The answer to the riddle is an hourglass.

So... this one took a bit longer than expected. I ended up combining 2 chapters and rewriting most of it, significantly longer than the last but I'm quite happy with it.

A massive thank you to all those who favourited, followed and left reviews - Especially the sword waving enthusiast, gave me a good chuckle ^^

Also, I blame any and all grammatic errors on my ball python who slithered all over my keyboard while I was writing. Clearly the only rational conclusion.

Now onto the story.

Chapter 9: The plains of Whiterun

Koraaviik was completely spent, body and magic, even standing up seemed all but impossible - his entire body screaming with exhaustion.

And it was the same for Midwahgein, except her wounds where much more dire.

He changed his position slightly, trying to get a better look of the people as they approached. They seemed to have stopped a bit down the road, halfway in cover behind a giant boulder. A group of soldiers in identical armour to the dead ones scattered around the tower. He could count at least fifteen, armed with everything from spears to bows. His eyes landed on someone and his head tilted in confusion.

Was that a...lizard?

A bipedal lizard. Well that's new.

They where standing a bit taller than the others, a stocky build, pale green scales and worn clothing. Everyone including Midwahgein seemed unfaced by it, so Koraaviik pushed it to the back of his mind for later. Looking back to her, he felt another pang of worry start to form. Her wings had scratches, there were still bite marks on her chest and he could feel her tail was badly bruised.

She was still on her side, on the scorched grass. Like him she was awake and focused but in no shape to fight, he wasn't even sure if she could even walk. Healing the wound on her neck had stopped her from bleeding out, but there was no way either of them was going to take on 15 armed soldiers.

Koraaviik looked around, desperate to find something, anything that could help them get out of this situation. But there was nothing, he knew. For once today he'd like to not do anything, to just drop it all, go to sleep and forget this whole thing. He... No stop it. He breathed out slowly gathering his thoughts, before speaking. "We can't fight them."

"Maybe we don't have to." She responded a bit cryptically.

He looked back at her, and once again followed her gaze to the group.

She flicked her tongue out a few times before responding. "Those two, on the left. The male and female, they were in the temple when we were resurrected."

They did stand out from the rest, they wore light robes and seemed unarmed compared to the other ones. The man had short messy brown hair while the woman's was red and reached slightly past the shoulders. Koraaviik had never seen either of them, and the ropes bore no recognisable emblems or symbols. But if they'd been in the temple that must mean that... "They followed us all the way here, how?"

Midwahgein was silent for a moment as she studied the group. "Why don't we go ask them?" Koraaviik hoped she was joking, she was in no shape to move and there was no way he was leaving her, not before and certainly not now. But then, joking or not she was right. What other choice did they have than to talk their way out of it?

How long had they even been standing there, how much had they seen?

No how much they had seen was irrelevant, the only thing that mattered was the ancient laying dead on the ruined tower. However unfortunate it was, they had to use it to their advantage.

But that balanced on the new arrival of soldiers being calm and willing to talk.

"I can't understand them. You will have to talk for us." He didn't take his eyes off the soldiers when he talked to her, and she merely responded with a silent nod.

Koraaviik tensed as the soldiers carefully moved out from behind the rock. The group was led by the two on the left as well as a dark elf. They held their weapons ready but seemed to shift their focus between Koraaviik, Midwahgein and the corpse of the dead ancient.

As the soldiers moved into the open he gave the group another thorough look. He counted eighteen soldiers, besides the dark elf and the two mages. Six bows, eight spears and four with swords and shields. He finished his inspection with what he deemed the 'leaders'. The dark elf was holding a sword, one handed like all the others. The armour distinguished her from the rest, but even so it seemed to be made of normal hardened leather.

The two from the temple were wearing robes and seemed unarmed. It was more likely that they where mages, in which case it didn't matter, they had their weapons ready and on them at all times.

