Chapter 16: An Unlikely Friendship
Subaru peeked his head out of the side of the cave and said, "Okay, the coast is clear."
Everyone followed behind the black-haired otherworlder. Seigmeyer groaned, "Ugh... Please tell me we're out of the cave…"
Patches looked up to the ceiling. "Define "cave.""
"If you mean "Are we back on the surface?", then no. We merely left the lake," Aela said.
Erik looked around the cave and hummed. "I don't see any mushroom people…"
"Well, when you see a wild beast going nuts on you and your family, what do you expect to do?"
Solaire looked at Patches, confused. "Are we the beasts?"
The bald Undead merely pointed at the team's Werewolf.
"Go die in a hole, Patches."
Patches chuckled at the irony of that statement.
Subaru held up one of his fingers. "All of you, shush."
The dirty blond looked at the finger with interest. "What is it?"
"You're annoying me, that's what," the nasty-eyed man snapped at him.
Aela snorted. "Believe me, the feeling is very mutual."
Solaire called out to the group, "Good news, I can see sunlight."
Erik breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, let's get the hell out of here."
The group make their way out of the cave system, to see that they're now… in a hot spring?
Seigmeyer put two and two together. "This... is not where we were before, right?"
Subaru nodded in agreement. "Nope. Seems we've gone south."
"Hang on…" Erik said, as he looked around their surroundings, and figured out where they were. "We must be in the hot springs between Riften and Windhelm."
"How close are we to either?" The bald Undead asked.
Erik thought for a minute. "I'd say we're in the middle." Erik points to the cliff behind them. "That cliff is where Riften is, and Windhelm is directly north of us."
"At least we're close," the onion knight said.
"Winterhold is Northwest of Windhelm, but if we intend to deliver that message to the Greybeards, then we need to go slightly west up the cliffside," Aela explained.
"Welp, we better get moving," Subaru said, walking out of the cave.
"Actually, shouldn't we get Emilia first?" Erik called out to the rest of the group. "If this involves the Dragonborn, then shouldn't she hear about it?"
The black-haired boy thought about it. "Hmm… good call, Erik."
"Hopefully, we don't interrupt an important part of her training." The Onion knight commented.
"Nah, we can catch her during one of her breaks, or when she's off-hours," Subaru said. "Plus, we'll be able to know her magic's progress. Two birds, one stone, and all that."
Solaire nodded. "Very well, we go to Winterhold at once."
The party made their way around the water and plant life, wary of their surroundings.
"We should stop by Windhelm and grab a carriage," Aela suggested.
Erik was instantly on-board with her idea. "Excellent plan as always!"
"Cough, cough, simp, cough, cough," Subaru "coughed".
"You say something, Subaru?" Erik asked the otherworldly Undead, who merely shook his head, in response
Patches merely snickered a bit at the roast, and the irony.
"ROOOAAARRR!"
"SKRRREEE!"
Suddenly, two large roars were heard in the area, with clear sounds of a battle.
Patches groaned. "Great… What is it this time?"
The group decided to investigate, and after getting behind a rock, they were greeted with quite a sight. A red-scaled Dragon and a large Demon were fighting near a rock formation.
"ROOOAAARRR!"
"SKRRREEE!"
"Huh," Subaru deadpanned. "Don't see that every day."
Patches chuckled at this. "Wish I had some popcorn to munch on. Just sit back and enjoy the show."
"Twenty gold says the Dragon wins," the Japanese man said.
"Same," Erik added, willing to take those odds.
Solaire shook his head. "Please do not gamble."
"SKRRREEE!"
The Demon attempted to strike the Dragon with its club, but it expertly maneuvered out the way, using its tail to strike the Demon and cause it to lose balance. The Demon attempted to regain its balance, but the Dragon suddenly roared something familiar to the group.
"FUS RO DAH!"
The Unrelenting Force sent the Demon back against the rocks, clearly dazed from the attack.
"Whoa!" Patches gasped. "I did not see that coming!"
"Of course. The Thu'um is second nature to Dragons. It's as easy as breathing to them." Solaire explained.
