Post by Injin on Apr 28, 2012 19:25:55 GMT -5
Visions of the Dreamer
Ch. 1: The Continuance of the Dragonborn Legacy
What in Sovngarde has gotten into you today?” Brelyna asked, still reeling from her son’s behavior, “You knock over all of the mead, you burnt several flags, and you kicked Nirya into a snowberry bush!”
“I’ve been through quite a lot lately, mother”, Ysgrim began, “My dreams haven’t been the same since father left for Dragonstar to meet with the local rulers. Has he finally gotten them to stop bickering and make the city under one government?”
Brelyna sighed, “They are never the same when Ysander leaves, you know that, and you should know by now that your dreams have never meant anything more than the fact that you miss him. You are almost twenty years old now, Ysgrim, and you should act like it”.
Ysgrim grimaced, an expression he favored when dealing with his mother these days, “You don’t understand, Uncle J’zargo said that dreams mean everything!”
Brelyna put her left in her face, shaking her head, “If I’ve told you once, then I’ve told you fifty times, J’zargo is a tad antsy to prove himself since Onmund left for the front lines a year ago. He is only telling you what you want to hear so that you will charge after your father and let him tag along. You already made a mess of his negotiations in High Rock; it took him three years to salve the relations there. You are not allowed to leave Winterhold, and if you continue to argue, I WILL send Ulfur after you. You are to stay at the college until we get word of your father’s return to Skyrim, okay?”
Seething with anger, Ysgrim’s shoulders dropped, admitting defeat, “Fine! I’ll stay put. I still don’t understand why you won’t let me see my father. It’s been three years since I last saw him in person, do you seriously think that he wouldn’t want to see me?”
Brelyna frowned, “It-it’s not that son. It’s that… Well, it’s that I’m more worried for you”.
Confused, Ysgrim retorted, “What do you mean you are worried for me? I am more than capable to take care of myself thank you very much. I even slew the dragon that attacked the Winterhold a month ago all by myself!”
Brelyna spouted, “What I mean is that the Thalmor want you and your father dead! If you were both in the same place for longer than a few hours, they would have agents all over the area and your father might be killed protecting you. Do you have any idea how the rest of the world would be affected by that action? Why do you think you hardly see him? Because he doesn’t like you? No! It’s because it’s just not safe, especially right now. His death would be the end of the struggle to save Hammerfell from the Thalmor AND you wouldn’t have your father anymore. Isn’t the correspondence you share with him once a month enough for now? Just warn him of what you saw in your supposedly prophetic dream, and that is final. If I get word that you’ve left with J’zargo, again, I will call up Aela from the Reach, and add her to the group of people hunting you down, understand? I won’t have what happened to your brother, happen to you. If you won’t try to understand me, then just go to another hall for a few hours to cool off!”
Taken aback, Ysgrim stuttered, “The Thalmor want ME dead? Since when am I a threat to them?”
Trying to cover herself, his mother said, “That doesn’t matter, you are the oldest son of the Dragonborn, and you WILL listen to your mother”.
Ysgrim frowned and went out the door, out to the courtyard of the College. He had hoped he would be able to get his mother to listen, but since his younger brother, Zamark, died while defending Helgen from a Thalmor raid into Skyrim, she had been extremely protective of him. What surprised him most was that his mother hadn’t reacted to him killing a dragon. Normally, at least for the last three years, whenever he’d done something dangerous, he’d been chewed out about it. But now… it was just odd of her not to tell him to go to his room for a week or something. By Sovngarde, he had expected it and had planned on escaping after she left. But now there was no reason to escape, at least none that would get her to reconsider sending Aela and Ulfur out of guilt. That was what he had been counting on, and now he had to wait for his father to return from Hammerfell to go anywhere.
“At least I have the practice room,” he muttered to himself as he entered the newest building of the College, the Hall of Meditation, built on the Arch-Mage’s orders. It didn’t hurt that it was his father that was technically the Arch-Mage, although in his absence the Master Wizard had it ordained what it was. That had been when Tolfdir had been the Master Wizard in Ysander’s absence. Since then, the College had been accepting more and more students, as the reputation of having the Dragonborn as the Arch-Mage brought several promising mages from all over Tamriel, even all the way from the Black Marshes.
