//------------------------------// // Chapter 44: Dragons and Goats // Story: The Equine Scrolls: SkyFiM // by FireOfTheNorth //------------------------------// Chapter XLIV: Dragons and Goats “Let us begin with the Cloven Hoof, the so-called ‘mad-goats’ of the Karth.” After leaving Mare’s Reach, we headed south through the night toward Broken Horn Redoubt. Our path was far from short, however, as we were forced to detour around the Karth’s mountains more often than I would’ve liked. As we circled yet another peak, I caught sight of light in the distance. But, it was too early to be dawn, and the light was coming from the wrong direction. Climbing a ridge, we found the source of the light. A small valley nestled between the soaring mountains was ablaze. A dragon could be seen circling around in the smoke and raining even more fire down onto the valley. Between the raging fires ran a small collection of goats, desperately struggling to fight back at the dragon. Climbing over the ridge, we rushed down into the valley to help them. Dodging the fires hungrily eating the dry mountain grasses, we closed the distance with the flying lizard. As we neared, I began to shoot ice spikes at its underbelly, and Mephalda let fly a flurry of arrows. The dragon turned our attention toward us, and we were forced to dodge out of the way as it bathed the land in fire. I shot lightning at the dragon, trying to draw its attention and force it to come in range of my swords, but it refused to land. I was forced to roll through the maze of flames as it tried to burn us up. Seeing no other option, I focused my thoughts for a Shout. <<>> Roaring in pain, the dragon’s wings stopped working and it fell from the sky, landing on its own fire. Many of the goats rushed in to attack the beast now that it was grounded. They began hacking at its flesh with their makeshift weapons, though it thrashed about uncontrollably, impaling a few of them with its spines. I shot lightning at its face while I galloped in. Drawing both my swords, I slashed at the dragon’s nose. Its eyes cleared as Dragonrend wore off and attempted to snap me up in its massive jaws. A strike from Steadfast’s warhammer knocked its head aside, allowing me to sprint out of danger. Running under the dragon’s wing, I slashed my swords up through the membrane, hoping to keep it from taking off again. On the other side of the beast, Mystic was torching the other with fire, burning holes through the membrane. Working together, we were able to ground it. I ducked down to the ground, sliding as the dragon’s tail whipped over me, catching my helmet and throwing it off. I watched it bounce away, but had no time to retrieve it as the dragon twisted its head around to breathe fire at me. I finished downing a potion of fire resistance just as the flames hit me. The fire continued to follow me until I made my way around toward the dragon’s head, both my swords ready to carve up its face. The flames suddenly cut off as Mephalda scored a hit in one of the dragon’s eyes. Its head thrashed around as it searched for who had robbed it of sight. <<>> I Shouted, knocking its head to the ground. Running up, I was able to pull myself onto its neck before it recovered. With the Blade of Hoofingar, I slashed at the scales, knocking them aside reveal the flesh beneath. Using Calcion’s Cleaver, I stabbed into the dragon’s neck, sending lightning charging beneath its scales. As the dragon swung its head around to throw me off, I held tightly to one of its spines. However, I was still thrown about quite a bit and held on even tighter after the sharp-edged growth nearly took off my ear. Eventually it stopped struggling and held itself upright. As it began to lean backwards, I realized what it was about to do. It was going to fall on its back and crush me, cutting me to ribbons as the spines would be forced through my body. As it began its fall, I crawled around to the front of its neck, which was now on top. Unexpectedly, the dragon suddenly stopped itself with its tail and pushed itself forward. I’d played right into its trap, and now it was going to crush me from the front. As the dragon fell forward, I drew both my swords and held them in front of me. If I was going down, the dragon was coming with me. As the dragon’s head struck the ground, my blades were forced through its neck. Choking on the swords, the dragon died. I was still crushed beneath, however, the weight of the dragon choking the life out of me. As the dragon combusted, black spots began to appear before my eyes. They were quickly replaced by memories of things the dragon had experienced in its extremely long life. I learned the importance of time, and how it flowed onward, carrying all of us in its wake. I even learned how I could command the flow around me to slow using my Voice. I Shouted at the culmination of the memories. Time slowed around me as my friends ran up to where I was stuck beneath the dragon. In slow motion, I watched as they worked together to lift the skeleton off of me. Time snapped back to normal as Mystic used her magic to bend the armor around my chest back into shape. Finally I could breathe again! I took deep breaths to fill