After waking from my deep slumber, I realized that I had in fact slept through an entire day. None of my companions disturbed me; in fact, I was told that Selene had checked on me at frequent intervals and said that I appeared peaceful and getting the rest I desperately needed...
I did admit that I felt infinitely better than the undead state in which my body had seemed to have entered before my sleep. I learned that my companions had convened without me, and Bella had convinced Selene that we needed to make a trip to the hold capital of Whiterun to inform the jarl of the attack on Helgen. Since I was the appointed leader of this band of misfits, they chose to wait until I was up and about before making a final decision.
I was also informed that Danariel had received a letter from a courier, and had explained to Selene that she had to leave us for an undisclosed amount of time while she dealt with a personal matter. She promised she would return, and requested that I be given her regrets of being incapable of waiting for me to awaken, as apparently it was of an urgent nature.
After filling my gnawing stomach with meat, fruit, and fresh water gathered from the falls nearby, I agreed to make the trip to Whiterun. I'd not been there yet, so why not? Especially needing to meet with the leader of the hold in which I had based my home; what could possibly go wrong?
As we left Riverwood Keep, Selene asked me to give her a few minutes with Bella, needing to speak to her privately. My first thought was, "Didn't you have an entire DAY to speak with her in private?", but I relented and relaxed against the base of a palm, soaking up the sun and listening to the babbling of the river as it flowed past.
Selene and Bella's 'girl time' didn't last long, fortunately. I planned to speak with Selene about her timing and appropriateness of calling a private meeting; Riverwood Keep is HUGE...there are plenty of rooms in which one could convene without fear of disruption, and it was a far cry safer than the side of the road leading out of town.
Regardless, their little chat occurred without incident, and as we continued along the road, Bella made it a point to explain to me why she had chosen to go barefoot. According to her, she had always had the desire to enjoy her country and feel the different textures of Skyrim's land on her soles, however until the strange incident in which the climate had changed overnight, she had been unable to do so for fear of frostbite and loss of her toes. I personally didn't care that she wanted to venture out of doors without footwear; I am tropical, after all, so that was nothing new to me.
I was beginning to believe that the private meeting had been about her decision to leave her boots in the Keep, and again brought me to the whole 'timing and appropriateness' point. I pondered these things as we continued along the road, keeping my thoughts to myself as my companions followed close behind me.
Upon nearing the city of Whiterun, I noticed a major change in the weather. A thick fog clung to the area, resembling that of a sand storm in a desert, minus the jagged bits of sand whirling about and finding every crack and crevice in one's body. I approached a pair of hold guards, hearing them complaining about the heat and the low visibility in which the fog had afflicted them.
"Why don't you remove your helmets? If the heat is that unbearable, and your field of vision is crippled...that would make the most sense to me," I said to them.
"Bah, what do YOU know, elf?" one of the guards retorted.
"Jarl's orders," the second guard began. "Our helmets are a part of the uniform, and until given orders otherwise, we're to keep them on."
I shrugged. "Sucks to be you then, doesn't it," I replied.
"Aye, indeed," the second guard agreed.
I shook my head and continued through the preternatural fog until I reached the city's gates. Another poor helmeted guard accosted me before I could step onto the threshold of the entrance.
"Halt! City's closed with the dragons about. Official business only," he said, the sound of repetition thick in his voice.
"Well isn't that grand," I said with a smirk. "It just so happens that I AM on official business, and you know what? The business is in regard to the dragons that are flitting about. So, how about it, chief?"
The guard growled beneath his helmet. "Fine. But we'll be keeping an eye on you," he warned.
I scoffed. "Good luck with that helmet and this fog," I retorted.
Even though I knew he really didn't want to let me pass, both he and I knew that it was a dereliction of his duty to keep me out, after revealing my possession of important information to the hold's safety. I also knew he was cursing under his breath as I passed into the city. Anyone who knows me well enough is also privy to the fact that I didn't care.
I reached the top of the multiple sets of stairs which led me to Dragonsreach, the Jarl's palace that overlooked the city.
"Riverwood Keep is nicer than THIS place," I said over my shoulder to Selene as we made our way across the bridge to the palace doors.
"Shush," she scolded, eliciting an amused smirk from me.
Once we entered the main hall, I saw further sets of stairs ahead of me. I was pleased at the fitness level in which I had attained, else I would have had several foul things to say about the layout of Dragonsreach and its multiple stairs. I knew it was strategically designed to ward off an assault; didn't stop me from wanting to bitch about it, however.
As I made my way past the large fire pit in the center of the hall, a lovely red haired dark elf accosted me, with her sword drawn.
Reflexively, my bow found its way from my back to my hand, and I stopped myself from nocking an arrow as the dark elf and I stood at the ready.
"What's the meaning of this interruption?!" she growled. "Jarl Balgruuf is not receiving visitors!"