They were approaching slowly, hesitant, nervous or afraid, maybe all at once. One step at a time, the male one of the three seemed a bit more confident, though Koraaviik noted his hands were shaking.

The soldiers were whispering among themselves, almost loud enough for him to hear. Not that he bothered to try and pick out the words. He knew her hearing was better than his and she could actually understand it.

Koraaviik looked at Midwahgein, her attention was focused on them, body tense.

"What are they saying?"

She looked at him for barely a moment before her tail snaked up in front of him, between him and the soldiers.

He got the silent message and discreetly put a hand on her neck.

Direct contact seemed to be the best way to communicate mentally, though like so many other things they hadn't really had time to test it. Though it worked, and that was all they needed right now.

The group stopped at what might be considered a safe distance. Spread out in a half circle, ready to attack or retreat at a moments notice.

Midwahgein huffed after the newcomers remained silent. A pained but toothy smile spread across her muzzle. "I think they might be shy." She muttered slowly, loud enough for the soldiers to hear. The humans immediately froze, looking at them like a kid caught with their hands in the cookie jar. The two from the temple seemed less startled. But all the others... They really hadn't seen a dragon before.

A world without dragons.

Koraaviik couldn't imagine that.

The male one was the first to speak.

A string of incomprehensible words, fast and slightly high pitched. The man was afraid, afraid but clearly curious. Interesting. That was however the only thing he could decipher from his words and posture.

But the humans had understood her right? And Koraaviik had as well, why was this any different? It made no sense, unless they had just reacted to her speaking without understanding the words?

After a moment of silence Midwahgeins voice rang through his head "He said they don't mean us any harm." She didn't sound convinced. However it was at this moment that koraaviik realised that this might be exactly what they had been looking for. It was what Midwahgein had said they would need.

A human from this time, one they could trust.

Koraaviik wasn't really sure if they could trust these ones, that was impossible to decide at the moment with how little they knew. But the three 'leaders' were definitely an interesting opportunity, not to mention that they arrived with a bunch of soldiers. Leading a group of soldiers meant they have held some authority or at least an important enough position to command this little band of soldiers. The matching armour even more so.

Either way they must have some degree of influence in the local city.

It seemed almost like a too good to be true opportunity.

Koraaviik didn't take his eyes off them as he spoke. "I think this might be what we've been looking for"

She raised a scaly eyebrow, but quickly seemed to catch up on what he meant. They were tense but bows weren't pulled, swords and spears lowered but still ready. Not and angry mob, but not quite a peaceful one either. Still he mused, it was better than anything he could've hoped for.

Midwahgein turned her attention back to the group.

"You were at the temple, who are you?"

Koraaviik blinked a few times.

He understood that again. But how?

The two from the temple responded first, followed by the dark elf.

And he understood none of it.

How very strange. When she spoke the language he didn't exactly understand the individual words, however he somehow knew what she meant. He figured it must've been because of the bond. Somehow it was translating the meaning of the sentence to him. But how does that even - later, he thought. Focus.

After a little while they finished answering and Koraaviik found himself looking expectantly at Midwahgein for a translation.

"They claim to be mages, from a college to the north. The others are from the local village"

The ones from the village were the soldiers, and the two others were from some form of college. So they weren't affiliated with each other then?

The soldiers lead by the dark elf seemed to be asking some heated questions to the ones from the college.

Koraaviik looked questioningly at a bemused Midwahgein. "What's going on?"

"It would seem that our 'friends' from the college neglected to inform the others that it was them who triggered our resurrection" She said with nothing short of glee in her voice.

Koraaviik looked at the spectacle. No they were definitely not affiliated.

Maybe he could guide the subject back to something more important.

"Ask if they have some potions, healing or mana, both would do"

Midwahgeins response was quick and came out more like a growl.

"I'm not taking anything from them." She said, immediately rejecting the idea despite them desperately needing the help. Koraaviik winced as he pushed off her, standing up with clenched teeth. Midwahgeins eyes where locked with his, but he spoke before her. "We need it, both of us."