my lungs, relishing the air I was taking in. When I felt strong enough, I stood, and Mephalda returned my helmet to me. After bandaging up the minor wounds I had taken on in the fight, I turned my attention to the goats nearby who were tending to their own wounds. “Dragonslayer,” one of the goats addressed me, “You have our thanks, even if you are a pony.” I frowned a bit at the condition the goat had tacked onto the end, but figured it was a good sign they hadn’t killed us on sight. Their greeting was especially warm, considering how I had betrayed them and caused the destruction of their capital. Of course, I didn’t plan on mentioning that fact. “Could you help us find Broken Horn Redoubt?” I asked the goat while he was in a good mood, “We’ve been having a bit of trouble getting through the mountains.” “Of course,” the goat replied, “There are none who know the mountains of the Karth better than its true inhabitants.” I took it his reply was an agreement to take us to Broken Horn Redoubt, as the goat began to lead his party away from the burning valley and didn’t object when we followed. ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ With the assistance of the goats, we made it to Broken Horn Redoubt in no time. The way they knew their way through the twisting passages of the Karth amazed me. When we were still a ways off, I could see that Broken Horn Redoubt was not an abandoned ruin. More goats milled about the doorway, and rough tents and campfires were set up around it. Like Mare’s Reach, Broken Horn Redoubt was built into the side of a mountain, with stone stairs leading up to the entrance. There were no arches here, however, and the set of stairs was divided in half by a massive stone statue. Though the stone had been worn down by the years, it was still clear what it depicted. An earth pony with a battleaxe stood over a cowering unicorn, his horn snapped off at the base, which was probably what the name of this place had come from. As we trotted up the steps, a few of the goats camped above came to meet us. A goat in a wooden crown that appeared to be a local chieftain was flanked by a few goats with spears. I got a bad feeling from the look on his face. “How d-a-a-a-re you bring these ponies here!” the chieftain yelled at the leader of the group of goats we had saved. “They helped us to defeat a dragon,” our guide explained, “In return, all they asked was to be led here.” “Do you know who these ponies are?” the chieftain fumed, “This one here led the intruders to Caprika Redoubt!” As he finished, he pointed his cloven hoof at me. The goats around us drew their weapons, bleating in surprise at the revelation. “What I did was very wrong,” I apologized, “And I am very sorry for what I did. If there is any way I can make things up to you-” “We don’t want your apologies or your favors!” the chieftain cut me off, “We want your head on a pike to be paraded around as an example of what happens to traitors!” A bubble of protection suddenly sprung up around us from Mystic’s horn. The Cloven Hoof’s weapons shattered against its magical surface as they tried to strike us. Drawing our own weapons, we were ready to defend ourselves when the ward fell. The chieftain retreated up the stairs as his guards fell to strikes from Calcion’s Cleaver and the Blade of Hoofingar. A goat with a war axe swung at me, but I was easily able to block it with my swords. Throwing the weapon from her mouth, I slashed through her neck. Another goat with a sword that looked to be made from bones attacked me. Blocking with my ebony sword, I impaled him with Calcion’s Cleaver. Pushing through the goats, I rushed up the steps toward where the chieftain was standing. He had a staff grasped in his teeth and began to shoot balls of green fire at me as I approached. Dodging his fiery blasts, I closed the distance and slashed at him with Calcion’s Cleaver. He blocked using the staff, pushing me back down the stairs. I swung at him again, this time for his head, and once more he blocked with his staff. Pulling my ancient earth pony sword back, I swung for his legs. As he moved to block, I altered the path of my weapon and brought it down over his staff. The blade cut through, and green magic spilled from the break, pushing both of us back with the force of the blast. Defenseless, the chieftain tried to back away, but I wasn’t going to let him escape. Anger burning in my eyes, I advanced on him, Calcion’s Cleaver crackling gleefully with lightning. “No! Stop!” the goat pleaded as he ran out of space, backing against one of the tents. Lifting my sword into the air, brought it down on the goat. My blade cut right through his body, piercing the tent behind him. As the cloth fell away, it revealed a goat and her kid huddled inside. Pulling Calcion’s Cleaver from the chieftain, I prepared to run them through. “Sapphire the Butcher!” the kid exclaimed, breaking free of his mother’s grasp and running away. I suddenly felt very numb, and my sword fell from my magical grasp. The kid’s statement had hit me hard. What was I doing, about to kill a defenseless kid and his mother? Did the goats really see me as a butcher? And the most important question: Were