It was nearly dawn when they awoke to prepare Beirand and his fathers funeral. They built a simple pyre by the riverside, decorated with some flowers hand picked by Twilight. She insisted that they lay side by side holding hands. Redguard, having no desire to deny her request, set about the task with difficulty as their bodies were already stiff from death. It was all he could do to link their arms together and close their blank eyes. After a solemn nod from Twilight, indicating that she was satisfied, Redguard set the pyre ablaze with his magic.
The two of them stood there in silence long enough for the sun to completely rise into the sky. Redguard could hear Twilight mumble a few final words, while he himself stood silent. No need to waste words on something out of his control.
As they were walking back to their camp in the ruins, Twilight turned to Redguard. "What about the...other bodies?"
There was no hesitation, no inflection of the voice that indicated sarcasm, no care at all in the response. "What bodies?"
The dark coldness in Redguards voice drew any thought of arguing from her, and with hesitation Twilight looked back at the tower. The carnage from the previous night lay exactly as they had left them. Birds and other animals had started to feed on their corpses. A fox had just finished tearing off a piece of a bandits leg. The very bandit she had killed. At first she looked away, but after a moment, forced herself to stare at the carnage. It was a dark world she had found herself in, and she hoped with all her heart this would be the last time she ever had to kill. Her eyes lingered on the bandits mangled carcass, and she mimed the words: "I did this."
She had killed somebody, and she was going to take responsibility for it. The fox had just started tearing at the corpse' abdomen when her stomach flipped. She forced it to settle before turning away and continued walking. She was surprised to see Redguard waiting for her.
"You did the right thing."
Twilight shifted her eyes away from Redguard and tilted her head down, clearly uncomfortable.
"Yeah…I guess I had to ki…kill him…"
Redguard shook his head.
"That's not what I'm talking about. No one walks away from their first kill unchanged. The fact that you chose to see and accept what you've done was the right choice."
Twilight was looking at Redguard directly now. The hood he wore darkened his appearance but those brown eyes always seemed to draw her attention. She had the nagging feeling that Redguard was trying to cheer her up, in his own kind of way and because of that she smiled at him warmly. To her surprise Redguard returned the smile and they went on their way.
----
"What in Tartarus is all this?" Twilight exclaimed staring at their campsite. Two piles lay beside where they slept. One was a large assortment of weapons and shields, the other was a much smaller pile of different small pouches, some smaller than others. Her eyebrow raised as she turned to Redguard for an explanation. Redguard however just returned the look with his own raised eyebrow and the two of them just stared for a moment.
Finally breaking the silence Redguard replied, in a sarcastic tone.
"What do you think?"
"You looted the bodies of the dead?" Twilight asked her voice steadily rising.
"Yes. While you were sleeping." He responded before bending over the pile of weapons and shuffling through them.
Twilight's eye twitched. Not only had they not buried the other dead, but they had looted their corpses. It looked like she was about to explode from all the stress of the past couple of days before she deflated with an exasperated sigh. Collapsing on her knees next to Redguard.
"What have we got."
"Not much." He replied, too busy to look at her. "Some septims, but not a lot. Either they hid most of their haul or they spent it all."
Twilight took a pouch and opened it, seeing only 10 gold septims. She counted the remaining gold in the pouches for a grand total of 137 gold septims. She took the money and placed them into their money purse, and continued to watch Redguard test the weapons. They were mostly swords and daggers and he carefully inspected each one. Finding a steel sword similar to what he currently owned, he got up and left the cave, testing its sharpness and balance against the blade he had purchased at Whiterun. Finding that the current sword he owned was still the better, he sheathed both weapons and stepped back into the cave, and then immediately did a double take. All the loot he had collected had been laid out on the tomb floor. They were organized, it seemed, by length and material type. A grinning, and content looking Twilight Sparkle sat across the row of weapons, smiling at him gleefully.
"What are you doing?"
Twilight's smile widened, and replied gleefully.
"Preserving my sanity."