"We cannot trust them."

Why did she have to be so stubborn?

"They are soldiers not assassins!" Midwahgein was about to retort but Koraaviik continued "And besides. If I understand this correctly, they didn't know dragons existed before now…" A small twitch, he almost missed it but it wall all the confirmation he needed. With the silent confirmation in mind he continued.

"They just got attacked by an unknown enemy, one that we killed in front of them, they have as many questions as we do. There's no reason for them to kill us, we are more valuable to them alive" He finished his rant, looking down to not seem even more confrontational than he already did. He hated discussing things with her like that, but they couldn't waste this chance because of paranoia. Justified or not they needed help. She could always just choose to ignore his opinion if she disagreed or felt like doing something else, she'd done so before. It was her right after all, she was the strongest of them by far.

Midwahgein was silent for a moment, letting out a dismissive "Fine" before adding "But if they as much as twitch in the wrong way I'll kill them."

He held back a relieved sigh. "And I wouldn't stop you." He replied, this time aloud. Looking just to the left of her turned head, he found every single eye trained on them. But no questions or signs that they had understood their little exchange. So they'd both spoken in Dovahzul then, well he always did, but Midwahgein could switch between them as she pleased. He would have to learn to better distinguish it, the bond translating was an unexpected but pleasant surprise. But knowing when each language was spoken would be nice.

She turned her head back to their visitors, drawing most of the attention back to her.

"Do you have mana potions?"

The male of the college group suddenly lid up before shoving a hand into his bag and moving towards them. After only three steps Midwahgein growled and the world went still.

"Slowly."

The soldiers and the dark elf had their weapons half drawn and the female from the college looked like she was about to drag the other one back.

Meanwhile Koraaviik found himself stuck somewhere between nervous and impressed.

Even when wounded and exhausted, Midwahgein still managed to maintain control. However risking the soldiers ire because she wanted to knock some respect into them was perhaps not the best idea.

The mage carefully took the hand out of his bag, revealing a small blue coloured potion before slowly, one step at a time walking towards them.

When the man got within 15 feet Midwahgein growled, once again forcing him to a stop.

He held the potion out and Koraaviik took a few slow steps forward. Midwahgein tensed up behind him, but he tried his best to ignore her for the moment. He stopped in front of the mage, who had yet to move a muscle, eyes focused on Koraaviik, but constantly switching back to the dragon behind him. A quick glance showed the rest to be the same, each soldier stuck in fear and anticipation.

The mage was almost a head lower than Koraaviik, messy brown hair, brown eyes. Robes were of decent quality, and from what he could feel there where some kind of enchantment on them. It was a weak one though, perhaps he was only a novice?

Not that it mattered he thought as he inspected the potion, colour seemed right, if a bit dull. Koraaviik slowly reached out, taking the potion. The mage remained still, seeming more curious than anything, lowering his now empty hand but didn't move beyond that. Koraaviik made eye contact with him, but it only held a moment before the mage looked away. Koraaviik huffed, stupid, brave or too curious for his own good. Only time would tell, but Koraaviik had a feeling this mage would play his part in things to come.

Whatever those things turned out to be

He turned and left the mage behind as he limped back to Midwahgein. She only gave him a glance in confirmation before she continued her stare down of the soldiers. As he came close he held out a hand, leaning heavily on her shoulder. Just a bit more and he could sit back down.

Well he mussed, a few more minutes and he wouldn't have a choice, his legs where screaming in protest as it was.

Wasting no more time he emptied the small vial, waiting only a moment before he felt the effects.

He sank to one knee, moving a hand over Midwahgeins chest to heal the wounds. The black scales shimmered under the golden light of the spell, muscle and skin closing and healing in seconds. Even the punctured scales where restored, if a bit miscoloured from where the ancients teeth had torn through.