they right about me? I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the horrified expression on the face of the goat within the tent as I retrieved my weapon and cleaned the chieftain’s blood off. In a daze, I sheathed my weapon and turned away, heading toward the entrance of the Broken Horn Redoubt. “Are you all right?” Mephalda asked worriedly as I joined the group. “I’ll talk about it later,” I promised, almost more to myself than to the pegasus standing before me, “Right now, let’s just get through this ruin and hopefully find a way to Sovngarde.” Though she still had a worried look on her face, Mephalda pushed open the massive iron doors to Broken Horn Redoubt. As we stepped inside, I took one last look at the remaining goats, who were darting away from the camp as fast as their legs could carry them. Shaking the kid’s words from my head, I entered the ruin. A large hall greeted us upon entering Broken Horn Redoubt. Due to the fact that the goats had been using this place as a camp, the entry hall had been completely picked clean of anything valuable long ago. Even the braziers on the walls had been pried off and replaced with torch sconces. Traveling down the tunnel at the end of the hall, we found several dead Draugr as well as the bodies of goats that had no doubt died when this ruin’s defenders had come back to life. Eventually, proof of goats using the ruin as their dwelling dwindled. Apparently they’d had no interest in delving into the deeper parts of the ancient earth pony fortress. As we entered yet another passageway carved into the mountain, the inevitable happened. From the tombs set into the walls, fresh Draugr emerged. As one emerged from the wall next to me, I instantly struck it down with Calcion’s Cleaver. But there were far more crawling out of the walls down the hall. Shots from Mephalda’s bow dropped two of them before they could get close, and fireballs from Mystic took out another. As the horde reached us, I swiped at the first with my ancient earth pony sword. Its own sword came up to block mine, halting my strike. Pulling back, I struck again, only to find my sword blocked again. The Draugr slowly forced my blade down to the ground before whipping its own up at my face. The sword merely nicked my cheek as I jumped back. Swinging my sword around, I knocked the Draugr’s aside. My blade was blocked from striking the zombie, but I still had my magic. From my horn I sent a blast of fire into the Draugr’s face. Squealing, it backed off, and I separated its head from its body with my sword. Drawing the Axe of Whitetrot, I stepped over my fallen adversary and took on the Draugr with a greatsword standing before me. As it swung the weapon at me, I blocked, pushing the blade away. Its next swing also failed as I blocked, forcing the Draugr back. As it tripped over a Draugr one of my friends had killed, I seized the opportunity and lit the zombie on fire. As it fell to the floor, I searched for a new target. Near the end of the hall was a Draugr shooting arrows at us. It focused its shots on me as I began to send ice spikes flying down the hall at it. Slashing through another Draugr with the Axe of Whitetrot, I galloped toward the archer. One of its arrows suddenly struck me in my fetlock, causing me to trip and tumble forward. Picking myself up, I pulled the arrow out. Favoring my injured leg, I continued to advance toward the Draugr. With Calcion’s Cleaver, I cut through the bow, rending it into two pieces. Next I brought my sword down on the Draugr’s head, killing it instantly. Passing by the now-dead archer, we entered the next room, a large banquet hall where a few Draugr with greatswords roamed about. They turned toward us, eyes glowing blue, as we entered. <<>> I Shouted, swiftly closing the distance with one of them. My swords clashed with the zombie’s sword, sparks flying from where the blades met. As I brought my ebony sword around toward its side, it moved its greatsword to block. While it did so, I brought Calcion’s Cleaver around toward its now undefended side. <> The Draugr’s Shout took me of guard, sending me tumbling back across the floor. Rising to my hooves, I saw Steadfast was now attacking the Draugr I’d been fighting. After the zombie had blocked a few of Steadfast’s swings, he brought his warhammer down onto the blade, shattering it. A moment later, Steadfast was thrown back as the Draugr Shouted again. Racing in, I struck before the undead warrior could Shout again, raining blows down on its armored back. Calcion’s Cleaver I slammed through the back of the zombie’s head, sending lightning coursing over its body until it fell over dead. Running past a Draugr Mystic had coated in ice, I attacked another member of the undead army. Using Calcion’s Cleaver, I beat the zombie back. As I was about to make the killing blow, an arrow struck me in my hindleg just above the boot, and I missed. The Draugr I was fighting swung for my head, but I was able to dodge and take out its forelegs with my own swords. As it fell over, I sliced Calcion’s Cleaver through its throat. I whirled around at where the arrow that’d hit me had come from, nearly being hit again in the process. A line of