Subaru sighed at Solaire's response. "Didn't help much against Gwyn…"
The Dragon approached the Demon, preparing to finish it off. However, before it could use another Shout, the Demon managed to regain itself, and used its club on the Dragon's left wing, breaking most of the bones in it.
"RROOOOAAAARRRR!"
Sigmeyer cringed at that sight. "Oooh… that's gonna hurt."
The Dragon was sufficiently enraged, and used a Fire Breath shout on the Demon.
"YOL TOOR SHUL!"
The Demon roared in pain, before its body finally gave out, and it fell to the ground, the flames consuming it.
"Alright, who placed money on the Demon? Erik and I need to collect," Subaru said.
"No one bet on the Demon," Patches told them.
"Dang it," Erik swore. Life just wasn't fair, sometimes.
The Dragon breathed heavily as it collapsed, attempting to recover from the battle and heal its injured wing.
"Should I kill it?" Patches asked, brandishing his spear.
Subaru shook his head. "We can't, remember? Emilia has to be around for it to die permanently."
Patches snorted in annoyance. "Hmph. You're no fun."
"ODAHVIING!"
The group's attention turned to a person, who's voice made it clear she was a woman, running to the Dragon. Most notably, her armor looked very familiar to the group.
Siegmeyer sputtered at the sight in front of him. "S-S-Sieglinde?"
Neither Seiglinde nor the Dragon, Odahviing, noticed the group, and the woman ran to the Dragon's side, clearly trying to catch her breath. Surprisingly to the group, the Dragon made no attempt to attack, and actually responded in a calm tone.
"Su'um, kiir. Your armor is not suited for fast movement."
"I know, I know…" the female-sounding onion knight said, looking at the Dragon's wing. "I saw you fighting that Demon and I ran as fast as I could. Is your wing okay?"
The Dragon sighed as it turned its attention to its damaged wing. "The Hokzii did substantial damage. Rahgot. It will take time for my wing to recover."
"I'm sorry, who's this?" Patches asked, from behind the rock.
Aela looked towards their onion knight. "Seigmeyer, do you know her?"
Siegmeyer nodded. "That is my daughter, Sieglinde."
"Your daughter?" Solaire asked. "What is she doing here?"
The group, however, were not being as quiet as they thought, and Sieglinde and Odahviing did hear them.
"Huh? Is someone here?" Sieglinde asked, looking around. She slowly reached for her weapon in case she had to fight.
The Dragon snarled, sniffing the air and catching scents that others were nearby.
"Laas Yah Nir." Odahviing let out a pulse that moved invisible to all but Odahviing, allowing the Dragon to see the red auras of six individuals behind a rock.
"Enough hiding, wuundunik! I know you are there!" Odahviing called out, causing the group to come out behind the rock.
"Huh?" Sieglinde turned around to see the newcomers, including her… "Father? Oh, Father! You're here! And… who are these people?"
Odahviing gazed upon the group, and prepared for combat, but the damage done to his wing prevented him doing so, causing him to limp in pain.
"Wait, Dragon!" Aela called out. "We are not here to fight you! Please, choose peace!"
"Yeah, what she said!" Subaru added on, waving his arms. "We come in peace!"
"I think we've established that," Patches told his friend.
Odahviing surveyed the group, searching for any sign of dishonesty, but he found none. So, the Dragon merely laid back on the ground, and allowed itself to rest and heal. However, he was still suspicious.
"Tinvaak, wunduniik. Speak your intentions." The Dragon's tone made it clear he wasn't in the mood for games.
"Uhh… So, you can speak our language?" Subaru said with mild surprise.
Odahviing nodded. "Geh. I have trained to learn your language, for situations such as this, wunduniik."
"That's a racial slur, isn't it?" the bald Undead said.
Odahviing shook his head. "It means "Traveler" in your tongue."
Solaire nodded at what the Dragon said. "I see…"
Meanwhile, the Father and Daughter were having their reunion.
"Seiglinde... I don't understand. Why are you here?" her father asked.