"Whoa, let's tone it down a notch there darlin'," I said, meeting her fierce gaze. "I'm no threat, so it would be in your best interest to sheathe that blade and listen to what I have to say. I'd hate to perforate that beautiful ebony skin of yours. I have information about Helgen, in regard to the dragon attack there."
Her eyebrows raised in surprise as she slid her weapon into the sheathe on her left side. "Well, that explains why the guards let you in. Come on then, the jarl will want to speak to you personally," she relented. I returned my bow to my back, giving her a flirty grin before she turned and led me to the older Nord seated on the throne.
"So, you were at Helgen; and you saw this dragon with your own eyes?" Jarl Balgruuf asked.
"That I did, Jarrrrrrl," I answered, specifically taking the chance to apply my inner pirate while simultaneously poking fun at the Nordic title for 'ruler'. I cleared my throat, pretending that I had drawn the title out purely by accident, and continued. "The last I saw of it, it was headed in a general...'this way'...direction...," I finished.
With this declaration, it appeared that Jarl Balgruuf's backside had clenched tight enough to tear the fabric from his throne. He immediately turned his attention to the balding steward to his right, engaging in a heated debate about the sudden climate change having to do with the return of the dragons to Skyrim.
I didn't offer my personal insight to the truth of the matter at hand. For once, I kept my mouth shut and let the jarl bicker with his steward and his housecarl, which I learned their names were Proventus and Irileth, respectively. When the jarl had experienced enough of Proventus' counsel of appearance to the rebellion leader, Ulfric Stormcloak, as an act of provocation, he declared so with a raised voice, and then ordered Irileth to send a detachment of soldiers to Riverwood for added security.
Again, I was unconcerned, as I knew the truth behind the dragon attack, knowing Alduin wouldn't make an attempt on my home. He'd already reneged on his end of the bargain struck, and he was many things, but stupid was not one of them.
As Irileth passed me, Jarl Balgruuf praised my initiative in seeking him out, offering me a set of leather armor as gratitude for seeking him out to give him the information. I took the gift without protest, figuring that I could sell it to Lucan for ten times its worth, simply because it had came from the jarl personally.
I handed the armor to Bella, and the jarl stated there was another situation that I could possibly assist him in. He stood from his throne and beckoned me to follow him to speak to his court wizard, Farengar. I followed the jarl as he slowly made his way across the main hall's floor, thinking to myself that I was lucky I was not sending him to retrieve a nitroglycerin pill...
The jarl informed Mr. Farengar of appointing me to assist him with his dragon problem. The wizard began babbling on to me about his research, until I sighed and politely requested that he get to the damnable point of the issue, and where I would fit in. He apologized with a chuckle, and relayed to me the information in which he was seeking, and perfectly described the rare artifact in which I had discovered while retrieving Lucan's golden claw.
In truth, I had totally forgotten about Lucan having told me the court wizard had been searching for it when I had attempted to offload it to him. It amazed Farengar when I pulled the tablet out of my pack, explaining to him that I couldn't make neither heads nor tails of the writing engraved upon its surface. He took what he called the Dragonstone from me, almost like a greedy child snatching at a freshly dipped ice cream cone.
"Wait a minute now," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "That wasn't easy to come by. I couldn't possibly part with it for less than two thousand gold," I finished, setting the highest reasonable price for him to haggle with.
"You will have it," he said immediately. "You'll have to see the jarl to be paid, however."
Before I could protest, Irileth interrupted our conversation with an almost panicked declaration of a dragon's sighting near the western watchtower, and implored that both he and I follow her to the war room to speak with the jarl. Farengar scooted past me and dashed up the steps with Irileth. I decided to do so as well; he had an unpaid piece of merchandise with him, so I wasn't going to let the wormy little man out of my sight.
I entered into a helmeted guard's explanation of what he had witnessed. I was surprised the man wasn't hyperventilating beneath that steel, honestly. Jarl Balgruuf praised his man and gave him leave to retire to the barracks, which I thought was awful nice of him, seeing as the guard would most likely have to change his uniform from the urine stained breeches before resuming his duties.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Farengar holding the Dragonstone clutched to his chest like a security blanket. Before I could speak, the jarl informed me that he needed my help yet again, since I had survived Helgen and had more experience with dragons than anyone there.
"You have NO idea," I confirmed, doing my best not to grin. "What we must first discuss is the matter of payment for the Dragonstone in which your covetous mage holds in his arms," I added.
"Agreed," the jarl said. "I will instruct Proventus that you are now permitted to purchase property inside the city," he finished.
"Ah, no," I replied. "I was thinking more along the lines of something far more...shiny...as it were."
"He wishes the sum of two thousand gold, my jarl," Farengar interjected.