Redguard approached cautiously and picked up another sword, not taking his eyes off of Twilight. He backed out and tested the weapon the same way he had done with the previous one. He repeated until he had tested every single blade in the row. After finishing he set himself down on the dirt floor for a break. Twilight tapped her fingers on her lap, considering the man in front of her.
"You take your weapons pretty seriously, are you trying to find the best out of all of them?"
Redguard nodded.
"I take staying alive very seriously. Some say it's not the weapon but the skill of the one who wields it, but I disagree. skill and equipment are equally important." He took a steel sword from the row he had first tested and handed it to Twilight. "I meant what I said before, If you don't know how to use a sword. You will not survive."
Twilight took a long look at her new sword. The old iron one was still stuck in the bandit she had slain. She hesitated but took the sword in its sheath and gripped it firmly. She nodded.
"I would appreciate a lesson some time." She said securing the blade around her waist. Though she fumbled, she was able to secure it properly without any guidance from Redguard. Redguard himself stood up and gathered his belongings.
"Maybe one day. For now we should start heading back to Whiterun, If we start now we can probably make it before nightfall."
"That would be best…we could…wait what?" Twilight stopped looking up at Redguard.
"Whiterun is only about a day away...."
"No that's not what I was asking. Why are we going back to Whiterun?" Twilight stood up and briskly approached Redguard.
"I don't know if its best for you to continue on. The trip will only become more dangerous the farther we…"
"No." Came a firm reply.
"What?" Redguard asked, almost not believing what he just heard.
"I said no Redguard. I'm not going back." Twilight's hands were at her side and balled into loose fists, her eyes locked with his. Frowning, Redguard crossed his arms.
"I don't think it's your decision to make"
"Horsefeathers! Of course it was my decision to make, I volunteered for this didn't I?" Twilight exclaimed in a tone of voice Redguard was surprised to hear. Couple that with the fact that Twilight had a point and Redguard was speechless. Twilight took Redguard's silence as permission to explain so she wasted no time.
"I know what you're thinking. I froze. I endangered you and I'm sorry. But I'm not going to find my way home sitting in Whiterun. You said that I was the mare who fell from the sky, Then you must know that I am not from this world." Twilight's expression softened, but the determination and passion in her voice did not falter. She approached Redguard, one hand to her chest and gestured with the other.
"I was taken from my home Redguard, against my will. Believe it or not I was listening to you talk last night. You know what that feels like."
Close, but no, he didn't know what that felt like. Redguard didn't have a family. He just woke up in a cell one day. Life was miserable from day one. But this only amplified Twilight's point. For a fraction of a second. Redguard had wondered what it would have been like to have a family to come home too, and wondered what it would have been like to be taken from them.
"I had a good life. Good family, good friends. And now they're all gone." Twilight continued. She paused for a breath and rummaged around her pack. She pulled out the book that brought her to Skyrim. "All because of a stupid ancient song about the Dragonborn."
Redguard took the book and flipped through the pages hesitantly. All the pages were blank and he was beginning to think that Twilight had handed him an empty book, until he came across a single page with a text he barely recognized seeing in one of Farengar's Scrolls. The ballad of the Dovahkiin.
"I don't know if I'll ever get home. I'll admit it's been hard to hold on to any hope at all. But if there is any chance I can somehow make it home. It will be with you…Dovahkiin." Twilight grabbed Dovahkiin's hands causing him to drop the book. She squeezed them hard and looked up into his face. There were no tears in her eyes but Redguard could see that she was fighting them off.
"Please…I just…I just want to go home."
Redguard was not the kind of individual to freeze, or to be shocked into inaction, but right now he was immobile. Breaking out of his stupor he yanked his hand away from Twilight's grasp.
"It may not be home, But I'm still taking you back to Whiterun." He said, trying to instill a sense of finality, but Twilight would have none of it.
"I'm not going back to Whiterun!"
"Yes you are!"
"Why!?" She yelled, stepping in front of Redguard and stopping him in his tracks. It took all of Redguard's will not to bowl her over, instead he concentrated all his frustration into a single statement.
"Because you'll get yourself killed!"