"You might wish to sit down," his daughter suggested.
So, Seigmeyer did, and Seiglinde explained everything.
"So… yeah, that's it," Sieglinde said. "Mother died, I came here to inform you. Yeah…"
Seigmeyer, meanwhile, was a wreck underneath his armor. "Sieglinde... I'm... I'm so sorry... I should have been there... I should have…"
WHACK!
Sieglinde smacked her father's helmet. "Father, no! We both know you couldn't come back after becoming an Undead. This is not your fault!"
Seigmeyer tried to muster up a response, but… "I…" Nothing came out.
"Hey, what's going on over here?" Subaru asked, walking in on them.
"Oh, sorry about that. Me and Father were having a... reunion." Sieglinde explained.
The tone was enough for Subaru to understand. "Oh, I see. Well, it's nice to meet you… uhm…?"
"Sieglinde," the armored girl said. "Pleased to meet you."
The rest of the group walked over which allowed Subaru to introduce them. "Well, Sieglinde, my name is Subaru, the one healing your Dragon friend is Erik, -that's Solaire, Alea, and Patches, but you can ignore him."
Patches looked indignant at that. "Hey!"
"Or feel free to kick him," the black-haired Undead added.
Seiglinde looked at them in confusion. "O...kay?"
"So… what brings you here?" Subaru asked.
"I was actually here to find Father, to... inform him of what happened to Mother."
"Oh," Solaire said, before the realization set in. "Ohhh… I am so sorry."
"It's okay," Sieglinde said. "It couldn't have been avoided."
"Sooo… wanna join our merry crew?" Patches asked, with an unsettling smile.
Sieglinde, instead, got up and headed for her Dragon friend. "Hang on, I need to check on Odahviing."
Luckily, Erik was already getting to work on healing the Dragon's wing.
Odahviing sighed as he could feel his wound healing. "Your help is appreciated, wunduniik. Although my wing could have mended itself over time, such a process would have left me... vulnerable."
"Great, glad we could help," Subaru said, giving them a thumbs-up.
"It's kinda weird, healing a Dragon instead of trying to kill one," Erik couldn't help but chuckle at the situation.
"Not really. I've done it before," the black-haired Undead said a bit nostalgically.
"So, he'll be fine?" Sieglinde asked.
"Yep. Full recovery." Erik nodded.
Odahviing sighed in relief as he stretched his wings to their full length. "Pogaas kogaan, wunduniik. It is good to be fully healed."
"You're welcome," the sun-loving Solaire said.
"So, what's the story behind you and scaly?" Patches asked.
Sieglinde pointed to her and the Dragon. "You mean me and Odahviing?"
"Yeah. Every other Dragon we've met here has tried to kill us," Subaru said.
"Is she your friend?" Siegmeyer asked.
Odahviing began to explain. "It is more complex than you might initially believe, wunduniik. I met Sieglinde when she attempted to cross into Gusteko to search for her bormah, her father."
"But when I did, I was suddenly surrounded by all these guys wearing red and silver armor, saying I was under arrest for trespassing," the female onion knight said.
Erik hummed in recognition. "Sounds like the Imperial Legion."
"Oh, yeah, I know those guys," Subaru said, glaring at Patches.
"That was about two weeks ago, and then Odahviing came out of nowhere and barbecued everyone. Would have done the same to me if we weren't surrounded by Demons."
Siegmeyer looked at the Dragon. "So, you saved my daughter?"
Odahviing chuckled in response. "Quite the opposite. The hokzii swarmed me, attempting to ground me and feast on my flesh and scales while I still breathed, had Seiglinde not intervened when she did, I would not have survived, and been forced to Vokrii, to reconstitute over time."
"She did?" the older onion knight gasped. "That's amazing!"
"Yeah, but it wasn't easy, it took dozens of El Donas to get 'em all," Sieglinde said.
Siegmeyer immediately hugged his daughter. "I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!"
Subaru thought over this new information. "Actually, this may save us a trip."
Solaire gave Subaru a funny look underneath his helmet. "Eh? What do you mean?"