When that was done, he let out a heavy sigh before moving on as she helpfully extended her left wing. The wing had been torn a few places but mended back together quite nicely. There where a few light scars from where the grey membrane had been cut, but it was better than nothing. He considered trying to heal some of the numerous scratches as well but he knew he had already burned through most of the potion and continuing would send him right back to where he started.

Saving the remains in case they had to defend themselves seemed the wiser choice. When enemies could be anywhere they had to be careful. "I'm afraid that this is the best I can do." He said, lowering his hand as the glow faded.

She slowly pulled her wing back "You've done more than enough"

"Just...please don't scare me like that again"

He heard a voice from behind, turning his head he saw it was the dark elf.

It was clear that from her posture and voice that she was out of her element, but to her credit she seemed to be holding up. There was a familiar air of authority about her, one that often followed talented leaders. The soldiers at least must have trusted her, for so few to follow her into a battle with a dragon. The dark elf faced a dragon and stood strong, or at least appeared to. Koraaviik had seen it before of cause, it usually ended with the person in question dead - but the dark elf was lucky that neither of them wished to fight.

The dark elf finished and Midwahgein seemed to consider whatever they'd said.

She blinked once before speaking, eyeing the group with an unflinching gaze.

"Perhaps we could make a deal?"

"We have questions that need answering, and I am sure you have a few as well" She said in a sleek voice, eyes momentarily looking towards the dead ancient before returning to the group. It was anything but subtle, but it got the message across for sure, he'd give her that. Koraaviik had never witnessed a dragon making a deal were the benefits didn't far outweigh the downsides and this was no exception.

He absentmindedly pulled out a patch of grass that got stuck in the scales of his armour, the whole thing would need a cleaning really.

Wait, why only ask about information?

Koraaviik looked to her slowly, "we could use food and shelter as well…?"

She huffed, and he knew she'd immediately dismissed it.

"I'd rather sleep in a cave."

At that he stayed silent, she made it quite clear that it was not up for argument. It was admittedly a bit optimistic to ask for that, and he had already pushed his luck. On second thought she was probably right, neither of them trusted these people, and moving too fast increased the chances of either group making mistakes. It was safer to take it slow, though the food seemed a small thing to ask for. He shook his head, she had decided and that was it.

The humans seemed to have varied reactions on the deal, the two from the college seemed like they were about to explode with excitement. Meanwhile the dark elf seemed wary and even a bit suspicious, looking back towards the city before eyeing them once again. Loved ones or strong bonds of loyalty perhaps?

Koraaviik looked to Midwahgein who seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

The dark elf hesitated for only a moment, the two mages as well as the soldiers were all looking at her and awaiting whatever decision she would reach. It would seem like she was the one of highest rank, a general perhaps, maybe a lieutenant? It was difficult to guess, she didn't look like either - but he wasn't exactly up to date with current military equipment. It was pretty much impossible to guess without knowing the size of the city she was stationed in.

He faintly remembered seeing the city when they first crossed the plains but hadn't paid it much mind, simply didn't feel relevant at the time.

The dark elf seemed to reach some sort of a conclusion as she suddenly called over the two from the college as well as a few guards.

Koraaviik could do little more than observe their individual reactions and tone to guess the way the conversation was going.

Midwahgein suddenly huffed in what sounded like disagreement.

He looked at her worryingly, he was really hoping this would not go sideways.

"What's wrong?"

"She said they looked intelligent intelligent"

He grinned, though no one could see it because of the mask.

The two from the college along with two guards turned around and started running back towards the city. They were most likely getting someone important to either witness or handle the questioning. The rest of the soldiers turned their attention back to them, the tension was still high, half of them still had a tight grip on their weapons while the others were whispering amongst themselves. There wasn't much to do while waiting except observe the other group.

The problem was that he'd already done that, not much more he could learn from simple observations. He felt reckless, waiting for some unknown person or message that would then decide how to proceed.