Both Twilight and Redguard took a step away from each other. Redguard was surprised that he lost control and shouted like that, but he hid his surprise well. Twilight on the other hand looked like she had just been hit by a Warhammer. Her face twisted into confusion and then lit up like the sky at dawn.
"Wait a minute. You want to take me back because your worried about me?" She said closing the distance once more. Excitement apparent in her eyes.
"Ha! You're worried about me! We really are friends!" She yelled clasping her hands together while Redguard rubbed his temples. There was some strange magic following this woman alright, and it was starting to get on his nerves. Before he could even think of a response. He noticed something odd. Twilight must have noticed it too because she had frozen on the spot. What they noticed, was a cool breeze and the stale stench of death, but that was not why it was considered strange. What made the breeze strange was that it was coming from beneath them. Suddenly there was the sound of stone sliding on stone, and then the ground crumbled beneath them.
----
Redguard quickly assessed the situation.
'Can't See. Can't Breath. Can't Move. Pressure from all sides. Dirt and stone pressed around me. I fell. I must be burried...alive.'
Panic began to sink in. He desperately tried to wriggle around and free himself from his dirt coffin but it was no use. His air was running out. Just as true panic had settled in, he felt the weight of the dirt around him give way and a hand grasp his arm.
Redguard's head broke the surface of the dirt, but the weight of the dirt was still crushing down on his chest so he still couldn't draw any breath. In the darkness he could hear and feel Twilight trying to dig him out, just when he was about to pass out he felt the weight of the dirt lessen just enough to take a breath. He gasped for breath and coughed as well, taking in some dirt. Twilight was grunting hard as she pulled Redguard from underneath his arms. Redguard kicked the dirt off him and before long they were both laying down on the ground catching their breath. After a while Redguard propped himself up but was instantly knocked down as Twilight wrapped him in a forceful hug, threatening to cut off his air supply again.
"Oh thank goodness. I almost didn't find you in there."
Redguard pushed her off of him gently. Twilight still continuing to talk.
"It was my fault! I stepped on a loose stone or something and it must've..." Suddenly a hand pressed against her mouth and Redguard muttered a very stern. "Shhh!"
Twilight nodded her head indicating that she would obey. Slowly, Redguard removed his hand and helped her up. Then he lifted his arm and sent a jet of flame into the ceiling. Illuminating their surroundings for a brief moment. His heart froze, and Twilight launched herself at Redguard gripping his arm in fear.
There were dead bodies. Dead bodies everywhere. They were laid out in open tombs, both standing up and laying down, adorned with ancient armor and ancient weapons as well as wrapped in ceremonial cloth. Then the flame went out.
Redguard bent over a little and whispered into Twilght's ear.
"Twilight, listen very carefully to me. We are in grave danger right now. I want you to watch as I light this place up again okay?"
Twilight nodded. Indicating that she understood. She didn't need Redguard to tell them they were in danger. Redguard cast his flames spell again and Twilight looked around taking as much detail as she could. She noticed an archway at the far end of this mausoleum. She also saw what looked like bones dangling from a sort of wire all the way down until about waist height.
"Did you see the bone chimes as well as the exit?"
"mmhmm" she replied quietly, her voice quivering.
"Avoid the bone chimes or we're dead. We'll have to crawl to make it to the exit. Understand?"
"mmmm hmmm." Twilight replied again. She didn't need Redguard to tell her that they were in danger. She had read all about the dreaded Draugr in one of Farengar's books.
"Okay then. Stay right behind me."
Redguard dropped down on all fours while Twilight followed suit. They crawled forward, Redguard illuminating the floor with his flames every now and then. He soon found out that some of the bone chimes reached all the way down to the floor and he had to signal Twilight to be careful. During the crawl, Twilight had stumbled upon some cloth with liquid that smelt oddly familiar. After a quick deliberation she discovered it was oil. Reaching out, she tugged at Redguard's hem. Redguard immediately turned around and upon seeing and smelling the cloth, grabbed it and wrapped it around a piece of timber that was laying close by. Lighting the torch with magic Redguard held the torch out in front of him so that they could see better. Because of this torch they were able to make the rest of the trip much quicker. Finally they reached the archway and discovered stairs leading upwards. Redguard gave the signal to stand up and Twilight nodded. As she stood she stepped on her own robes. Lost her balance and fell forward.