Just as he walked through the doors into the Hall of Meditation, he was grabbed from behind and a gruff reptilian voice asked, “Guess who?”
Grunting, Ysgrim flipped the assailant over himself, and an Argonian landed onto the floor in front of him, with its red scales glimmering he hit the floor. Struggling to rise, the Argonian began, “Whoa, bad day much? What crawled up your ass and laid eggs?”
“Not now Aleehi, I need to practice that new spell I crafted yesterday,” Ysgrim began, keeping himself from yelling at the wizardly Argonian, “And plus, I can’t just have you grab me from behind like that. I’ve tossed you, what, seventy three times now? Why won’t you just stop?”
Smiling, the crimson Argonian finished rising, “Well, I’ll stop when you finally guess correctly who I am before throwing me. I mean, do you seriously think I am the only Argonian here? Seriously? There are only five of us here for Stendarr’s sake. If you weren’t so easy to sneak up on, then I wouldn’t have any luck grabbing you, would I?”
Rolling his eyes, Ysgrim chuckled, “You have me on that one Aleehi, I am pretty sure that if I had been paying attention you wouldn’t have even been able to grab me. Now, Aleehi, you need to seriously let me experiment on the dragon bones in the practice room, okay? They are the only thing around here that doesn’t fall apart when I cast magic on them. Don’t bother me while I am in there, and guard the entryway so that no one accidentally gets blasted”.
Aleehi hissed, “You got it boss. No one gets in, no one gets out, ‘cept you”.
Ysgrim quickly made his way to the practice room and he took quite a few minutes getting everything set up. As he adjusted the dragon bones, he heard a knock on the door. Pausing, he walked over to the door, and a large Nord woman barged in just as he was about to open the door.
The female warrior looked around for a moment before
noticing Ysgrim, “Are you Ysgrim? If not, I doubt there are any other six and a half foot tall Nords around here, so could you tell me where he went if that is the case?”
Blinking in shock, Ysgrim stuttered, “W-well there are a few others like me, but yeah, I am Ysgrim. Is this a message from my father or something?”
The large lady belted out a laugh before responding, “No, this message is from a different relative. Says on the note that he is your Uncle, Blaosunr it seems. That’ll be five gold coins, if you please”.
“Err… are you sure it says Blaosunr? I don’t have any relatives with that name that I know of”
“It’s for you kid, now are you going to take the note, or am I going to have to rifle through your pockets until I find five gold coins?”
Laughing, Ysgrim agreed, “Yeah, yeah, here you go” and tossed eight coins, instead of five, “You buy yourself some mead while you are on your way back to Winterhold. Tell them I sent you, and you get a discount”.
Smiling, the lady nodded and walked off, leaving a rather confused Argonian unconscious at the door.
“Aleehi, are you seriously knocked out?” Ysgrim asked, noting that the Argonian was looking rather pale.
After a moment or two, Aleehi began to twitch and he slowly came to, “What happened boss? Did you kill that mean lady or what?”
“No,” he corrected, “She was a courier, I guess. Doesn’t make sense that she knocked you out just to give me this letter, but I guess they need to make the courier’s tough now that there are dragons in the skies and hills”. Ysgrim opened the letter, expecting another noble who thought it would be a good tactic to bargain through the Dragonborn’s son in order to get into the Dragonborn’s favor. Instead, the letter began to glow, and everything went black.
As Ysgrim began to stir, he felt a great silky darkness spread over his body, making him shiver in response, “Hello?” he asked, confused.
Hello to you Dreamer. Do you know who I am?
“Of course not, it’s not like I can see you!”
No need to be hostile, child of Dreams, I mean you no harm
“Really now? And knocking me out doesn’t harm me?"
That was not my work, child of Dreams, that was the work of follower of mine. He thought you wouldn’t be sleeping for a while, so he decided to speed up the process. I have already upbraided him for his actions.
“And who might you be, Miss Speaking Darkness?”
