"Get out of the carriage!"
Percy didn't give Sarazi a chance to respond as Percy grabbed him and threw him out of the carriage. Sarazi, surprisingly nimble, landed smoothly and rolled back to his feet but he remained stock still. His eyes glued to the horizon.
"Move!" Percy roared, whirling around and screaming at Kurshara-Daro and Ma'randru-jo, "Find cover, now!"
Ra'zyam was already at Percy's side, his blade drawn and held firmly. Like Sarazi, his eyes were tracking the mass shape screaming towards them from the distance. Another roar tore through the clearing. Like thunder rumbling overhead, the screeching boom reverberated through Percy down to his bones.
"Do you think it is coming here?" Ra'zyam asked.
"Don't know where else it would be going," Percy muttered, drawing his own weapon and shield. He glanced around them. They had stopped in what was essentially an open field. The foot of the mountains that led towards Markarth was little more than a plain. There wouldn't be anywhere to hide. There was a small hill to the west, with a sparse smattering of bushes and some taller grass. Off to the east was a vast plain. There were a couple of odd-shaped structures that looked stuck into the earth. They wouldn't mean much in terms of cover, but something was better than nothing. Sweat trickled down his neck as the dragon let loose another monstrous roar and Percy turned his attention back to the dragon. It was closing in. There was no mistaking that it was coming directly for them. A million thoughts raced through his mind. The memory of his encounter with the black dragon at Helgen playing before his eyes.
"I know not what you are…but you do not belong here…"
"You have disrupted my plans human! And for that…you die!"
Was this the black dragon's doing? Was this Percy's punishment for fighting back?
He pushed the thought from his mind. Turning to the cowering Khajiit behind the carriage he began barking out orders.
"Kurshara-Daro, grab the bow and the orc-made arrows! Climb that rise and cover yourself in the bushes. Wait things to kick off and then start blasting the son of a bitch!" Kurshara-Daro didn't say anything, and Percy snapped at her again. "Kurshara-Daro!" He roared, "Move!"
That got her attention quickly and she began rustling through the numerous bags and chests at the back of the carriage. With the thickly-wooded bow and the quiver of arrows in her shaking hands, she scrambled up the hill before disappearing into the mass of foliage.
"Ma'randru-jo, you know magic?" Percy asked, the smaller cat-man shakily nodded his head.
"Sarazi has taught this one a little destruction and restoration magic,"
"Good," Percy nodded, turning to Sarazi and pointing over to the rock-like structures. "You two head over there, take cover behind those rocks. Same as Kurshara-Daro, once it pops off you start slinging as much magic at the bastard as you can."
Sarazi nodded, "May the moons guide you," he said solemnly, before gripping Ma'randru-jo around the shoulder and hauling him away to the rocks. Percy watched them go for a moment, before turning back to the sky. The dragon was close enough now that Percy could actually make out its color. It's scales were bright green. The crown of its head was flanked by a pair fin-like appendages. Its large spade-like tail swished with every flourish of its large bat-like wings. Percy's grip on his sword tightened as the familiar rush of battle began to spike. His blood began to burn hot at the thought of fighting as his body all but sung at the chance to go to war against the mighty drake.
"Plan of attack?" Ra'zyam asked.
"Get away from the carriage," Percy said, already advancing down the roadway away from the carriage and horses. "Damn thing will go up like a tinderbox, and the last thing we need to worry about is burning debris." Ra'zyam nodded and followed suit, his long, striped tail swishing back and forth with every step.
"If it's anything like the dragon at Helgen, then its hide is going to be harder than steel," Percy explained as they advanced. "If you somehow manage to get a clear shot, go for the eyes. Far as I can tell, that's one of the few places that can hurt it. No idea about its underbelly though. Might be armored, might not be. Before anything else though, go for the wings. We can't do a damn thing to it if its flying all over the place, but if we can force it to the ground, we might just stand a chance. Shred the damn things."
Ra'zyam's only response was a rumbling growl.
Almost as though the dragon could hear the cat, it roared once more. With how close the dragon was, Percy could have sworn that the temperature of the field grew hotter. The dragon, now only a couple hundred yards away, opened its massive maw. From deep within its gullet, an orange glow began to amass, growing larger and larger in size. Percy's eyes widened as he saw what was about to happen.