Redguard could only watch helplessly as Twilight knocked over an ancient weapon rack which then toppled over an empty bookshelf which somehow caused a domino effect knocking down every burial urn on one side of the wall, reaching a climax in one terribly loud crash. Twilight winced and both her and Redguard stood rooted to the spot, listening. Nothing stirred. Both Redguard and Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. Twilight stood up and raked her entire body with a low hanging bone chime.
"Run like hell!" Redguard damn near screamed as he grabbed Twilight's arm and yanked her toward the stairs. The bones had barely finished their deathly melody when the collective moans of the dead reverberated around the enclosed crypt. The sound of cracking bone and shifting metal could be heard as Both Twilight and Redguard pounded up the stone steps. several flights later they came upon an old and rotting oak door with a simple lock. Redguard tried to beat down the door thinking it had weakened with age but the aged wood held with stubborn resilience. Redguard reached down into his pouch and drew from it a simple looking lockpick.
"Twilight draw your sword and cover me!"
"What?!" She yelled back at him.
"Damn it Twilight! It's fight or die! Draw your sword!"
"O...Okay! I won't let you down!"
"I'm counting on you!" Redguard yelled back as he got to work on the lock.
Twilight drew her sword and prepared to fight. She starred down at the darkness below them. At first it looked as if nothing was coming. But soon the stale stench of death signalled their approach. Steely blank eyes penetrated the darkness and the Draugr started their charge up the stairs.
"Hurry Redguard." Twilight exclaimed not looking away from the darkness. She heard something snap and Redguard swore loudly.
"Don't distract me woman!"
Twilight cursed the fact that her magical abilities were diminishing. If she could still use her magic a simple unlocking spell would be all that was necessary. She didn't have any more time to dwell on regret's as the first Draugr had shambled up to her. Twilight froze out of fear for only the briefest of seconds, and then the Draugr swung his black sword at her clumsily. Twilight immediately sidestepped the blade and saw it bounce off the wall. She saw an opening to strike but she hesitated. The Draugr took advantage of her hesitance and reared back for another swing. Twilight held up her sword with both hands to block the strike. Steel clashed on steel and Twilight grit her teeth at the pain she felt in her wrist. Thinking quickly she placed her leg on creatures hip and with as much strength as she could, pushed the creature off balance and down the steps. The Draugr fell backwards, slamming against another Draugr coming up from below it, causing it to stumble and fall as well.
"Sorry!" She instinctively yelled after it.
Redguard sighed in relief, seeing that Twilight could hold her own. Finally hearing a click he opened the door to discover a small, nearly empty room with various embalming instruments and jars filled with oil. The only other exit was an Iron gate in front of them. Beyond that seemed to be a large room with a ceremonial Altar at the center. He tried to lift it but it wouldn't budge. He swore again. Twilight entered the door quickly and shut it behind her. She had almost begun to feel safe when the tip of an axe came through on the wood behind her, missing her head by inches. She yelped and scrambled away from the door.
"What do we do Redguard?"
Redguard didn't respond. He was too busy considering the Iron gate in front of him.
"I said what are we going to do now? They are going to break through!"
"This makes things simple..." He replied surprisingly calm. "...We fight or we die. Win it all or fall to hell. " He turned to Twilight and offered her his hand.
"Welcome to your first lesson in combat." He smiled.
Twilight considered his hand and in turn considered him. This man was a warrior, there was no doubt about it. He was so calm and collected even in the face of death. It was inspiring. His courage erased all fear from her mind. She accepted the hand and was pulled up.
"All right." She said allowing herself to smile despite the situation. "We fight together or we die together."
"Thats the spirit." Redguard replied, and in one movement drew his sword and charged his spell. Twilight kept her sword at the ready, the way she had seen Redguard do it.
