"What do you mean I have dragon eyes?!" Raika demanded, worried that the Elder Scroll really had messed with her body.
Sombra, not really having a way to explain in words what had happened, sighed and summoned a small chunk of smooth crystal, which he broke out of the ground and brushed off. He quickly made sure that whatever reflection could be seen was the best it could possibly be, though once he was sure it was as good as it was going to get he handed it over to Raika. She stared at him as if he was insane, but after he beckoned for her to look at it she sighed and stared at her own reflection, shock filling her body. Her normal khajiit eyes were gone and in their place were the silted eyes she always saw when she was fighting a dragon, only hers were bright red colored.
"What in Oblivion did that Elder Scroll do to me?" Raika asked, now confused out of her mind and pinching herself to make sure that what she was seeing was real and not a dream.
"I'm not sure," Sombra replied, wondering if the Scroll was at fault or if it had purely been her anger at being ignored, "but that doesn't matter at the moment. Did you find out where Auriel's Bow was located?"
"Yeah, I think I did," Raika said, tucking the crystal chunk away before pulling out her map, "Our best course of action is to head to Markarth and then head north until we come to a cave that's called Darkfall Cave. Somewhere inside that cave is Auriel's Bow, but we won't be able to find it until we get over there."
While they were talking Cadence spotted a pack set on the ground, close to where the vampires had been standing, but far enough that Raika's flames wouldn't have reached it. Curiosity got the better of her and she walked over to it, opening it and searching through the items that the vampires had brought with them. She spotted several items that she expected, a few potions to restore their health and magic, a couple of spare weapons, and, the most surprising, a letter baring a strange symbol on the back. She opened the letter and scanned the first couple of lines, her hand reaching for her mouth as she realized what she was reading.
"Um...Raika?" Cadence said, holding the letter out for her to take, "We might need to make a quick stop somewhere."
Raika took the letter and opened it up, reading the first few lines and realizing what Cadence had said about making a stop somewhere, because she had to agree. It also made her mad, because the Thalmor had learned of Ancano's defeat at the College of Winterhold and that the Stormcloaks had bested the Imperials at Whiterun. This letter included an order for the Thalmor to gather in Dragon Bridge before they marched to burn all of Whiterun, including the surrounding fields, to the ground. Then it went on and on about their plan to just burn the rebellion out of Skyrim, which would torch half of the province to the state where nothing would grow for a few years.
"Sombra, we need a gateway to Dragon Bridge," Raika said, stashing the letter away as she turned back to Sombra, "the Thalmor are planning on burning half of Skyrim to the ground to drive out my brothers and sisters since we took Whiterun. We'll beat them to the small town and hopefully convince the guards that the Thalmor are up to no good before its too late to stop their plan."
Sombra nodded and a gateway sprung up behind him, showing that he could summon them without needing to prepare them and beckoned for the others to move on. Raika growled and charged into the shadows, not even bothering to close her eyes as she focused on finding the Thalmor and beating them at their own game. Trixie and Serana shrugged at each other and followed her in, after which Shadow and Cadence stepped in as well and disappeared. Sombra, always the last to enter the gateways, stepped into the shadows and followed his friends to their next destination.
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Raika stepped out of the shadows and looked around, finding the few citizens of Dragon Bridge staring in her direction as her friends walked out as well. Once Sombra was through the gateway closed down, disappearing almost as fast as it had appeared, though the guards glared at him none the less. One guard approached the group, but Raika noticed that it was the commander of the Penitus Oculatus, the man called Maro who had lost his son some time ago.
"I see you travel with the King of Shadows," Maro said, staring at them as he stopped near Raika, "I have heard tales of all of you, how you help those in need when you are able and utterly destroy whatever enemies step between you and your goals. The Divine Crusader, the Archmage of Winterhold, the Daughter of the Vampire Lord Harkon, the Crystal Archer, and the King of Shadows. Five legendary heroes being lead by one of the most legendary of all Nordic heroes, the Dragonborn of legend."
"Wait a minute," Raika said, relief filling her for a moment, "you actually know who I am?"
"Of course," Maro said, the truth of her question dawning on him, "I see, you thought that no one cared for the Dragonborn now that Alduin has been destroyed. Lots of people are like that now, but I'm afraid that most of this is deeply rooted in the Thalmor's meddling, as they blame you for the near destruction of their Embassy. The people of Dragon Bridge care about the legend of the Dragonborn and that you'll stop the vampire menace that seems to be growing out of control. What brings you here of all places?"