"Behind me!" He roared, as he darted forward placing himself between the dragon and Ra'zyam. Bringing his shield up, he tried to make himself small behind the steel and wooden construct. He felt Ra'zyam follow closely, ducking tightly behind Percy. He found himself glad that the cat man trusted his judgement so readily. But any and all other thoughts faded as a jet of fire erupted towards them. Reaching out to the world around him, Percy wrenched at the magic of the world. He commanded it to bend to his whim. To mold as he saw fit. It was like wrestling a lion into a cage but Percy would not be deterred as cudgeled the magic of Skyrim to bend the knee. A sphere of water sprang to life around him and Sarazi, encompassing the pair in a liquid shield of divine magic.
The fire slammed into the shield, and it felt like a punch to the stomach. He stumbled back as his own magic fought back against the magic of the dragon's fire. Steam exploded around them, blinding their view of the dragon.
"Move!" Percy roared, "Use the steam for cover!" The sphere of water disappeared from around him as he shot forward through the steam. He could feel the skin on the back of his neck singe and hiss as the heat pricked at him. Ignoring the pain as he burst through the steam, he could feel the dragon before the he could see it. The wind blustering forth with every flap of its enormous wings. It was like trying to run through a hurricane. Coming out of the steam, Percy saw it floating in the air watching through its blood-red eyes as it stared at the mass of steam. But those red eyes darted to Percy as he emerged, and it roared in fury at finding that it had failed in its mission.
It flew forward, the speed of the creature incredible for something of its size. Percy jumped clear to the side as it slammed into the cobble pavers, throwing up a shower of gravel, dirt, and debris while the road crumbled beneath it. Popping back to his feet quickly, he sprang forward burying his sword into the tendon like flesh of the dragon's wing. It was like cutting through construction paper, thick, yet nowhere near strong enough to withstand steel. Dragging his weapon along the length of the wing, Percy could see Ra'zyam doing the same on the other side. The dragon roared in a mixture of pain and righteous fury, at the same time an arrow slammed into the thick scales of its neck. It didn't bury too deeply into the scales, but it certainly bounce off like Percy had been worried about. Perhaps this dragon was weaker than the one that he'd fought at Helgen. A fireball, thrown from off to Percy's right slammed into the creature's chest, singing its front half. The stink of burning flesh perforated his nostrils and he watched as a second fireball sailed harmlessly over its head.
For the briefest of moments, he allowed a glimmer of hope to blossom in his chest that maybe, just maybe, they could get themselves through this relatively unscathed. But then the dragon screeched and Percy didn't have any warning before the spade-like tail slammed into his chest. While his chest plate took much of the impact, the almost blade-like appendage had cut a thick gash into the metal as Percy was hefted off his feet. All of the wind left his lungs and he was bodily tossed through the air, landing heavily and painfully in a heap on the ground several yards away.
He clambered to his feet just in time to see the inevitable. They hadn't managed to damage the wings enough as the monster rose to the sky, another shot from Kurshara-Daro flew under the beast's underbelly. The dragon let loose a mighty roar before streaking off through the air. Percy realized only too late that it was flying directly towards Kurshara-Daro's position in the bushes. His blood running cold Percy turned and began running as fast as his legs would move towards the hillside.
But the dragon was faster.
He only just managed to catch a glimpse of the cat-woman trying in vain to scramble free from the bushes before a torrent of fire burst forth from the beast. Her screams of horror vanished beneath the whooshing cacophony of the raging inferno. He watched in a mute horror as her body was reduced to little more than charred flesh in a matter of moments. Her singed corpse collapsing to the ground in a heap a few feet from where she'd been standing a few moments before.
Rage boiled in his blood. An unfathomable, seething rage and the world around him reacted in accordance with its new master's command. Thunder cracked and rolled overhead. A steady drizzle began to descend, which steadily turned into cascading torrent. With a roar of fury echoed by the crack of thunder and a shatter of lightning, Percy commanded the rain to batter into the dragon. It screeched and howled as it was buffeted again and again by the new magical onslaught.