"We'll have the advantage anyway, if we can keep the entrance clogged up we shouldnt be overrun."
Twilight barely had time to nod before the door splintered and gave way to the first wave of Draugr.
Redguard let loose a large blast of Ice and wind, Freezing the ground around the archway. The first two Draugr slipped and fell because of the slippery floor but one had gotten through. It was quickly dispatched by Redguard who impaled it before it could gain its balance. Finishing it off by severing it's head, He immediately engaged another Draugr who wielded an axe and shield.
'You can do this.' Twilight kept telling herself, doing best to keep her fear and doubt suppressed.
She saw a Draugr make it through the frozen archway and fall flat on its face in front of her. It looked up. It's steely eyes betraying no emotion or showing no fear.
'youcandothisyoucandothisyoucandothisyoucandothis'
The Draugr leapt from its position on all fours. Twilight jumped back, avoiding the attack. Looking around, the Draugr found his target and quickly rose from all fours, attacking Twilight with his sword. Twilight parried the blade, but just barely. Strands of her hair falling from where the blade had grazed her head accompanied by a drop of blood trickling down her cheek.
The pain made it instantly clear. If she died here, then she would never find her way home. There would be no chance of seeing her friends or family again. No crazy Pinky Pie parties, no Spike, No delicious Applecider, none of that. A seething rage enveloped Twilight as she thought of that possibility. The Draugr attacked again, but it was disarmed as Twilight charged forward slamming herself into the monster. It fell and Twilight drove the blade into the monsters chest.
"Kill, KILL!" She could hear Redguard yell over the fighting. She drew her Iron sword out from the Draugr and plunged it down on it again and again, until whatever life force that animated the corpse left it's body. She got up and noticed that another Draugr had gotten through. This one was wielding a greatsword. Twilight didn't panic or freeze. She knew exactly what to do. Nopony was going to stand in her way of seeing her friends again.
Twilight used her Telekenesis to grab a few jars of oil. In rapid succession they slammed into the Draugr's head causing it to stumble.
"Redguard! Fire!"
Redguard had finnished incinerating one Draugr already and had turned to Twilight. Seeing the Draugr drenched in black liquid he quickly shot a small jet of flame. The Draugr was Ignited and Twilight used her Telekenesis to smash a large stone into the burning Draugr's chest causing it to fall back into multiple Draugr, in the Archway. The archway burned as Twilight threw more and more oil jars into the inferno, intensifying the flames. For a moment both Twilight and Redguard caught there breath. They spared each other a glance, and Redguard gave a thumbs up of approval which strangely pleased Twilight. After the flames died, the Draugr came again and again and again.
Finally the last Draugr fell to Redguard's blade. The fighting seemed to have gone on for hours or so it seemed that way to Twilight. There had been too many close calls, and she was covered in bruises and cuts, some were deep and fresh blood still oozed from them. She let her sword fall from her hands and collapsed against a stone pillar sliding down until she was in a sitting position.
Redguard however remained standing and walked over to where Twilight had sat to rest. He knelt in front of her. Taking her chin in his hand he lifted it up so her eyes met his. He noticed that tears were mingling with the dirt and blood on her face.
"Good Job." He stated matter of factly. Twilight tried to smile but she was in too much pain. The adrenaline was leaving her, and the pain of her wounds intensified. Redguard charged up his healing spell. He lifted up her arm, with a long gash from her shoulder to her bicep.
"Ow! Owowowowow!"
"Oh quit your whining." Redguard said and placed his glowing hands on the serious wound. Twilight winced in anticipation of pain but quickly discovered that the pain was actually leaving her. In fact it felt very weird. She could feel her torn tissue reattaching themselves and at times it felt like the pain was...going back into her body? It was weird indeed. After healing all of her more severe wounds he started cleaning and bandaging her smaller ones. When Twilight asked him about it he simply replied.
"It's better to let the smaller, less life threatening wounds heal on their own. Otherwise your body runs the risk of being completely dependent on magic. Blood will stop clotting up, skin will stop regrowing and so on..."