"This unfortunately," Raika replied, pulling out the letter and handing it over, "I'm afraid that the situation with the Thalmor might have gotten worse after the Stormcloaks took Whiterun."
"For the love of Mara," Maro gasped, reading the entire letter before looking up at her, "I knew the Thalmor couldn't be trusted, but this seals the deal. Unfortunately I have received a letter from the Thalmor telling me and my guards to stand down and let them pass through the town without interfering with them. According to their schedule they sent me they'll be passing through the city within the next hour, so I'd do whatever preparations you want if you intend to fight them."
"Very well," Raika said, knowing they'd likely have to fight alone as she turned to her friends, "Sombra, I need you to summon a barrier of crystals that could prevent the Thalmor from passing through the town and provide us with a chance to surprise them. Trixie and Serana, get as much magic as you can for this fight, because we're going to need everything the two of you have in order to fight all of these guys off. Cadence, I want you to find a vantage point that will allow you to pin enemies at the back to the ground and hopefully make them reconsider their plans. Shadow; you, Sombra, and I are going to stand at the front lines the moment the barrier is in place, so we can fight them back.
Commander Maro, just in case the Thalmor come up from behind I want you to make sure the citizens are inside their homes and out of the way. I don't want the Thalmor to label you and your guards are traitors for what we're about to do."
"I appreciate the thought," Maro said, bowing slightly to her, "Just know that, even if you and your friends fall to the Thalmor, the people of Dragon Bridge and most of Skyrim appreciate everything you have already done for them."
Raika nodded and everyone dispersed, going about their tasks as citizens ran into their homes and her friends approached the road that the Thalmor would be coming from. The earth shook a bit, but the crystals sprung up with no problems and Sombra even went out of his way to create an area of black crystal to hide Cadence in. There was also a walkway that Trixie and Serana could use as well, giving them the ability to move around without getting in each others way at all. Raika and Shadow stood in front of the wall, waiting for the time to tick by and for the Thalmor to arrive like they were scheduled to do.
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"There it is boys and girls, Dragon Bridge," the highest ranking Thalmor Justiciar said, staring down the street and finding Dragon Bridge blocked off by crystals, "and it seems like the King of Shadows has come to play. Listen up members of the Thalmor, her Emissary has issued the order that Sombra, the so called King of Shadows, is to be put to death for the damages he cased to the Embassy not too long ago. His allies, the Divine Crusader, the Archmage of Winterhold, the Crystal Archer, and a daughter of a powerful vampire lord, are also marked for death. His allies have a bounty of three thousand septims for their heads, but the King himself is worth TEN THOUSAND SEPTIMS, enough for someone to enjoy life for a few weeks."
"What about the Dragonborn sir?" one of the soldiers asked, "How much is her head worth?"
"Same as the rest of the King's allies," the Head Justiciar said, "though her Emissary wants the Dragonborn alive so she can personally execute her in Solitude. Now begin the siege and bring me their heads."
Raika had been waiting for the Thalmor to show themselves, but she was surprised to find at least a hundred of them walking down the road towards the town. Sombra stood on her left, holding onto his scythe, while Shadow stood to her right, his two handed sword gleaming as he prepared to use it on their foes. She knew that Trixie and Serana were done preparing their spells, though she hoped that they would carefully pick their foes before loosing a spell. Cadence stood in her hidden box, her arrows at the ready as she waited for the command to strike out at the Thalmor that were coming their way.
"Stand down heretics and receive your punishment," the Head Justiciar shouted, as his army drew closer to the wall, "Her Emissary wants all of your heads and I intend to give them to her."
Raika raised her bow and loosed the arrow that she had prepared for the first attack, the signal that would tell the others to being the defense of Dragon Bridge. The arrow zipped through the air and hit one of the Thalmor mages in the eye, going right into the brain and immediately killing him before he could release a single spell. The army descended on their location, spells flying in all directions as the soldiers drew their weapons and approached Raika and her friends.
Shadow dashed forward and brought his sword down on one unlucky soldier, splitting it in half before he even realized who he was fighting or how screwed he was. He spun around, dodging one enemy that tried to hit him, and advanced on a mage that was intending to blast the wall, cutting off her arms before ending her life. He then turned to the enemy that missed him and cut open his back, forcing him to the ground as he blocked another soldiers attempt to get at him.