"We were planning to get what that Stone Dragon said translated, but if Odahviing is willing, we can have him translate." Subaru pointed to the Dragon.
"How will she fit through the cave?" Erik offhandedly asked.
Aela pulled out her journal. "I wrote what the Dragon said down, remember? Now, she can translate it for us."
Seiglinde noticed an error and cleared her throat. "Uhh, Odahviing's a guy."
Erik's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah, can't you tell by the deep voice?" Sieglinde asked, thinking it was obvious.
"Umm… no," Erik said. "Sorry for assuming your gender, Mr. Dragon."
Odahviing apparently didn't care. "it matters not. The concept of "Male" and "Female" mean nothing to a Dovah."
Solaire thought about what that meant. "So… you don't lay eggs?"
Odahviing shook his head. "All Dov are created by Akatosh. We do not age and we do not reproduce. We Ahkos. Exist."
Subaru nodded, and sighed. "Yeah, that checks out."
"Anyways, what's this translation you need?" Sieglinde asked.
Alea holds out her notebook. "Here."
"Okay, are you up for that, Odah?" she asked her Dragon friend.
Odahviing obliged the request. "It will be a simple matter."
Erik flashed them a big grin. "Great! Much appreciated."
Solaire decided to be the one to read the Dovahzuul sentences aloud, as he had the most experience with it, and Odahviing listened and translated.
"The first sentence is "The Dragonborn has returned."" The Dragon translated.
"Ah-ha!" Subaru snapped his fingers. "So he did react to Emilia!"
Solaire looked to be in thought. "Yes, the Dragon phrased it like a question, like it was wanting confirmation."
"Okay, what's the next part?" Siegmeyer asked.
"The second one says, "If the Dragonborn has returned, then the World Eater, Alduin, has come. It is end of all.""
Patches blinked at that revelation. "I'm sorry, the who now?"
Odahviing began to explain. "Firstborn of Akatosh. Alduin is the greatest and most powerful of all Dov. It is his duty to bring about the end of all that is so that a new world may take its place."
Subaru's eyes widened in realization. "To reset the cycle…"
Odahviing nodded as he continued. "However... Four hundred years ago, before the Dragon War and after the Great Calamity occurred, Alduin abandoned his duty. In his pride and power, he wished to rule the world instead of destroying it like he was supposed to. His Pahlok, his arrogance grew, and he waged war on the world with all Dov at his side. Myself included."
Siegmeyer began to grasp the gravity of the situation. "Oh, dear…"
"He was soon defeated, and the humans used an Elder Scroll to send him forward in time, hoping he would return when the World neared its end, and he would fulfill his duty... but he emerged too early."
"Oh, is that so?" Subaru asked, as he began to sweat nervously.
Erik, however, took notice of that. "Subaru? You okay?"
"Yeah, yeah!" The Japanese man lied, "Totally chill."
Odahviing noticed the tone and expression, and leaned forward to sniff Subaru. "You... you have already met Alduin. The Faas, the fear, is undeniable."
Aela looked towards Subaru. "I'm sorry, you already what?"
"I... think so…" Subaru said. "Y'all heard about Helgen, right?"
Sieglinde had no idea what any of that meant. "Who?"
"The town south of Riverwood? It was attacked by a Dragon," Aela said.
"What about it?" Patches asked, disinterested as ever.
"... Me and Emilia were there." The rest of the group were taken aback.
Patches started to see where this was going. "Ohhh…"
"Right when Emilia was about to be executed, a black scaled Dragon came out of nowhere and burned the whole village to ash. Me, Emilia, and Ralof were lucky to make it out…"
"I'm assuming that was Alduin?" Solaire asked.
Odahviing nodded. "You are correct. Alduin emerged from his temporal journey, and I can only assume he took his Rahgot out on that Village. It is a miracle any escaped at all.'
Erik started to realize the situation. "Yaaaaay…"
"Soon after, he had begun to resurrect our brethren, starting with me." The Dragon continued.
"Okaaay… why?" Seigmeyer didn't seem to understand.