windows ran along the top of the banquet hall, and a few Draugr archers were shooting through them. Though some of them were focused on Mephalda, the rest were shooting down at the rest of us. I sent ice spikes flying at the Draugr that’d hit me until I managed to shoot one through its forehead. Pulling the arrow from my hindleg, I turned toward the other archers, assisting Mephalda in taking them out. At last all the Draugr in the hall were dead, and our work here was done. Those of us who had weapons cleaned the ichor off using some old tapestries before moving on. Through the heavy iron doors was a passageway that led deeper down into the mountain. The walls were inscribed with scenes depicting the conquests of the pony who was buried here. At least, I assumed they were. Each of the murals depicted the earth pony with a battleaxe we’d seen outside crushing all manner of creatures, but most of all unicorns. On pedestals beneath the murals where unicorns were defeated were clay jars. I made the mistake of knocking one over. Out of it spilled a multitude of multicolored cones. Apparently the builder of this fortress had enjoyed taking the horns of his defeated enemies as souvenirs. Eventually the passage came to an end, with another large iron door set into the wall. On either side of it was a Draugr sitting in a throne. I had too much experience in Draugr ruins to expect them to stay dead. I shot an ice spike at the one on the left as Mephalda shot an arrow at the one on the right. Both our shots hit right on, sticking in the Draugr’s heads, but they didn’t seem fazed. Blue lights lit in their eyes as they rose from their thrones and drew battleaxes from their backs, our projectiles still stuck in their foreheads. Mephalda shot more arrows into the one she had struck, and Mystic assisted with magical blasts to slow it down as it charged her. I began to shoot more ice spikes at my target, growing frantic to stop it before it reached me. As I reached for my swords, Steadfast smashed his warhammer into the Draugr’s side, sending it rolling across the floor. Growling, the Draugr rose and smashed its weapon against Steadfast’s. As they pushed back and forth, I tried to win Steadfast an advantage by assaulting the Draugr with lightning. When that didn’t work, I began to attack with my swords, and though I was able to inflict some serious wounds, the Draugr refused to die. <> Frost coated the Draugr’s body as it froze solid from my Shout. I stabbed Calcion’s Cleaver through the ice and into its side, sending lightning pulsing through the icy body cast. Steadfast raised his warhammer up as high as he could and smashed it down on the Draugr’s head, crushing it to pieces. The now headless Draugr toppled over, finally dead. There was no need to lend a hoof to Mephalda and Mystic, as they had already finished off the Draugr they’d been fighting by the time Steadfast and I were done. Pushing the heavy iron doors open, we proceeded into the next room. The hall we entered had been carved out of the mountain with great attention to detail. Soaring pillars covered in dragons held up the ceiling high above. A single hole in the ceiling let in light, illuminating a strangely carved mass of stone in the center of the room. Beyond the lump of stone was a raised platform backed by a wall covered in Draconic writing on which sat a sarcophagus. As we stepped inside the room, we were met by the sound of metal hitting stone. As it came again, the lid of the sarcophagus shifted. Then it cracked in two, the blade of a battleaxe visible through the break. One more swing broke it off entirely and the Draugr within emerged. Though its flesh had rotted away over the years, the armor it wore was now tarnished, and the robe draped on its back was now filled with holes, there was no doubt in my mind that this was the same pony depicted outside the ruin and on the walls outside this burial chamber. We had found the master of this fortress, and the most important resident of this tomb. Snarling, the Draugr lord jumped from its sarcophagus, leaping over the carving in the center of the room to attack us. Mephalda’s arrows barely slowed it down as it approached, and it was able to dodge Mystic’s and my magical attacks surprisingly fast. When it finally reached us, Steadfast swung his hammer up into its chest, knocking it back before it could strike. I drew both my swords as it approached me and was ready when it swung its battleaxe down toward my head. Calcion’s Cleaver I used to stop the blade, and with the Blade of Hoofingar I pushed back the haft. Pulling back, the Draugr swung at me again, this time toward my hooves. I jumped, but the Draugr anticipated it, and swung its weapon up around toward my exposed side. Before it could, an ice spike cast by Mystic sent its blade off course. I ducked down as the battleaxe swung over my head. As the Draugr finished its swing, its battleaxe struck Steadfast’s warhammer, and the two weapons became lodged together. Both earth ponies, one alive and one long dead, pulled at their weapons, neither willing to surrender. Eventually the Draugr won out and threw Steadfast’s weapon from his mouth. Before the two weapons had