But its bloodlust was not yet quenched. As another fireball sailed over its head, it turned its direction towards Percy's two companions near the rocks. Knowing what was sure to come, Percy turned and began to run as fast as he could to defend his friends. But the dragon had grown wise to Percy. A deep, guttural growl reverberated from the monster's throat, almost as though it were trying to speak. An instant later, an invisible force slammed into Percy back and he was once more thrown through the air.
Like a ragdoll he was flung end over end, tumbling across the stone pavers which cut and hacked at him. With a groan, he tried to haul himself to his feet. A bestial roar from Ra'zyam motivated him further to rise to his feet just in time to see the beast man charge towards the rampaging dragon. The monster had landed, a jet of fire from its mouth just narrowly missing the pair of fleeing Khajiit who managed to scramble out of the way in time. Charging forward Percy tried to close the distance once more, but Ra'zyam was already pouncing. The beast man threw himself onto the back of the dragon, and with a mighty roar he plunged his sword into the back of the monstrous creature. The blade sunk to the hilt, confirming Percy's suspicions about the strength of the creature compared to the black dragon. The monster screeched horrifically as it began to thrash around, almost as though it were hoping to throw the blade free its back. While it was unsuccessful in its endeavor, it did manage to toss Ra'zyam free from its back. The large beast man landed with a startled yelp on the ground, his back to the beast and his weapon gone.
Panic swelling in Percy's breast he tried desperately to form a protective barrier around the cat man, as he sprinted towards the battle. He reached out to the world again, trying in vain to mold a barrier in time to stop the inevitable, but his grip on the world's magic was slow to answer him. Ra'zyam had only managed to rise to his feet before he was beset by the beast. The dragon reared its neck back, an oddly serpentine like gesture from the mammoth wyrm before it shot forward. Its monumentous maw latching onto the tiger-man so quickly that Ra'zyam didn't even have time to scream. With a mighty jerk, the dragon wretched Ra'zyam's body into the air, shaking it wildly in the air like a dog. With a horrible squelching sound, the dragon spat Ra'zyam's mangled corpse to ground. His body a mess of blood, bone, and spittle.
Percy barely even registered Sarazi's anguished cry as his blood thundered in his ears. Percy's own rage at the creature became blinding and the world around him vanished as he finally managed to close in on the creature. Ducking under one of its mammoth claws, Percy rammed his sword into the belly of the beast. Sickly red blood erupted with the force of a geyser, coating Percy in the sticky life essence. With a roar of righteous fury, Percy ripped his weapon free and danced out of the way of another set of razor-sharp claws as they tried to rip and tear at his body.
The dragon whipped around, trying to impale Percy on its tail but he was too quick and Percy managed to jump over the oncoming assault. But Percy realized too late that he hadn't been the intended target. As he landed, his ears were assaulted by the strangled cry of Ma'randru-jo followed by a horrific squelching noise. Whirling around, he watched in mute terror as Ma'randru-jo was hefted off of his feet, the spade like tail of the dragon impaling the poor young cat. Ma'randru-jo dangled on the tail, like a pig on the spit, his eyes wide in fear, panic, and agony. Unlike Percy, the young Khajiit hadn't had on any armor and was nowhere near durable enough to withstand such a horrific assault. With another whip of the tail, Ma'randru-jo's was thrown free from its confines as he landed in a lifeless heap on the ground.
An oddly cat-like yowl of fury erupted from somewhere to Percy's left as Sarazi charged at the man. Percy felt the pull of magic from the man's hands as sparks of magical lightning danced along his fingertips. With a roar that would have done Ra'zyam proud he let loose the attack, arcs of electricity slamming into the dragon as it thrashed in roared in fury. But the attack was clearly taking its toll on the Khajiit, as sweat dribbled down his cheek and his arms shook under the strain. Taking the opportunity to follow up on the monster himself, Percy charged forward. He swiveled out of the way of the creature's jaw as Percy slashed out at its eye. Once more, Percy's strike was met with satisfying sight of blood as the dragon's eye exploded in a fountain of gore.