As he spoke he reached into his bag and pulled out a small flask filled with a red liquid.
"This is a very healthy drink. This wont cause your body to be dependent, but instead boost your bodies immune and repair functions."
Twilight considered this and smiled.
"Thank you." She said sincerely when Redguard had finally finished.
Redguard shook his head. "Don't worry about it, you fought well. I'm going to head back down to the crypts and see if there is anything I can do to get this gate open. You just take it easy."
Twilight responded by returning the thumbs up he gave her earlier. Seeing that Twilight was okay for now he started down the stairway, bringing along a torch so he could see. He was careful not to slip and stepped over the bodies of the Draugr who had fallen down the stairs. As he entered the large room he cautiously stepped foreward making sure that no Draugr was waiting to ambush him. Satisfied that he had cleared the room, he stepped up to a ceremonial altar that looked important. The books were old, decrepit and unreadable. And there was no sign of any lever. He looked upwards towards where they had fallen and only saw stone. How or why the ancient Nords constructed such a contraption was beyond him. A number of scrolls caught his eye. They seemed to be in perfect condition. He unrolled one of them and when his eyes caught sight of its contents he let out a low whistle.
"This could be useful."
Just then he heard a distant sound of sliding metal as well as Twilight's frantic voice.
"Redguard! Help!"
Redguard sprinted through the crypt, pounding up the stone steps and scrambling through the remains of the dead Draugr. The gate had been opened and it was now closing. Seeing that Twilight was nowhere in sight he dove through the gate just as it was about to trap him in the tomb.
"Blasted gate...It never did close properly."
Redguard looked up towards the Alter and saw a limp Twilight laying on it. Over her stood a dark elf in black robes, he had a hand on her chest and the other hand was in the process of casting a spell. Redguard recognized the spell as drain life. Realization hit him like blow from a sledgehammer.
"Necromancer." He growled. Why else would there be so much restless dead in these tombs. Drawing his sword, he ran up to the altar.
"Ah ah ah! Not so fast!"
Stone doors dropped, and tombs opened from in front of the Altar. Draugr rose from the ground and walls to surround him. Redguard looked around and saw that there was no way through.
"Do you honestly think that you can just kill my army and get away with it? And exactly when I plan to execute wrath on those brainless Nords. A price must be paid, and what better payment then eternal servitude under my army." Redguard tensed up and scanned around for an advantage. The Draugr were leaving no gaps for him to exploit. It left him only one option.
"Your woman is such a catch too...such powerful magic deep within this girl. She would make the ultimate slave..."
Redguard sheathed his sword, and pulled out one of the scrolls he had taken earlier. The necromancer, unable to see what Redguard had drawn from his bag, continued to gloat.
"I'm glad that you're seeing things my way. How wonderful. I'll make sure to make your death quick and without violence. Just like this girl."
"You only get one chance. Get your hand off of her."
"Fool. You think you have control over me?" He snapped his fingers and the Draugr around him began to advance.
"Die now and join her in servitude."
In one motion Redguard tore the scroll in half, unleashing the magic bound to it. The two pieces of paper vaporized into white mist, and swirled up his arms. Before the Necromancer could understand what was happening, Redguard slammed his fist into the ground, unleashing torrent of Ice and wind. The cold explosion whirled around him, razor sharp shards of Ice, and gale force winds tore the walking dead apart. The Necromancer, broke his spell over Twilight in favor of protecting himself from the cold, with a spell. But it would do him no good. Faster than he could react, Redguard appeared from the Ice storm and leapt over the altar, embedding a nordic steel gauntlet into the Dark Elf's face. The Dark Elf was knocked out in one blow, but Redguard didn't stop, He held the Dark Elf up and continued to pound the necromancers face in. Finally when the snow storm stopped. He reached around and snapped the necromancer's neck.
Redguard hurryied to Twilight, panting hard and his fist sore despite being armored.
"Twilight wake up! TWILIGHT!"
Redguard bent over and listenened for a heart beat. He swore, and immediately started compressing her chest repeatedly.