Jarl Balgruuf looked at me in silence for a moment. "I need you at the western watchtower. If you will assist Irileth, you will have thrice that amount of gold upon your return," he said.
I grinned. "Then we have an accord," I replied.
Farengar expressed his desire to come along and see this dragon, however Jarl Balgruuf refused, explaining to him that he was needed to research the Dragonstone for ways to defend the city. As I passed the pouting mage, I clapped him on the shoulder.
"It's all right, kid. The grown-ups will handle this one," I said.
I was surprised I didn't catch a zap of electricity in the backside as Irileth and I descended the steps.
"You're quite a mercenary, haggling with the jarl over deeds unfinished and reputation not preceding you," Irileth stated as we passed through the fog that had thickened in the small amount of time I had spent inside Dragonsreach.
I shrugged. "If you're good at something, never do it for free," I answered.
"That is still to be proven," she retorted.
Selene jabbed me in the ribs, moving closer to speak in a hushed but scolding tone. "Will you please behave?" she requested.
"What?" I defended. "I AM behaving. Technically, no matter WHAT I do, it IS behavior of some type," I reasoned.
Selene rolled her eyes. "You can be such an ass at times," she muttered.
I smiled at her. "Why thank you," I replied.
We reached the rally point near the western watchtower, and could see thick smoke mixing with the fog, illuminated by the still burning flames of part of the watchtower's rubble.
Irileth made the obvious statement that there was no sign of the dragon, but it appeared that he had been there. Before I could interject a sarcastic reply, she ordered everyone to spread out and search for survivors. I decided to leave the guards to scour the foggy night, and I would search the still intact section of the watchtower itself. Since that's the first place one should look for survivors anyway...
As I approached, the sole survivor saw me and decided to warn me by rushing out onto the destroyed walkway.
"No! Get back! It's still here somewhere! Hroki and Tor just got grabbed when they tried to make a run for it!" the frantic guard replied, his helmet gone.
"So the first thing in your mind was to rush out into the open and warn me?" I reasoned. "Risking your own 'grabbing' by this dragon to save my life. I'm touched," I added, gently resting my hand to my chest with a sarcastic grin.
This elicited a look of confusion from him, and before he could say anything else, a roar echoed off the mountains behind the watchtower.
"Kynareth save us! Here he comes again!" the guard exclaimed, pointing to the approaching descent of the dragon in which had decided to terrorize the capital city.
"Well, the name's Nicolas Cruce, actually," I said. Had Selene been within earshot, I am most certain that she would have groaned.
Neither Selene nor the helmet-less guard heard me, for he had made a mad dash back into the safety of the tower. I was certain he would also need a change of uniform by the time everything was over.
I stood my ground, however, holding my bow in my hand and watching the dragon as he came closer, just waiting for him to get in range of my arrows.
"Come on you gruesome son of a bitch...come to me," I said as I nocked an arrow.
The dragon circled the tower, shrewdly avoiding my line of sight, whether on purpose or by sheer luck. I drew my bowstring and anchored below my eye as he passed overhead, and I focused my gaze on him as he hovered to unleash his fiery breath.
I loosed the bowstring with a caress, and my arrow struck home in the membrane of his right wing near his torso. This stunned him, ceasing the inferno that was passing through his toothy maw. He immediately turned his attention to me as I readied another arrow.
Well, I certainly got his attention.
I dove from my perch as the trail of fire scorched the stone, and due to my precise shot, his deadly breath weapon was off center from where he had initially planned to attack. I noted his hampered flight, knowing that he would soon go to ground.
"Slay it! Slay the dragon!" shouted one of the guards as it circled the tower once again.
"Really?!" I shouted as I dashed to another outcropping of stone debris. "I thought I'd invite him over for coffee and sweet rolls!"
As I expected, the dragon landed behind the watchtower, unleashing another gout of flame from his mouth and incinerating the guardsman who had ordered his execution.
I saw Selene drawing her katana and charging forward, cleverly cloaking herself with a sheen of ice. I attempted to once again draw the dragon's attention to me, wanting to give Selene the chance to get close enough to slice into his scaly hide. My arrow hit one of the spikes jutting from the dragon's back, which was not enough to distract him from the more immediate threat of Selene.
The dragon hit her full force with his fiery breath, and I watched in horror as she screamed, flames covering her body and leaping from her skin.
I only hoped her magical protection was enough to save her...
Needless to say, this did nothing but infuriate me.
"Oh you have messed in YOUR nest, brother," I growled as I drew my bowstring taut.
Time slowed to a crawl as all but the small target window faded from my view. I exhaled and loosed my arrow, sending it to the fletchings in the dragon's right eye, piercing his brain. A roar of death escaped his mouth as his head jerked up, and then came crashing down onto the demolished ground.
I approached the dragon, taking note that Selene had survived his inferno as I passed her to my right.