Sombra walked up to his first target and cut the soldiers head right off, the soul breaking out of the body and vanishing into his scythe within seconds. Two soldiers came at him and prepared to strike him down, but he spun around and his scythe cut across their chests, ending their misery and stealing their souls. A mage readied a spell to strike him, but all Sombra did was step into the shadows and pierced his heart from behind, taking his soul as he returned to where he had been.
Trixie and Serana, having come to an agreement before the fight, carefully picked out their targets, throwing fireballs towards the back of the enemy army. Trixie prepped a large fireball and threw it as hard as she could, causing it to fall near the Head Justiciar and blowing several mages up in the process. Serana, on the other hand, threw an barrage of ice spikes at the middle mages and soldiers, felling the same amount as Trixie did while wounding several more. The two grinned at each other and continued their assault, bodies flying off the cliff side as they worked.
Cadence stayed where she was, pulling her bow back and loosing an arrow that tore through a soldier, giving him a moment to gasp at the sudden wound before dropping to the ground. She pulled over another arrow and carefully knocked it, picking out her next target and pinning the arrow right in her target's chest, throwing her into the wall. A soldier caught on to what she was doing and started to shout a warning, but she quickly put an arrow in the back of his head and silenced him in seconds. She also kept the enemy leader in her sights at all times, just in case Raika gave the order to put him down before they finished everyone else off.
"What now Thalmor?" Raika shouted, her swords cutting a soldier in the throat before piercing the heart of another, "How does it feel to face the power of the Dragonborn and her allies?"
"Don't make me laugh heretic," the Head Justiciar laughed, "You?! The Dragonborn of legend?! If you were a Dragonborn, like the founder of your beloved Empire, we would have been told to put you down first for fear of the power you'd control. Unfortunately, your just a no name weakling that's claiming to be the Dragonborn."
"No...Name...WEAKLING?!" Raika shouted, her rage boiling over to new heights as flames began to wrap around her again, "I WILL F***ING MURDER ALL OF YOU!"
Sombra and Shadow barely had time to throw themselves to the side as Raika ran past them, burning the ground under her feet as her swords dropped to the ground where she had been standing a second ago. What they witnessed was an identical match to what they had seen in the Ancestor Glade, though now her enemies were waiting for her arrival. The first enemies she approached dropped like flies, their bodies burning like a bonfire as she tore through the ranks of the Thalmor soldiers.
The Head Justiciar was shocked that their foe had suddenly changed like that, that she had so much rage that it made flames wrap around her body. She was like a completely different khajiit now, going berserk as she tore through his soldiers with her hands like they were simple pieces of parchment. Then he heard the sound of a dragon roar, something that he would never forget, and knew that he was caught between a rock and a very hard place.
"We don't need this," Trixie moaned, watching the light brown scaled dragon approach the fight, "We really don't need a dragon coming to this fight."
Raika, somehow hearing the dragon through her rage, spotted it and ran right past the Head Justiciar, who stood there like he was going to drop dead any second. Once the dragon neared the ground Raika leapt into the air and caught one of its feet, somehow keeping her grip on it while she made her way onto its back. The dragon roared in anger and tried to shake her off, but Raika dug into its back and steered it towards the ground as her flames seeped into its body. As the dragon near the ground for the second time, and it switched to its back so it could crush Raika under its weight, Raika worked her way to its chest and struck it as hard as she could. The dragon roared in pain as it hit the ground, crushing several Thalmor in the process and laying still as the life seemed to fade from its body.
Raika pulled herself off the dragon's still body and touched the ground, the dragon's body breaking apart as the soul was absorbed right into her own body. Her heart began to beat faster as it happened, but she growled and approached the Head Justiciar, ripping apart any remaining soldiers that dared to get in her way. A bunch of the remaining soldiers, now scared for their lives, turned tail and fled back the way they came, leaving the Head Justiciar to fend for himself. He gripped his sword and charged at Raika, swinging his sword with the intent to strike her right in the heart, but Raika move to the side a bit and thrust her left hand into his chest.
The Justiciar coughed as he looked down at his chest, finding Raika's hand piercing his chest, touching his heart as he felt the flames beginning to eat at him. Before he could even do anything Raika tore her hand out of his chest, her hand now covered with his blood, and opened her mouth to release a torrent of flame on him. The last thing that went though his mind before he died was that he should not have provoked Raika as much as he had.
The last thing that Raika remembered before fainting was the sound of her friends rushing to her side.