"It is simple. He wishes to rebuild his Lahvu, his army."
"Are you going to listen to him?" Aela asked, narrowing her eyes.
Odahviing shook his head. "Not truly. I have begun to doubt Alduin's worthiness as the leader of Dov, but we cannot stop him."
Subaru put two and two together. "Too many followers who are?"
"It is in a Dovah's natural instinct to dominate and control. Alduin's victory would mean ruling over all."
"Great, the end of the world," Patches said. "Smoke 'em while you got 'em."
Odahviing looked a bit confused as he continued his explanation. "I do not know how Alduin intends to gain victory this time, but he seems… confident in victory, more so than last time."
"Can we even beat that guy?!" Erik shouted.
"There is one... a Dovahkiin. Alduin's return would also entail another Dovahkiin to arise."
"A Dragonborn," Solaire realized. "Miss Emilia."
"If you know this Dovahkiin, then I must speak with her. To determine if she is capable of standing against Alduin." Odahviing explained.
"All right, you all heard the Dragon," Subaru said. "We're going to Winterhold, right now."
Odahviing sighed, gaining the group's attention again. "Unfortunately, I cannot join you. Krosis. If others were to see me, it could raise Faast."
"Then we'll just pass along the message," Solaire said. "Thank you for your assistance."
"Wait, should Odahviing just stay out here? What if another Demon like that one came along?" Sieglinde asked, concerned for her friend.
"Hmm… okay, new plan. We'll bring her along with us, but we won't bring her into Winterhold. Sieglinde can keep an eye on her, and if there's trouble, she can tell us," Subaru suggested.
Solaire came up with an even better idea. "Or, we bring him to those who are the most qualified to deal with Dragons and the Dragonborn. The Greybeards would likely give Odahviing refuge with them, and their council along with Odahviing would allow us to see how much stronger Emilia needs to be in order to face Alduin."
Subaru groaned. "Fine, we do that plan."
"Odahviing, head for High Hrothgar, atop the Throat of the World. Speak with the Greybeards and tell them Solaire of Astora sent you," Solaire explained to the Dragon.
Odahviing nodded as he stretched his wings, preparing to take off. "I understand. May Akatosh protect you, wuundunik."
So, Odahviing took off the ground and took to the skies, heading for High Hrothgar.
"Aight, let's meet up with Emilia," Subaru sighed.
Authors' Notes: There's been quite some changes now, huh?
Seiglinde has joined the party! For those who don't know, she's Siegmeyer's daughter, who wears the exact same armours as her father, and in the original Dark Souls, if you leave the two of them alone and the right conditions are met, she'll end up grieving over her father's corpse by the end of the game. We're gonna try and prevent that in this story. (Not to mention, the Party also has Odahviing as an ally. He won't be around them 24/7, but he will be able to help them out if they're in a jam. Those of you that played Skyrim will know what I mean.) Now, for the comments!
5queso: Yeah, Subaru has very little patience for ceremony, and he still uses comedy to deal with things, so when he's reading something no one else can, he's gonna interpret it like someone would an Oversimplified Video. And Subaru casually mentioning that he grew Flugel's Tree is foreshadowing something else to come. See you then!
SenSlice: Subaru knows only a bit of Dragon Language, like how most Americans know the basics of Spanish. The reason Subaru looked confused at Emilia being unable to read the writing on the wall was because, first, he figured a Half-Elf (and one who has lived for quite a while) would have picked up a thing or two, and second, he had some suspicions that she was the Dragonborn, or at the very least, had something to do with them. (We never meant to imply Subaru knew Dovahzul. I mean, would you be surprised if a Japanese person didn't know Japanese? Same with Emilia, despite being the Dragonborn.)
Kfhjoofff: Capella llegará pronto y será un problema, créeme. (Incluso más de lo normal).
Obtuse_Rubbergoose: Patches is basically the Deadpool of every single FromSoft game he's in, Infinite and I just cranked it up to eleven.
And now, for the last bit of shilling…
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Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!
- Ernalore & Infinite the Celestian