That does not matter, mortal.
“The fuck it d-, did you just say mortal?”
Yes.
“So you are an Aedra, a Daedra, or a God?”
Perhaps.
“Are you going to tell me?”
No, mortal, nor do I have any reason to.
“Am I dead?”
No, mortal, you are simply Asleep, Dreaming.
“So you are speaking to me through my dreams are you? Are you responsible for my nightmares?”
No, but I have dealt with the one responsible for that.
“Well that’s a relief. Who could possibly have the power to give me those terrifying dreams?”
Mortal, anyone with a basic knowledge of Daedric Lore could answer that.
“Why can’t I remember which Daedric Prince has that power?”
Because she has blocked your mind to the idea. It matters not right now, Child, you must dream of greener pastures. You will be having a visitor the next time you sleep, a very important one. Do not leave my guest waiting when you do.
“What do you m-“
“Mean visitor?” Ysgrim muttered, waking up from his visitation
Brelyna and Aleehi stare at Ysgrim as he stirs, and speaks as he rises, “Dear, are you alright?” his mother asked, “What happened?”
Aleehi laughed, “He read one of his uncle’s letters and passed out”
Glaring, Ysgrim spoke, “I could have answered that Aleehi, and yes he is right mother. Do I have an uncle named Blaosunr?”
Brelyna’s eyes narrowed, “No, but I think I know who could have sent the letter. There is only one organization with members that have enough gall to sign a letter to the son of the Dragonborn like that”.
“Who, mother?”
“The Blades”
“What do you mean the Blades? Who are they?”
Brelyna shook her head, “I’ve told you a few times, but I guess its fine that you’ve forgotten. I mean, you haven’t been to their temple since you were five”.
“I’ve been to their temple? Are they some sort of religious group?”
Brelyna bit her lip, “Sort of. You see, they are tasked by their oaths to guard the Dragonborn with their lives, and also slay any dragon they can find”.
“So they are good guys? Why haven’t I heard of them before?”
“Because when you were five years old, a group of them kidnapped you in hopes that they could get the Dragonborn to kill the leader of the Greybeards”
“WHAT?! I was kidnapped?”
“You were young, so I guess it is to be expected that
you don’t remember. Your father had just finished clearing Skyrim of Thalmor agents and hideouts, and was on his way home when he got word that a group of bandits had begun an assault on Bruma back in Cyrodil”.
“Isn’t Bruma where dad is from originally?”
“Yes, Ysgrim, that is where he is from. The bandits, apparently, had been hired by a rather extreme group of Blades that had joined shortly after he reformed the Blades into the association they are now. These rogue Blades then took the opportunity of both me and your father’s absences, I was here at the time and you were being taken care of in Whiterun, and broke into our house there and took you. That was how…your… aunt, Lydia died. She took down at least fifteen of the group before being overwhelmed by their numbers. While most of them died then, they still had enough numbers to overwhelm the rest of the guards assigned to you, and took you to Sky Haven Temple. They, of course, were immediately set upon by your father and ripped to pieces. He told me he regretted not arriving sooner, but after that, he made sure the Blades upped their recruiting protocols so that extremists weren’t able to sneak into the ranks.”
“This is all so crazy. Should I head their call to go to them then? I mean, what is even written on the letter? I was sort of knocked unconscious the second I opened the letter”.
“That’s the thing Ysgrim, the letter dissolved into fire the second you dropped it and fell asleep. Maybe they sent it, but if they didn’t who would want us to think that the Blades sent it? It’s not like the current leader of the Blades to be mysterious. Avita Refferi always tends to be straight forward when she sends messages. She even asks how each of your siblings and you are doing monthly. If she had sent the letter, she would have signed it. I think it’s odd though that the person who did send it calls himself your uncle, as well as Blaosunr. I have a feeling that whoever sent it is trying to get you to do something reckless, like be aggressive towards the Blades. That is why, once you’re recovered, you, Aleehi, and J’zargo are going to Sky Haven Temple.”
“Err weren’t you against me leaving Winterhold College before?”