even disconnected, it brought its battleaxe back down toward Steadfast’s neck. Time suddenly slowed to a crawl as I charged forward. As the blade touched Steadfast’s neck, I bowled into him, pushing him out of the way. The battleaxe clanged against my armor as I passed. As time snapped back to normal, I was slammed into the ground by the force of the strike meant for Steadfast. The Draugr looked confused, but quickly recovered and tried to chop my head off with its battleaxe. I rolled to the side and the blade struck the stone instead, sending sparks flying into my mane. Before it could strike at me again, an ice blast from Mystic froze its hooves to the floor. Giving a kick with my hindlegs, I smashed the ice and the Draugr’s hooves, knocking it over. I leapt to my hooves before the Draugr could recover. I tried to slash at its neck with my sword, but it blocked before my blade even got close. I was still pushing back on the Draugr when Steadfast ran in and hit the zombie in the side with his warhammer. Nearly losing the grip on its battleaxe, the Draugr rolled over, struggling to stop its roll with the remains of its forelegs. As it rose and turned toward me, an arrow struck it in the back of the neck. Two more followed, shot swiftly from Mephalda’s bow and clearly causing the undead creature considerable pain. It was still able to block my attempted strike using Calcion’s Cleaver, though. Spinning its battleaxe around, it pushed my sword away. Steadfast blocked its next strike with his warhammer. While he held the Draugr off, Mephalda managed to shoot another arrow into its head. As it tried to push Steadfast back, flames from Mystic covered its head. The flames in its eyes died, even as the flames around its head burned brighter, and the Draugr collapsed. The Draugr destroyed, we healed our wounds and began to search for the map we’d come here for. Searching the side rooms off the main cavern found us some maps, but none with the portal to Sovngarde marked, and none with a range greater than the land around a small town. When our search began to prove fruitless, I trotted over to the Word Wall to get a moment away. As always, a word began to glow, and knowledge flew from the wall to my mind. Soon I learned everything the dragons knew about binding, specifically how restless souls were bound to this realm and kept from traveling on to Aetherius. The word for bind in my mind had been replaced by its Draconic counterpart. ~GRON~ “Is anypony else starting to think this may be a lost cause?” Steadfast asked as he turned over yet another chest filled with maps that did us no good. “I haven’t found anything like what we’re looking for,” Mystic said, levitating a few dozen maps herself, “It looks like there are no maps of Horizon here.” “Actually, there is one,” Mephalda said from above us. “Where?” I asked. “Right there,” she said, pointing down at the stone sculpture in the center of the room. When I looked puzzled, she flapped down and picked me up. As we ascended, the sculpture began to resemble something very familiar. As we flew higher yet, I realized I was looking down on a perfectly carved replica of Horizon. I could make out famous landmarks like the Crest of the World rearing up near the center of the province, Lake Fillynalta shimmering like liquid glass nearby, the Seclusion Arch in the north, though no city was built upon it, and Windhorn to the east, looking nearly the same as it did today. “It’s Horizon!” I exclaimed, “It must have been carved as an exact replica during the time the dragons ruled. This has every city and fortress built by the ancient earth ponies on it!” “What about the portal to Sovngarde?” Steadfast called up. “Just a moment,” I said, drawing a journal out of my saddlebags. In it I had been keeping track of the snatches of Draconic I’d learned, piecing together how the dragon language worked. It wasn’t perfect, but I knew at least of few of the basic runes and words now. Carefully I translated Sovngarde into Draconic and searched the map for matching runes. “Over there,” I said, pointing to a ruin on the eastern edge of the map. Mephalda flew me over and deposited me next to the ruin, where Steadfast and Mystic had already assembled. “That’s the word for Sovngarde,” I said, pointing to a set of runes carved into the mountains, “I have no idea what the rest of the words around it say, but this is the only mention of Sovngarde on the whole map, so I think it’s safe to assume the portal’s built here.” “And this ruin here,” Steadfast said, pointing to the structure next to the words. “If my translation’s correct,” I said, translating the runes next to it and marking the location on my map, “The portal is at Skuldafn.” Level Up Health: 250 Stamina: 240 Magicka: 250 New Perk: I Guess I Forgot to Jump [Heavy Armor] -- You are now so acquainted with your armor that, when wearing it, half of your fall damage is negated. Dragon Soul collected Word of Power learned: GRON -- Bind; Become Ethereal – Combined with FEIM and ZEI, GRON allows you to stay in your ethereal state for a longer amount of time, and use magic while you are in it. New Quest: Alduin Falls -- Travel to Sovngarde and destroy Alduin.