar commented, then held up a hand. "Did you hear that?"
Masir and Areluis stopped walking. All three heard the sound of what sounded like a saber cat roaring.
Pactar drew his axe while Areluis drew his sword, and Masir his daggers. Pactar eyed the two Imperials. "Want to go find the thing and kill it? It might attack whoever wanders into its lair."
Masir nodded. "Sure."
Areluis also nodded. "You prove a good point, Nord. Lead the way."
Pactar nodded and ran down the passageway, Masir and Areluis following.
The poison was taking its toll. Hadvar and Ralof had noticed Link starting to fall behind as they walked through the caves and eventually they looked back to see that he had collapsed to a sitting position and was giving them a bleak look.
Hadvar ran over to him and caught Link as he fell backwards. "I've got you. Just rest." Link presumably passed out and Hadvar looked up at Ralof. "What do we do?"
"There's nothing we can do, Hadvar. We're out of potions, he'll have to fight off the poison himself."
The rocks above the three shifted and dust rained down from the natural ceiling.
"...Please no, not another rock fall." Hadvar's words were almost lost in the following crash of falling rocks.
When the dust settled, Hadvar and Ralof found themselves on one side of the fallen rocks, Link's fate unknown.
Link had woken up and had thrown himself to the dirt, then had shielded himself as best as he could from the fallen rocks.
He found that he didn't want to move from his current position on the dirt floor. It felt nice, just lying there…
…Wait. What had happened? He was...lying on dirt. Alright. And...more rocks had fallen. And Ralof and Hadvar were gone. Right. So he was now alone. In these caves. Wounded and full of spider venom.
This was going to be fun. Not.
Link eventually rolled over onto his back and slowly sat up, looking at the fallen rocks before him while he mentally felt for injuries to his person. He realized he felt feverish and that his sword arm was...red and hot to the touch from where the spider had bitten him.
Right. Wasn't the health potion supposed to have healed the wound? It was…?
Then again, he had only been given one health potion.
And antidote. Which was better than nothing.
The Hylian closed his eyes and tried to organize his thoughts. 'Okay. So. I am...injured, full of spider venom, and alone...This isn't good. I obviously can't stay where I am...What to do...Standing would be a good start…'
He heard a voice yell his name. Ralof. Link opened his eyes and tried to focus on the fallen rocks, but eventually dropped his gaze to the dirt floor. He didn't feel well at all and he didn't exactly feel like talking at the moment.
"Link! Are you alright? ...Maybe that was a poor choice of wording...You are alive, yeah?"
"No he's most certainly not alright, Ralof."
"You know what I meant, Hadvar." Ralof sounded annoyed. "Do you feel like answering?"
Link eventually realized Ralof was talking to him and he merely said "no" as he tried to focus on something.
"Well, he's alive at least."
"Alive, sure, but he's not able to fight, Ralof. Not with how injured he is."
Link dragged himself over to the fallen rocks and laid against them. "I...I feel horrible, Hadvar."
"I know. The good thing is, your body is fighting the poison. When you can, try to find another passageway and see where it leads. If you're lucky, you'll find another group."
"And if no one finds me?"
"Then I'm afraid you're on your own until you find somewhat out of these caves."
"Hadvar! We've got more spiders!" It was hard to hear Ralof's voice over the sound of screeches behind the fallen rocks and Link heard Hadvar curse and draw his sword. "We'll find a way to get to you!" Then the two were fighting the spiders on the other side of the fallen rocks.
There were fourteen frostbitten spiders. Ralof and Hadvar decided to take seven each, but they had to be careful, as they had no antidotes and no healing potions.
Hadvar stabbed one spider with his sword while Ralof dealt with one that had been about to attack the Imperial. The two nodded at each other before two spiders lunged at them and were killed mid lunge by the human weapons.
Ralof and Hadvar eventually decided to start passing their weapons between the both of them. The Nord stabbed a spider in the head with his axe, then pulled it out and tossed his weapon towards Hadvar, who caught it, decapitated an arachnid with a horizontal slice of the blade, and then tossed his sword at Ralof. Ralof caught the sword and brought it down on a spider that had been about to bite him on his right arm.
The weapons were passed back again. Ralof killed a spider by chopping off its legs with his axe, while Hadvar stabbed another in between the eyes with his sword.
The last four spiders proved to be annoying to kill, as they didn't stay still for very long and it was hard to get close to them.
Ralof threw his axe at one and pinned it against the wall, while Hadvar finished it off with a sword slash to the head. Ralof retrieved his axe and swung it at another spider, it connected with the creature's head and it fell to the ground.