“That was before I knew that something that would override your wish to see your father would materialize. Once you are up to it, get J’zargo and three horses. Aleehi?”
The bright red Argonian perked his head, having fallen asleep while the two were talking, “Yes Milady? Need me to guard your son again?”
Brelyna sighed, “Kind of. Think of this as your first assignment as a mage of the College. You, J’zargo, and Ysgrim are going to go to Sky Haven Temple.”
The young Argonian mage began to shake and jumped into the air, “Excellent! I’ll get my potions and staff packed up immediately” and rushed off.
Brelyna sighed and put her hand to her forehead, “Son, make sure he doesn’t get roasted to death by dragons, if his parents found out he died that way, they would send Dark Brotherhood Assassins after you.”
Ysgrim frowned, remembering something that his mother had said a few minutes ago, “Wait. I just remembered something. Who was Aunt Lydia?”
Taken back by the question, Brelyna answered, “Well, she was your father’s adventuring companion for around a year and a half, back when he just found out he was the Dragonborn. She… well… is Andrik’s mother. His real mother.”
Blinking, Ysgrim’s jaw dropped in shock, “Wait, Andrik’s not my brother?”
Slapping herself in the face, Brelyna retorted, “He is your half-brother. Your father used to have a tendency to sleep around before I threatened to turn his little dragon into a horker. I’ve since forgiven him, but still it should have been obvious to you that he wasn’t mine. I mean, I’m Dunmer, and he’s a Nord. Didn’t you find that odd? Seriously, even Andrik figured it out by the time he was twelve and Andrik can be a bit of a moron.
Anyways, despite the fact that Lydia was his companion, she was his housecarl first. So as soon as he got strong enough to take care of himself, he told her to go home. That sort of devastated her at the time, but once she got home, she made sure to make it so that the local thieves of Whiterun didn’t steal anymore. That distracted her long enough that she didn’t notice when your father and I married. She was sort of heart-broken at that. She kept telling him, now this is from your father’s side of the story in case you haven’t realized it, that I wasn’t good enough for him. He almost agreed at one point, and Andrik was the result of that close call. Fortunately, I was able to dissuade him from taking any rash actions, and he stopped having an affair with her. When she died defending you… I just felt so guilty for driving her away from Ysander and I adopted Andrik. Don’t tell him about Lydia please. He doesn’t know who his mother is, although he still assumes his father is the same as yours. You’ll probably run into him when you pass through Whiterun. If you bump into him invite him to come with you, he has been sending letters to his father for years to get him into the Blades.”
Ysgrim smirked, “I’ll tell that big lug if I see him, but no promises. Last time I talked to him, he decked me in the face and gave me this scar,” He points to his scar on his left cheek and smiles. “Don’t worry though, I won’t fight him again. That big bastard is built like an Ogre”.
Smiling, Brelyna looks at her son, “I sincerely hope you aren’t lying about that. Either way, rest up for a few hours, and I’ll have some supplies ready for you. Sky Haven Temple is half way across Skyrim, and you tend to get bogged down whenever you go anywhere you aren’t familiar with”.
With a whine, Ysgrim said, “Mother…I’ll be fine” and lay back in bed, getting comfortable for the rest that he would need for the journey ahead.
While Ysgrim rested, Brelyna left the room and wandered down the halls, muttering, “I still can’t believe he hasn’t realized I’m not his real mother. She is still in Daggerfall if I recall. If she tries to interfere again, I WILL really have to send Ulfur. The boy may be only fifteen, but he could rip a mammoth in half if he got angry enough.”
Around the corner, a suddenly less than happy Argonian dropped several staves and a potion as he overheard Brelyna as she walked away. “What?” he began, “She’s not Ysgrim’s…? Oh boy. I can’t tell him, it would absolutely destroy him. Crap. I… need to talk to J’zargo don’t I?”
“J’zargo knows of what you speak, Aleehi”, said the overconfident Khajit. “J’zargo has known for a long time that which you are shocked about. J’zargo is also quite amused that you failed to notice the lack of elf ears on Ysgrim and his complete lack of similarity to Brelyna”.