In the end he remained seated beside Midwahgein. Trying his best to focus on her remaining wounds, to see if there was anything to be done while absentmindedly watching the soldiers for movement. Once in a while his eyes jumped to the dead ancient near the tower, but the memories of the fight were still fresh in his mind, the adrenaline and raw instinct. The elation of finding another dragon and sudden panic as it attacked...

The all consuming fear as she fell to the ground, bloody and bruised-

Koraaviik closed his eyes and forced the memory away, hand clenched and breathing quick. The thick smell of blood didn't help.

He let out a deep breath, before opening his eyes - catching a glimpse of Midwahgein looking at him, but she turned her eyes away without a word.

Did she know? Had she felt his fear, or even seen it through the bond? He was about to try and feel for her in his mind, when he looked down and stopped. He was leaning on her chest, skin against scales, physical contact made the connection of the bond much more clear. He might as well have told her the whole thing.

He blinked a few times looking at anything but her, if she chose not to talk now then he would do the same. A quick glance back at the locals made Koraaviik aware of the number of eyes on him. Not that he wasn't used to it, that was after all how most people reacted when faced by a dragon priest. It had happened a lot to him, especially after the Bond had been created. Not that it mattered, fear was useful in moderate amounts, and as long as they stayed were they were and didn't do anything stupid he cared little for what they felt.

He tried to prepare himself for the questions, he wouldn't be asking them of course. Midwahgein would, but he liked to at least get into the mindset so he didn't feel completely useless when it began. It was simple really.

Give them enough but never too much. Keep them interested until we have the answers we need. And what if they asked about the war? They would have to rely on half truths and distractions in places, though avoiding that subject entirely would be best, no reason to poison the well.

Koraaviik turned his head as he caught sight of movement. The group of people who left for the city were returning, but they had a fifth person with them, one wearing dark blue/purple robes. Another mage if he had to guess, they seemed to like robes.

He didn't like the idea of even more people, they were vulnerable and outnumbered as it was. But they needed answers, and he was fairly sure they wouldn't get an opportunity like this again.

Koraaviik was afraid.

But as with most of her bonded's fears, it was one she could not relieve. He feared for her life, for what would happen should they fight again - for what would happen if she was once again outmatched. She wanted to reprimand him, to dismiss it as irrational and tell him of her strength and prowess in combat. She'd bested many adversaries and stupid younglings through her life but...

She understood his fear.

She understood it, because it so perfectly mirrored her own. Midwahgein had taken great care to keep it to herself, to bury it and focus on the present. But the memory burned clear in her mind.

Waking up and finding the bond cold and dark.

She'd seen Koraaviik die once, never again. She knew it was silly of her, to care so much for another being. It was against all she knew, but be it him or the bond responsible she did not really care. It was as it was, and Midwahgein would kill as many ancient dragons and stupid mortals as it took to keep him alive. It was a silent vow, to herself alone.

The ancient had proven much faster than a dragon of his size should have been, not to mention that he always seemed to know what she was going to do before she did it. Getting any hits in had been near impossible. To her luck his anger had made him overreach and commit to attacks that would otherwise have been suicide. But even so he'd been a battle scarred ancient and she had underestimated him.

A mistake that had almost proved lethal. The line of discoloured scales on her neck would be a permanent reminder of that.

But the spear in the ancients shoulder, was an equal reminder that Koraaviik had saved her. She'd always known that he was different, stronger than the others. She'd felt it deep in her bones when she first stumbled upon him. He risked his life to save her, and while she knew that he only did his duty it still felt special, stupid, but special. Midwahgein thought he had died when the ancient dragon let the shout flow. The mad dragon put so much hatred behind it and while feelings didn't feed a shout with strength per say, they could certainly motivate one to put more strength behind it. The fact that his shield withstood it, if only for a moment served to confirm what she already knew.

And now they where facing down a group of locals.

Midwahgein closed her eyes for a moment, wounded and tired. Speaking with mortals was the last thing she wanted to do. But now was not the time for weakness.