Hadvar stabbed the two spiders in front of him in quick succession while Ralof killed the last spider by decapitation with his axe.
Link didn't remember passing out. He must have, because he was now in a different position - on his side - and he felt somehow even worse. He didn't open his eyes, he instead tried to focus on not being sick, unfortunately, he eventually failed that.
He didn't know how much time had passed before he could lift his head slightly and open his eyes. To his surprise, his vision focused on...Just what was he looking at? His tired and battered mind couldn't comprehend the thing in front of him and so he looked elsewhere, to the wall to his right, which held an open passageway, no doubt caused by the rock fall.
Seriously, what was with passageways opening up by falling rocks? Was it just something that was normal here?
Link sensed that Ralof and Hadvar had moved on, he didn't hear any sounds of fighting...He decided to just focus on somehow surviving this and worry about everyone else later.
'Okay. I can do this. Just have to take things very slowly...So...first things first...standing...then...might walk around a bit...then I'll check out the passage…'
It took a while, but he gathered enough strength to move to a sitting position, then he supported himself against the fallen rocks as he slowly got up. 'I'm standing. Good. Just...going to stay here for a bit…'
Link found that he had to stand with some support and so he kept one hand on the fallen rocks as he began to slowly make his way to the passageway. He could feel his body trying to fight back against the spider venom. 'I don't think I'm going to die...I'm just going to feel like Din for a while...heh...I hope I find something to heal me or someone finds me soon…'
'Oh. Cold air. That feels good. This must lead to some way out of here...eventually…' The Hylian was standing in the passageway and he kept one hand on a wall as he slowly walked down it, eventually finding himself in...An open space where he could see the sky. It taunted him.
'...So close and yet so far - wait what was that?' Link caught movement and he froze, then risked letting go of the wall and stepping forwards.
His legs held his weight. That was good.
There were trees around him and grass beneath his feet...and bones scattered in various areas...That was unnerving. Some beast made its lair here. And he was not exactly in the best condition to fight whatever it was.
Since he was alone, Link decided to take full advantage of his current situation and stepped behind a tree, then disrobed completely and voided himself, thus ridding his body of poison. It wasn't...the cleanest of methods, per say, but it worked.
He felt the effects almost immediately. His thoughts were clearer, he didn't feel sick, and he could focus on things. Although his wounds still needed to be healed. He could focus on that later.
There was a nearby stream and he gladly cleansed himself downstream of where he drank his fill, then returned to the tree and dressed himself. As Link was securing his weapons, he heard something growl behind him.
He froze, then slowly looked over a shoulder to find himself looking at a massive cat with huge oversized fangs.
"...Uh...Nice kitty?"
The frost troll swung its clawed left hand at Ulfric, who blocked the attack, then sliced off the troll's hand with his sword.
The troll clutched at it's bleeding stump with its remaining hand and roared as the stump began to heal, then walked over to a boulder and attempted to pick it up. It failed at that, because it no longer had two hands.
Torvil swung his axe at the injured Frost Troll and buried the weapon in the creature's back, then pulled it out as Regleric rushed forward with his bow and fired an arrow towards the creature's left eye. It struck true and the troll was half blinded.
The troll roared again and clawed at its face, then charged Regleric and Torvil, only to be stabbed in the side by Orgorn, who pulled out his sword and then stabbed the troll in the upper chest, in the heart.
Everyone backed away as the troll stumbled around before it fell over backwards. It didn't get up.
Ulfric made sure it was dead by decapitating the troll with his sword, then checked everyone over for injuries. Finding none, he motioned for everyone to follow him deeper into the caves.
The three Stormcloaks and eight Imperials were thankfully getting along well. After the fight with the wolves, they had all congratulated each other on surviving the attack, and were now in a cavern with waterfalls and grass and trees.
It was peaceful, although it didn't last long. Three Spriggans appeared and attacked the group.
They split into three groups.
The Spriggans fired swarms of insects at the attackers, who ignored them as they charged.
Quinerio cast Fireball at the Spriggan he was attacking and the creature screamed as it was set on fire. Murbis and Oldfeof attacked with their axe and sword, while Dyucyon fired several arrows.
Thescus, Nostinis, and Elseli attacked with swords and axes while Furiscius used healing spells if needed.
Leonunus fired his bow while Attestantius ducked and weaved around the Spriggan with his daggers and Beirvaul attacked with his axe.
Eventually, all three Spriggans exploded into leaves and light and the group had a few moments to catch their breath. Again, Leonunus checked everyone for injuries, healed if needed, then led the group further into the caves.
The giant cat wouldn't take its crimson gaze off of him. Each time he tried to move away from the tree he was standing behind, the cat hissed, causing Link to freeze and eye the cat nervously.