Jumping back, Aleehi scrambled to gather his stuff and stuffed them into his pack, “I was about to come find you, J’zargo. Don’t sneak up behind me like that. Wait. How DID you do that? Have you been stealing my invisibility potions again?”
Laughing, J’zargo grabbed Aleehi by the shoulders, “J’zargo would be lying if I said no, but J’zargo has enough potions on J’zargo’s person to deal with sneaking. J’zargo also hears that you and Ysgrim are going to the Sky Haven Temple. Did young Ysgrim have another of his dreams again?”
Aleehi shook his head, “Yeah, but that’s not why we’re going there. We are going to investigate an odd letter he received from someone calling themselves Blaosunr or something. Weirdly, the man titled himself as Ysgrim’s uncle. I seriously doubt that Blaosunr is the man’s real name, but we’ll find out one way or another what is going on, right?
J’zargo chuckled, “Yes little Argonian, J’zargo agrees with your assessment. Have you stocked up on scrolls Aleehi? You might need some of J’zargo’s fire scrolls to ward off any draugr we bump into while we are traveling”.
Glaring at the prideful Khajit, Aleehi belted back, “I only use them because Skyrim is colder than Black Marsh J’zargo. If Skyrim wasn’t like this, you’d hardly have any customer’s for your damned fire scrolls.”
J’zargo toothed a smile, “So you say, but J’zargo knows you’d buy them anyways. Now take a few and be done with it before J’zargo decides to charge you” and hands the fiery scaled Argonian some scrolls.
Aleehi grumbles and accepts the scrolls, knowing of their potency.
Elsewhere….
“And I am asleep again. Perfect”
Welcome back Dream Child. I was not expecting you to slumber again so soon, but my visitor has arrived just a few moments ago as well. Are you ready to discuss with him, that which he came for?
“No. What am I talking to him about anyways? It’s not like I can’t control my ability to use the Thu’um. I’m practically as good as a Grey Beard at this point."
Bragging will get you nowhere with me child. That is not why you and he are here. He has come a long way to talk with regarding your other power, one that will prove to be far more important than your ability to shout in the language of the Dovah.
“No power could possibly be more important!”
THAT IS WHERE YOU ARE WRONG CHILD.
“W-what!? Who are you?”
I HAVE BEEN GIVEN MANY NAMES CHILD. ONCE I WAS THE HERO OF KVATCH. THEN I WAS THE HERO OF ALL OF CYRODIL. THEN I GOT LOST IN THE LANDS OF MADNESS, AND BECAME DAEDRA. ALL OF THIS WAS NOT BY CHOICE, BUT BY EXISTENCE. IT TOOK MORE WILLPOWER THAN YOU KNOW TO SEPARATE MYSELF FROM THAT WHINING INDULGENT DAEDRA.
“By Ysgramor’s great axe! Are-are you Sheogorath?!”
YES AND NO. CURRENTLY THAT DAEDRA INHABITS MY BODY AND MY SOUL, BUT NOT MY MIND. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY WE CAN SPEAK TO ONE ANOTHER. THROUGH DREAMS.
“Why me? Am I special to you or something?”
MORE THAN YOU COULD POSSIBLY KNOW. YOU ARE, LIKE THE DRAGONBORN, A DESCENDANT OF MINE WHOSE LINE WAS MADE BEFORE I STEPPED INTO THE WRETCHED PLANE OF MADNESS THAT SHEOGORATH INHABITS. YOU ALSO HAVE SOMETHING NO OTHER KIN OF MINE HAS EVER HAD. THE ABILITY TO SEE AND WALK THROUGH DREAMS.
“What are you talking about? Is that why whoever kept sending me dreams did so?”
