//------------------------------// // 4: The Dragonstone // Story: Sunset's Adventure in Skyrim // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// Sunset wanted nothing more than to leave the city, track down the Dragonstone, and then bring it back to Farengar so they could find out more about the dragons return. Unfortunately the Jarl wanted to give them a reward that they had earned for warning him about the threat to begin with, though the item they were given was a bow. Sunset thanked the Jarl and promised that they would be back when they had the stone, though once they were outside Dragonsreach she immediately handed it over to Bjorn, who was more skilled with such a weapon than she was. She had no idea what type of bow it was, but Bjorn clearly knew it was a decent bow and was glad to have it with him, which was decent for her. "I'll need to pick up some arrows later," Bjorn commented, leading his companion out into the city before checking the sky once more, "I would love to head out immediately, but we've had a terrible day and we're running on empty. I recommend stopping at the inn, get some dinner with the septims we have, and then get a good nights sleep before we even think about heading into the barrow. We need to be properly prepared in case we find those bandits or, Divines forbid, the draugr themselves." "If you say so," Sunset replied, not sure how prepared they needed to be to delve into an ancient tomb before she heard her stomach growl, "but now that I think about it, food sounds good right about now." Bjorn chuckled and beckoned for her to follow him, leading them into the market area of the city and then opened the door to the Bannered Mare, what Sunset assumed was the inn. She was sure that the building had a story, but at the moment she was more interested in getting something in her stomach and then begin planning their next move. The moment they entered the inn Sunset noticed that many of the patrons were busy talking among themselves, clearly not even noticing the newcomers at all. That was fine for her, as they managed to find an empty table near the door and immediately sat down, causing the owner of the building to notice them and call out for her helper to visit their table. The lady that came to take down what they wanted, a redguard according to Bjorn when she left, was friendly towards them as Bjorn simply asked for some stew and some waters. Sunset knew it was what they could afford, as most of the menu items sounded expensive and Bjorn was quick to inform her that they were low on coins at the moment. The duo sat in silence, collecting their thoughts for the moment before the lady returned with their meals and their drinks, though she disappeared once her job was done. They sat their meal slowly, not wanting to upset their stomachs after not receiving any breakfast or lunch at the hands of the Imperials. "So, you really think we can take an entire barrow of draugr?" Bjorn eventually asked, causing Sunset to look up from her bowl and stare at him, "I mean, you basically told Farengar that it would be easy. Are you that confident in your abilities?" "Well, my answer is yes and no," Sunset slowly replied, setting down her spoon the moment the question was asked, "If I had suddenly appeared here, instead of on Earth like I had, I would have immediately said that I was confident in my magical powers and abilities. At the time I was the student of Princess Celestia, who taught me mostly everything knew about magic at the time, but I was arrogant and I let it all go to my head. I'm sure that if that version of me was here that you would have likely left me behind, though I would have used my power to assert myself over some of the people around me. My other answer, the one being no, is that I am currently weakened from not having used magic for a few years, so there is no telling how much power I can call on. If I was given some time to train and hone my skill in using my magic again then I'm sure I'd be a considerable ally, but we do not have that time at the moment. So at the moment I can only say that I am confident in our skills and abilities to bypass whatever bandits, draugr, and other monsters are waiting for us in the barrow." "Well, I cannot fault you for being honest," Bjorn said, sighing as he looked at the table for a moment, "though while we are being honest I must tell you something; I have actually never been inside one of the barrows. Most of my experience comes from adventures that I have spoken to while traveling to a city to exchange some of my goods for items that I cannot acquire in the wild. Many of them have told me about the vast treasures that the ancient nords let in their barrows, though I am unsure how much of the treasure remains at this point. A fair amount of the barrows have already been raided by treasure hunters and other adventures, so many of them are likely empty of anything of value at this point." "Wait, so the stone could be gone by the time we get to where its supposed to be?" Sunset asked, worried that their once chance to discover something useful about the dragons could already be gone. "Could be yes, could be no," Bjorn replied, recalling one particular tale he had heard, "One adventurer told me about a circular door with three rings that blocked his path, meaning that he could not finish his search and was forced to leave the barrow he had explored. He refused to tell me which barrow it