The cat began to pace back and forth, occasionally yowling at him, its massive fangs glinting from the open sky overhead.
'This is where I die, isn't it?'
Yet the cat didn't seem to be attacking him. It merely was preventing him from moving away from the tree.
Link took out his sword and axe and spun them around in his hands. The cat dropped to the ground, then launched itself.
The Hylian buried his axe in the creature's chest before it knocked him to the grass, then sank its claws into his chest armor and further down until Link felt the claws piece his chest.
The cat then slashed downwards and removed its claws, which were soaked with blood.
Link's vision unfocused for a few seconds, then he shook his head and stabbed the cat in the left eye with his sword, then attempted to yank his axe from the creature's chest. He was unsuccessful in doing so, as the creature swiped at his face and left deep gashes on his forehead, causing the Hylian to be blinded by blood from his wound.
Link tried again to pull his axe from the cat's chest after he ran an arm across his face, clearing his vision. This time the axe pulled free and he kicked the cat away from him as he removed his sword from the feline's eye.
He then felt himself shifting, turning…
...He was no longer human.
The cat screamed at him and lunged, knocking him over and then began clawing at his stomach, tearing it open and causing his insides to spill onto the grass.
Link had absolutely no idea how he was still alive. The wolf went for a kill bite to the neck, he felt his fangs sink into the cat's throat as it continued to claw his chest and face; eventually, the cat went limp, and the wolf let go of the creature and looked down at himself, the adrenaline fading and the pain slowly consuming him as he fully realized his situation.
He felt himself turn back, then he fell backwards against a tree and ended up on the ground, his trembling, blood soaked hands clutching at his open wound, his visible insides glistening from the natural light above him, the pain and fear rising as he simply tried to get enough air in his lungs to -
- Everyone else in the caves would hear something or someone start screaming.
Pactar, Arelus, and Masir heard the tortured screams and wondered who or what they belonged to. They sounded close by, so the three unanimously decided to investigate.
As the three traveled through the caves, the screams grew weaker until they turned to mere various sounds of pain. Eventually, those faded away and there was an ominous silence.
The Nord and two Imperials entered an open space with the sky visible above their heads. They found a saber cat corpse, it had been killed recently.
Then Masir found a body propped up against a tree and motioned his brother and Pactar over.
The person was somehow still alive, bloodied hands clutching his middle, but deeply unconscious. Pactar gently took hold of the younger boy and made him as comfortable as possible, then looked up at the two Imperials. "Don't just stand there, give me all of the health potions you've got!"
The twins started handing the Nord health potions and the Stormcloak began to administer the potions to the wounded person.
His open wound began to slowly close and the three warriors began to breathe a bit easier.
"...I knew the kid wasn't supposed to die; sure, he wounded seven in self defense…"
Masir nodded at his brother. "Yeah. You saw him fight, right? The way he swung that glowing sword around…"
"...Wonder what happened to it…" Arelus looked thoughtful. "It vanished into thin air, I think, since no one could find it after the kid was knocked out and thrown onto the cart."
Pactar nodded. "I managed to get a good look at it. Beautiful forging. Never seen a sword like his before."
"I don't think any of us have, Pactar." Masir checked Link's condition and found that his wounds were healed. The Imperial took off his cloak and wrapped it around the younger warrior as he slept.
"I'm surprised he's still alive." Arelus knelt beside Pactar and looked Link over. "He's good soldier material…"
"That he is." Pactar looked over at the dead saber cat. "That's strange, you two see those marks on its neck?"
Arelus inspected the dead creature. ". are fang marks."
"Fang marks? From what?" Masir eyed his brother with curiosity.
"A wolf."
"...You healed me?" Link had woken up and was regaining his bearings.
Pactar nodded. "I did, and three others. Are you still injured?"
"No, I'm fine." Link got up from where he was and held his arms out to the side a bit. "See? Completely fine."
Masir inspected him. "I'd say the health potions we gave you worked."
Areluis handed Link his weapons. "I cleaned these for you. Do you know how that sabercat died?"
Link accepted the weapons and nodded. "Yeah. I killed it."
Pactar narrowed his eyes. "You did? But there are fang and claw marks on the cat's throat and chest."
"Yeah… I can turn into a wolf. Don't think I can control where it happens though…"
All three older men blinked. "A wolf?" Masir asked curiously. "Like a werewolf?"
Link shook his head. "No, just a regular one."
Something appeared from the passageway from where the three soldiers had entered the cavern - a Spriggan Earth Mother.