THAT INTERLOPER HAS BEEN BLOCKED FROM YOUR MIND FOR NOW. KEEP YOUR MIND ON THE TASK AT HAND, DESCENDANT. YOU MUST TRAVEL TO THE SKY HAVEN TEMPLE AS YOU HAVE ALREADY PLANNED. THERE YOU WILL MEET AN AGENT OF MY PROTÉGÉ, WITH WHOM YOU HAVE BEEN SPEAKING, AND DISCUSS MOVING FORWARD. YOU MUST ARRIVE WITHIN TWO MONTHS, LEST THE DARK BROTHERHOOD SUCCEED IN THEIR TASK OF KILLING HIM. AGAIN. IT TOOK MORE EFFORT THAN I WISHED TO GIVE TO GET SHEOGORATH TO GO WITH ME ON THIS, AND I DON’T THINK I COULD CONVINCE HIM A SECOND TIME.
“O-Okay. Get to the temple before my contact is murdered. Got it. Now, what might this contact look like?”
A BITCH.
“What? What do you mean my contact looks like a bitch?”
YOU ALREADY KNOW OF HER. I AM GOING TO LET IT BE A SURPRISE. ID TELL YOU, BUT SHEOGORATH IS HAVING TOO MUCH FUN WITH YOU.
“W-what!? You mean he is here right now listening?”
What, did you think that old Taldos here was by himself? With me in his Soul? I should turn your mother into a goat and feed her entrails to a bunch of razor-backed half-orc swine, while I grate cheese onto your father favorite cod piece for thinking that!
I TOLD YOU NOT TO TALK, YOU BLATHERING IDIOT
And I told you not to dip your willy into pot of grilled leeks, but noooo no one listens to old Sheogorath.
I WISH I HAD NEVER GONE TO THE SHIVERING ISLES. THIS IS JUST GETTING AGGRAVATING. WE HAD AN AGREEMENT. FULFILL YOUR END OF THE BARGAIN, OR I FORCE YOUR SERVANTS TO GO ON PLAY DATES WITH THOSE FREAKY MANTIS PEOPLE.
All right, but don’t say ol’ Sheogorath didn’t try to brighten up your day with lollipops and Cyrodilic brandy!
I AM SORRY FOR THAT DISTURBANCE DESCENDANT, HE HAS GONE FOR NOW. I CANNOT REVEAL THE IDENTITY OF MY CONTACT, LEST ANY OF THE OTHER DAEDRA OTHER THAN THE ONE ALREADY HERE BUTT INTO OUR CONVERSATION.
“You mean the crazy one right? I understand.”
YES. NOW THAT IS ALL I CAN IMPART UPON YOU, SO WAKE UP ALREADY. I WILL DISCUSS MORE WITH YOU WHEN YOU GET TO WHITERUN. BY THE NINE DIVINES DO I MISS TAMRIEL.
Ysgrim woke with a start as both J’zargo and Aleehi stood over his formerly sleeping body, “You guys are ready already?”
J’zargo chortled, “We have been ready three hours, child, and J’zargo was starting to worry for you.”
Aleehi nodded, “Yeah, your, um, mother already your stuff ready and packed. You are so lucky that you have such a nice parent.”
Ysgrim frowned, “Got it. Well, I guess I have to get dressed then. Mind leaving while I put on my armor, please?”
Nodding, the Khajit/Argonian pair left the room while Ysgrim slipped on some Dragonbone Armor, sheathed his Dragonbone Longsword, and put several other items into his pack. He and the others stepped out into the courtyard. Out there several of the other mages, as well as Brelyna, were waiting for them to leave the Hall of Countenance. When they did so, the mages wave at them, all saying farewell in their respective fashions.
Brelyna walked up to Ysgrim and said, “Be safe, my son. There are still dragons out there, so make sure to keep to the roads.”
Ysgrim nodded, “I will mother, and don’t you worry”.
With that, the traveling group left the college and began their journey south out of Winterhold. The first leg of their journey, from Winterhold to Windhelm would obviously take a week or two, but the path there had a tendency to fill with bandits, especially during the Spring Season. Most bandits were being used as fodder by the main Skyrim armies nowadays, but some people still turn to banditry due to cowardice, especially if their crops fail, or they hear that a trade route is unguarded. They are generally wrong.
Ysgrim and the rest of his party soon reach something that tells him they are about a third of the way to Windhelm. Journeyman’s Nook. While they are there, they find a few skeletons, nothing all that odd about that, with the exception that one of them carries a symbol of the College. J’zargo stops for a moment and casts a spell on the corpse, imparting upon him some information.