The pain wasn't helping.

Focus, need to stay focused.

She pulled her mind back to the present, thinking she might have missed a word or two from their unsuspected guests.

The two from the college were finally returning with a third person. Also a mage if she had to guess, one whose hands were filled with papers and scrolls. Once they arrived, they nearly collapsed hands on their knees, windblown and out of breath.

The two from the college immediately went over to the dark elf, while the newcomer seemed more inclined to take his time.

He looked around and almost seemed to stumble and drop the scrolls when he saw her.

How it had taken him that long to see her was anyone's guess. She regarded him a bit blankly. He did not look like much, but he must have some importance since they had to keep her waiting in order to get him.

The man just stood there for a moment, eyes wide and mouth agape.

His eyes then jumped to the dead dragon and back to her and then to Koraaviik and back to her again. It would have been quite comical if it wasn't for him wasting their time.

The dark elf seemed to share her opinion as she called out his name.

"Farengar"

"Hmm? What? Oh yes sorry!"

"Hold these," he said handing her a stack of scrolls and paper which she promptly handed over to one of the guards with a frustrated sneer on her face.

"So-" The newcomer, Farengar started and then stopped for no apparent reason.

He brought a hand up to rub his chin, before he spoke again.

"You killed the dragon?"

Midwahgein gave him slow look, what a choice for the first question.

"Yes." She answered simply. Stupid questions rewarded with stupid answers.

"I uh. But why? Are you not, on the same side?"

"I am dragon, I am on my own side alone. He attacked and died as a result." She finished, a thinly veiled promise in for good measure. She highly doubted they would try to fight them, Koraaviiks words where true. The humans needed them as much as they did.

And now it was her time to ask, but where to start?

Ah yes, they needed to know the date, something simple like that should be manageable for them.

"I am sure the two mages mentioned that they resurrected us not so long ago. We have not yet been able to catch up with the current date…"

The newcomer turned his head to look at the two mages, before rapidly switching between her and them.

"I...you...resurrected? Like you mean literally resurrected from the dead?" He shook his head lightly.

"That's impossible." he said, seemingly unsure if he was asking a question or declaring a statement. She rolled her eyes. She was not here to argue resurrection spells and the less they knew the better.

"Clearly, now answer my question"

He looked at her for while, dumbfounded and unsure if she was joking or not. However he decided not to pursue the subject any further. Perhaps he was smarter than he looked? Instead he took a breath before finally answering her question.

"It is currently the 7th of Frostfall, Fourth Era, year 201. However, I'm not entirely sure how long you might've been gone for..."

"Give me something"

He turned halfway like he was about to grab and rummage through the pile of scrolls he brought with him but stopped. "I don't have any solid dates on the Merethic Era, very few do. But if I had to make a guess I'd say you've been gone for around...what three and a half, maybe four thousand years?"

Midwahgein was not entirely sure how much that was, she had never really been able to grasp the whole time thing like Koraaviik seemed to. Though judging from how everyone seemed to have their breath hitch in their throat it was a quite significant number.

Midwahgein reluctantly shared the newfound information with Koraaviik.

It was followed by a moment of silence before his small voice rang out in her head. "Four thousand years? No wonder I can't understand what they are saying"

She felt a bit sorry for him, while she didn't suffer under the same problems she could clearly see it was bothering him. She was about to consider what she might say to console him when the dark elf interrupted her thoughts.

"Should we expect more dragons to attack our city?"

That... was a difficult one, she could tell the truth and say yes. Alduin is alive and is apparently reviving dragons who mindlessly attack anything they might deem a good dinner. Or perhaps simply to relieve themselves of boredom or old grudges. And she wanted to, if only to watch them shiver in fear. To watch the panic in their eyes when they realized she wasn't joking.

But then she stopped, If she told them the truth she knew Koraaviik would never let it go, it would significantly complicate their already non-existent relationship with the locals... unless it wouldn't. It could make the city dependent on them since they didn't know anything about dragons or how to kill them, giving them a head start and pushing them into a position of power...But Alduin complicated things.