"It's yo' ASSSS Mr. Postman," I taunted the carcass, watching as the scales began to burn from snout to tail. I grinned as I knew what was happening.
"Your soul...is MINE!" I declared as I siphoned his very life essence.
I turned to Selene, visually inspecting her for any sustained damage before wrapping my arms around her and holding her close. I was uncertain of what I was concerned with; of the two of us, SHE was the healer. Typical worry, I suppose.
Irileth ignored the claims of disbelief from the surviving guards of my taking the dragon's soul, and requested that I make way to Dragonsreach and inform the jarl of the dragon's demise, as she would take command of the scene at hand. I was expecting to head directly there in the first place; the jarl had six thousand reasons waiting on me for not wanting to linger among the awestruck guards.
As I approached Dragonsreach, a sound like thunder shook the very ground in which I walked, a chorus of voices calling out "Do....Vah....Kiin!"
I entered the palace and made my way to Jarl Balgruuf's throne, Bella approaching me with relief of my survival. I gave her a gentle hug and caressed her back before continuing to stand before the jarl. He was dumbstruck as I debriefed him on the battle, exclaiming that the Greybeards were in fact calling to me, all disbelief gone of the fact that I was Dragonborn.
"You've done a great service for me and my city, Dragonborn," Jarl Balgruuf said. "By my right as Jarl, I name you Thane of Whiterun. It's the greatest honor that's within my power to grant. I assign you Lydia as a personal Housecarl, and this weapon from my armory to serve as your badge of office. I'll also notify my guards of your new title. Wouldn't want them to think you're part of the common rabble, now would we?" he continued with a slight chuckle. "We are honored to have you as Thane of our city, Dragonborn"
"Titles are one thing, Jarl Balgruuf," I said with a gentle nod of my head, "but we also have a financial accord to tend to."
"Aye," he agreed as Proventus presented me with a magical axe. "Proventus will see that your gold is safely escorted to your home in Riverwood."
"Then I will take my leave," I said with a bow, taking the axe from the steward. I wanted to exclaim to them all for being blinded to the recurve bow that was strapped to my back, much like the leather armor awarded to me previously. What in hell's name would an archer have the need of a war axe?
Oh well, another thing I could sell to Lucan, I suppose.
As I made my way toward the main entrance of Dragonsreach, my newly appointed Housecarl approached me in militaristic fashion. "The jarl has appointed me to be your Housecarl," she reported.
"Yeah, I gathered that," I said to her with a smirk.
"It's an honor to serve you, my Thane," she continued. "I am your sword and your shield."
"Good, you can back Selene up on the front lines then," I replied. I leaned closer to the fetching Nord warrior. "No worries, she's a healer," I added.
"What are your orders, my Thane?" she asked.
I looked to Selene, who shook her head slowly, as if reading my mind. I chuckled, then turned back to Lydia. "For now, return with us to Riverwood Keep," I said.
"Lead the way," Lydia replied with a quarter bow.
Ahh, nothing like the relaxing waters of the Keep's indoor pool.
I sat and soaked my muscles, pondering the reason as to why I feared Selene's demise by the dragon. It was fortuitous that he had been so confident in his breath weapon, and hadn't reached forth and took Selene between his dagger-like teeth.
"Mind if I join you?" Bella said as she swam to the underwater bench.
I looked to her with a grin. "All in Riverwood Keep are welcome to use the pool, you know that," I reasoned with her.
"You seem troubled," she said.
"Well, when you came a troll's nostril hair from being turned into ash by a pissed off dragon, it tends to mess with your head," I replied, and immediately knew I had made a faux pas. "Oh...Bella I apologize...," I said. "I tend to forget you've seen it firsthand."
"No harm done," she said with a gentle smile. "Selene told me what happened. She's far more advanced in magic than I am...I'm not sure that I would have had the quick thinking she showed by casting a protective spell over myself."
"You'll get there, darlin'," I said with a wink of encouragement.
To my left, I saw Selene slowly descending the steps into the pool. "Apologies, love. I must engage Selene for a moment," I said to Bella, and then swam over to where she was treading water.
"Rough day, eh?" I said as I floated near her.
"I'm unsure of which was more taxing on me," Selene replied. "Fighting the dragon, or putting up with your crass jokes and cynical mischievous ass," she finished with a playful glare.
"Aww, now...," I said. "You love my cynical mischievous ass."
Selene looked into my eyes with sincerity. "There's no denying that," she cooed.
And so, another chapter in the tale of the Scoundrel Archer comes to a close. Many thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read my post and see the screenshots in which I've prepared for this installment. I do hope you have enjoyed the story thus far. There is much more to come in the Scoundrel Archer's future. Have a wonderful day!
Screenshots taken from Skyrim: Legendary Edition (modded, PC)
Story setting: The Elder Scrolls universe, created by Bethesda