J’zargo began, “This one was an apprentice a year or so before your father arrived at the College. He and his brother were here trying to discover how to properly store mead or something to that degree. A bandit group attacked them in the middle of their study, but not before this man slew a few of the bandits. J’zargo is proud that this man died bravely, but feels worried that none of the teachers at the college mentioned missing apprentices to J’zargo.”
Ysgrim sighed, “The way it used to be, at least Tolfdir told me this before he died, was that when apprentices disappeared, no one would care. This is likely because the search for magic’s secrets came first or something to that degree. Nowadays it is different, but whoever this was is just one of the people left by the wayside due to the old ways.”
Aleehi frowned, “I’m glad I wasn’t around twelve years ago, then. Anyways, we should camp here for the night, the road from here on out is rather treacherous this time of year.”
Ysgrim grinned, “Yeah. I’ll cook us up some boar meat that my mother packed. You two set up some protective runes on the outside of camp. Wouldn’t want bandits or wolves to waylay us now would we?”
After an hour of cooking, setting up camp, and eating the three got into their bedrolls and went to sleep. However, shortly after midnight…
Ysgrim tossed and turned as he woke up violently. It was dark still, so he frustratedly slammed his head back onto his pillow. However, he began hearing the oddest murmurs. He looked up at the old Nord housing structure and saw nothing. However, when he looked toward the new road that had been built a few years ago, he noted a large group of men sneaking up the road. Sneaking wasn’t really the right term though, as the men were just walking quietly.
Ysgrim woke up his compatriots and silently pointed out the group, wondering what exactly they should do, “They seem to be headed here, and they don’t look like a merchant caravan. Maybe it’s bandits, maybe it’s some Vigilants of Stendarr. What should we do?”
J’zargo shrugged to Ysgrim, “J’zargo will find out for you, J’zargo has always been good at speaking to people”.
J’zargo rose from his bedroll and began to walk over group of men and queried, “Khajit would like to know what you are doing here, friend...?”
The men, still silent, nodded to one another and drew their weapons. A man at the back screamed, “Let’s kill this idiot and take the Dragonborn’s son!” the man’s obviously Thalmor accent betrayed his allegiance.
Quickly, Aleehi and Ysgrim rose from their bed’s and charged, with J’zargo already beginning to be surrounded. Blasts of magic erupted from both sides, as J’zargo and Aleehi cast fire and frost spells respectively at the oncoming host, and Ysgrim shouting at those going directly towards him, “Fus Ro Dah!”, and sending them flying back. Soon though, it was obvious that the trio were going to be overrun. Despite the fact that ten of the Thalmor agents had fallen, there were still fifteen more, and both J’zargo and Aleehi were running out of mana. The Thalmor at the back oversaw the fight and began to cast a very long and complicated sounding spell, and send it out above the group. It shot a flare up into the air, as if to signal that he had found something directly on this spot. As the giant triangle now formed in the sky pointed, J’zargo was knocked over. As he struggled to rise, the orc who had hit him to the floor raised his battlehammer to the sky and suddenly disappeared. Rather, something hit him so hard that his body was now smashed against a rather large rock thirty feet away.
While the trio had begun to fight the Thalmor host, a group of men and women had been watching from the tree line nearby. The battle was now joined. As Ysgrim was knocked over by a magically enhanced blow to his skull, he noted how the people he was fighting had begun to fall to a new group of people. After the Thalmor minions fell, the mage leading them began to flee. Of course, he sort of forgot about something, but that was rectified quite quickly. The same force that knocked the orc away only moments before set upon the Thalmor agent and he screamed as he was torn apart.
After the dust had settled, Ysgrim’s eyes adjusted to what he was seeing. Although he, Aleehi, and J’zargo were injured, they were alive. The same could not be said for the mercenaries who had set upon them. As he fell unconscious from the head wound he had incurred, he looked at the man who eviscerated the Thalmor, and heard a large howl. The last thing he thought before going unconscious was just one word, “Ulfur”.