If Alduin decided to go pay them a visit, the result would be... undesirable. It would be a trial like every other time. Alduin was the strongest, Midwahgein held no illusions that she would fall against him in a battle, had Koraaviik not been there she would not even have been able to defeat the ancient. A ancient who was nowhere near Alduin when it came to strength and battle prowess. A battle was out of the question. She did not know how the humans had managed to defeat him during the rebellion, nor how he had been brought back. Perhaps the humans had kept some sort of record of the battle where he was slain? They were very keen on writing things down so they might be lucky.

One thing she knew was that Alduin had been the leader for the last time. His rule had ended in a brutal civil war against an opponent they greatly underestimated.

Alduin had led them to defeat, once before and Midwahgein highly doubted that he had changed his mind on how to manage and rule a population of humans and dragons. At least without the whole thing burning to the ground…again. Dragons had paid the price for his stupidity once before, the question was how to avoid it happening again.

But if he decided to attack the humans without any attempt at peace? Midwahgein feared there was little they could do but watch.

She would need to discuss it with Koraaviik, perhaps he could use that wonderful mind of his to think up some solutions to the problem that was Alduin. Yes, that seemed like the next step, they had gotten enough information for now and needed to think things through. She would just dismiss the humans and give a more definitive answer to whatever questions they had some other time.

She could ask about the ruling power of the land, the infrastructure and populations. The so called college the mages came from and perhaps get a view of how advanced their magic had gotten in those four thousand years the newcomer claimed had passed.

She turned her attention back to the humans who were all staring expectantly at her.

Oh that's right, they're probably expecting an answer.

Would more dragons attack the city?

How did she say yes without making the dragons seem like a bunch of primitives fighting over little strips of land? She really wasn't in the mood for this.

"It is certainly possible, dragons used to rule this land. There's a good chance that they will want it back. However, it might be possible to strike a deal with them."

She wasn't about to guarantee anything, she knew too well how easily some dragons were to befall anger, greed and stupidity.

None of them seemed to like the answer, each turning to look at the other. Tense whispering between the soldiers and the mages.

"I am sure you have much to discuss, perhaps it is best if we continue this tomorrow?"

Farengar and the dark elf quickly started to protest.

"Why can't we-"

"I still have que-"

She silenced them both with a snarl.

Farengar visibly gulped while several of the soldiers retreated a few steps.

He was just about to speak up again when the dark elf gave him an elbow to the ribs.

"Of course" she said, giving a slight bow with her head.

They quickly started to move, the two mages and Farengar seemed hesitant but she paid them no mind. Once they had passed the rock they had been hiding during the battle Koraaviik spoke up.

"When you spoke. I didn't exactly understand the words...but I understood their meaning if that makes sense?"

She stared at him curiously.

How, very interesting. Midwahgein had not consciously done anything that should've translated her words, not that she minded. But then did that mean it was the bond somehow carried over the meaning to Koraaviik?

She knew his lack of knowledge about the language was a problem, one they would have to find a solution for sooner rather than later. Midwahgein had considered to teach him herself. She'd never taught anyone a new language, one she wasn't actually aware that she knew in the first place.

Finding time for it was the difficult part, they hadn't found anything that could count as a safe space yet, the outcropping on the mountains had been a start. However the nearby village was too close for comfort, especially considering how they had no idea as to their allegiances. Having a possible enemy lurking outside of your nest was never a good idea. They would have to prioritize it, achieving their goals in this place seemed near impossible when he couldn't communicate with anyone but her.

But now that he said he understood the meaning but not the words...that should make things easier.

"I think it is time we started training again, first class is about the native language and it begins now"

Give me all the reviews, every single one.

Also next riddle.

If you walk on the living, they don't even mumble.

But walk on the dead, they mutter and grumble. Of what do I speak?