For some reason, the creature didn't attack Link, but instead focused her fury on the older men. As multiple insect swarms shot towards Masir, Areluis, and Pactar, they told the younger warrior to run.
Link looked like he wanted to stay and help them fight the Spriggan, but eventually nodded, turned, and ran off towards a nearby tunnel that he found to be yet another passageway.
Ralof and Hadvar had also heard the screams and they were heading to where they thought the screams were coming from. They ended up in a large cavern with trees and grass and boulders. At the far end were two Imperials and a lone Stormcloak fighting a Spriggan Earth Mother. The creature was killed as Hadvar and Ralof ran over.
"Are the three of you alright?"
Pactar answered for them. "We're fine, thanks for asking, Ralof."
"We heard something earlier." Hadvar spoke up.
Masir nodded. "We found the kid."
Both Ralof and Hadvar gazed at Masir, who continued. "He was pretty injured, having fought that dead saber cat over there. We patched him up, then that Earth Mother attacked us and we - my brother, myself and Pactar - told him to run. He did so, and then you showed up."
Ralof nodded. "Well, we'd better catch up to him then, I hope the others found their way out as well." The Stormcloak pointed to another passageway. "That seems to be the way forward." He ran over to it and motioned to the others to follow him. They did so and they continued further into the caves.
Link tripped over something, maybe a rock, and flew head over heels until he hit the dirt floor and rolled a bit until he came to a stop. When his vision focused, he found himself in a massive open room - light. Natural light.
He had found a way out of the caves.
Except there was something blocking the way. A massive bear, who had noticed him.
The bear slowly got up and lumbered towards the Hylian, who got up and drew his sword and axe.
Once the bear reached Link, it reared up on its hind legs and let out an ear splitting roar, then brought its front paws crashing down on the human.
Except it attacked air. Link had rolled to the side, dodging the attack and came up out of the roll, then swung his axe at the bear's left arm. It was chopped off in one slice and the bear roared, then tried to crush Link's head in its jaws. It received a sword to the back of its throat in response.
Said attack broke the sword in two, half of the blade stuck in the creature's throat. The Hylian mourned the loss of the weapon for a second, then dropped the blade's remains and picked up his axe from where it had fallen.
The bear roared and charged. Link was knocked over onto his back and he swung the axe at one of the bear's eyes, half blinding it.
The creature tried to bite his throat, but Link picked up the remains of the sword lying beside him by the hilt and stabbed upwards, blood covering him as the other half of the sword pierced upwards through the bear's mouth.
Everyone converged at the far end of the cave. It was mass confusion for a while until Ulfric took charge, that's when they noticed the fight going on. A few wanted to help, some wanted to stand by and heal if needed, but Ulfric looked over the fight and smiled. "No, I think he'll do just fine."
The bear tore its claws across Link's forehead, leaving deep gashes as he moved away and tried to clear his vision. He then swung his axe again, burying it in the bear's chest. The bear knocked him to the ground again but Link kicked upwards and sent it flying into a wall as he got up. The bear charged again, but the Hylian dropped his axe and grabbed the creature by the front legs, skidding across the cavern floor until the bear stopped moving. Link then picked up his axe and swung it at the bear, striking it into the bear's chest. He then dropped the axe again, reached into the open wound and pulled out the bear's beating heart, then proceeded to tear the bear in two. Somehow.
After the remains of the bear hit the ground, Link closed his eyes and drew a shaky breath as he tried to get his breathing back to normal. He heard approaching footsteps and he opened his eyes to see the large group standing around him, Ulfric, Hadvar and Ralof in front.
"...I… I'll talk to all of you after…" Link picked up his axe where he had dropped it and swung it to the side, splattering the rocks with blood. "I clean up, I guess you want to hug me, I don't think you'd want to hug me when I'm covered in blood, do you?"
He walked out of view, then returned sometime later with clean but soaked clothes and armor, having cleansed himself and his clothes of the blood from the bear in a nearby pool of water. Right away, Ralof hugged Link, then stepped back as Hadvar walked up to the Hylian and looked down at him, then placed a hand on his right shoulder, then hugged him. Hadvar then stepped back as Ulfric approached Link.
"I'd say Talos is watching over you, Link. You survived Helgen and you survived the caves." Ulfric waved to the others to get closer.
As several of them healed his wounds and checked him over for hidden injuries, someone by the name of Quinerio used a spell named Fireball, which dried his clothes and armor.
The group couldn't stop talking about how Link had killed the bear and all he could say to that was "I guess I didn't know my inner strength."
Finally, Ulfric noticed the way out of the caves - natural light was coming from a passageway. He led the group over to the cave exit and they filled one by one out of the cave.