The dragon thrashed in fury, one of its claws moving too quickly for Percy to escape. The blades shredded the front of his already semi-ruined armor. He felt several of the claws rip into his flesh. Though the wound was only superficial, the force behind the blow was horrendous as he was forced to the ground, pinned under the creature's monstrous strength. The attack had thrown free his blade, which had clattered uselessly to the ground a few feet away, along with his shield which skittered across the grassy plain. With all of his strength, Percy gripped onto the clawed foot of the dragon as it tried in vain to press him deeper and deeper into the now soggy soil. His fingers dug into the scaly hide of the dragon. His fingernails screamed, as more than one tore off under the strain of the endeavor. There was a flash of gray out of the corner of his eye, and he watched as Sarazi scooped up his blade and charged at the dragon. But a warrior Sarazi was not, as the dragon let loose a roar of fury and lashed out. One of its claws hacked across Sarazi's front, and he howled as the bladed appendages cut him to the bone. Sarazi gurgled, blood spilling free from his lips as he collapsed to the ground.
As he lay on the ground, his eyes met Percy's. The sadness and regret in his eyes was more than Percy could bare.
It was the final straw.
An energy soared to life inside of him. It was a sensation he had come to know well over the last weeks. He gripped onto the energy. Tore at it with everything he could. A sudden burst of energy and vitality rushed through his body and his muscles hummed with renewed strength. Hefting the claw free from his chest, Percy tossed the appendage free before rolling out from its grasp. Darting over to his discarded sword, he ducked under another sweep of the monster's jaw, dragging the length of his blade across the monsters jaw. However, the scales along its maw were considerably harder than the scales on its body as Percy's blade clanked harmlessly away. Dancing away from another snap of its jaws, Percy slid forward, slashing his blade out at the dragon's underbelly. He was rewarded with another splash of blood and howl of pain. He could feel the swell of magical energy in the air as the dragon tried to summon forth another blast of magical fire.
Percy snarled as he saw his opening. Shooting forward, he thrust his sword into the open mouth of the beast, ramming the weapon as far and deep as he could, ignoring the way the dragon's teeth dug into his arm and shoulder and he jerked the sword until he found purchase in soft flesh. The swell of magical energy dissipated as Percy abruptly interrupted the creature's attack, as he felt the giant lizard shudder. With another twist and jerk, Percy wrenched the weapon free, before thrusting forward once more and burying the weapon up and through the dragon's mouth, straight into the monster's brain. The dragon's body lurched once more, heaving out a stuttering and sulfuric huff of air, before falling limp to the ground before him.
He wrenched his weapon free, breathing heavily. He allowed the rain to sweep into his air and dripping down across his ruined armor. Rain mixed with blood, staining his feet in a crimson quagmire of water, blood, and mud. He allowed his weapon to fall from his grasp as he stumbled back towards Sarazi, desperately clinging to the hope that at least one of his friends might still be alive. Falling to his knees, hope blossomed in his chest as he saw the unsteady rise and fall of Sarazi's chest.
Rolling the fallen man over so he was lying on his back, Percy was relieved to see that his eyes were open. Sarazi blinked slowly at Percy, his hand shakily reaching out and gripping Percy's weakly in his own. But Percy's hope slowly morphed into mounting despair as he surveyed the damage. The Khajiit hadn't been wearing any armor, and the claws of the dragon and gouged him deeply. Even through the tatters of his gray robes, Percy could see into his chest.
"Hang on," Percy hissed, "Just…just hang on, I'll-I'll go back to the carriage! Find a healing potion or-or-"
"Percy…" Sarazi's voice was little more than a raspy whisper. "Please…waste not your time. This one's time is here. Sarazi knows this. The moons call to the Khajiit." He squeezed Percy's hand in what was meant to be a reassuring gesture. "Sarazi…Sarazi can only…can only apologize. For this one…" He paused to cough, a mess of blood spilling free from his lips. "This one will not be able to-to fulfill his arrangement." He paused to cough again, and Percy nearly bolted to the cart, but Sarazi's grip stopped him from moving. Rooting him to the mud.
"You are a good man…Percy," Sarazi whispered. "May the moons guide you…"
Sarazi's grip faltered, and his eyes glazed over as his head fell softly to the ground.
In the skies above the field of battle, the heavens joined their master as he weeped. For while Jode and Jone could celebrate four more of their children rejoining them in the stars, the world of Nirn would grieve for the loss of their brightness.