was, likely out of fear that I would go and hunt for the treasure myself, but I thanked him for the tale anyway. These doors require special keys to open them, but finding the required key, from what I've heard anyway, can actually be a pain to locate and recover. We'll just have to pray to the Divines that we don't have one of those in the way of getting to the Dragonstone." Sunset nodded, though she had no idea what the special key could be, as the story didn't give her much to go on and left them almost as blind as bats. Eventually they finished their meal, where Bjorn got up and approached the owner of the inn, speaking to her for a brief moment before exchanging some coins with her. He returned to the table and beckoned for her to follow him, leading her up the nearby stairs and into the room that rested on the inn's second story. She was surprised to find a bed that fit two people in the room, but as she and Bjorn laid down to rest for the night she considered herself lucky that she was sleeping in an actual bed, and not in a prison cell again. ------------------------------------------------- When morning arrived Bjorn was up and about, gathering their meager supplies and packing them into their bags before finally waking Sunset up. She shook the tired feeling off and got up, yawning as Bjorn handed her a piece of bread, some cheese, and a cup that was filled with milk to serve as their breakfast. Once the duo was done with the morning meal they picked up their packs, walked down to the inn's first floor, and wished the owner a good day as they walked out into Whiterun. The moment they were outside Sunset noticed that the sun was barely up, so she turned to her companion and asked what time it happened to be. "Its after six in the morning now," Bjorn replied, though he nodded to the guards that they passed as they approached the main gates, "I have taken to rising early so I can begin the hunt early, giving me a few more hours to track whatever beast needed to be put down that day. It basically gives me a head start and I believed that we needed such a start after our terrible experience yesterday." Sunset nodded her understanding, as she was used to waking at six in the morning during her time on Earth and when she was attending school in Equestria. If there were any adventures that would be heading towards Bleak Falls Barrow this head start would give them the chance to get there long before anyone else arrived. The two of them passed though the main gates, nodding to the two guards that checked everyone that was entering or leaving the city before they started the trek back to Riverwood. As they passed by the farm that had a giant attacking it Sunset noticed two Companions, Farkas and Vilkas Bjorn told her as they walked by, were busy trying to move the large corpse after leaving it there the previous evening. She wasn't sure how they were going to move the body away from the farm, but she decided that it would be best if they figured it out on their own. They continued up the road until they came to the meadery, where they turned up the pathway they had came down the previous day and went on their way. After some time they returned to the fork in the road that rested right outside of Riverwood, but instead of turning into the small village the duo continued down the other path, leading right into the mountain itself. Not a minute later they were attacked by a wolf, but Sunset summoned her magic and torched the wolf, burning it until she was sure that it was dead. She was surprised to find the pelt had survived the flames, which was when Bjorn collected it for trading when they returned to either Riverwood or Whiterun. They then continued the path, heading higher into the mountain until they noticed a stone tower resting near the dirt road they were following. A tower, that Sunset soon discovered, that was filled with several bandits, all of whom appeared to be waiting for anything interesting to happen to them. Bjorn beckoned for her to prepare her magic as he pulled out an arrow and nocked it, aiming the arrowhead right towards the tower as he took one enemy into his sights. Before Sunset could call on her magic Bjorn released his arrow and it flew through the air, where it finally hit the bandit leaning against the tree right in the chest. His companions noticed him fall and turned towards the duo, though Sunset summoned her magic and threw it forward, allowing two fireballs to appear as they neared the remaining bandits. One bandit took the attack to his chest, knocking him backwards for a minute before he fell to the ground, but his ally dodged the other fireball and drew closer to them. Bjorn, seeing Sunset stall in calling her magic back, pulled another arrow out and loosed it into the bandit's chest, though he took a few more steps towards them before he fell to the ground. "Definitely easier with two people using ranged attacks," Bjorn commented, moving forward and looting the weapons and armor off of their fallen enemies, "though a word of advice, I'd recommend using a lower level spell to conserve your energy. Maybe use firebolt until your able to use more than two fireballs at the same time." Sunset nodded and watched him finish collecting the armor and weapons from their enemies, though she was thankful that he had recommended lowering the power of her spells. Truth be told she was still adjusting, so she had, unknowingly, poured too much magic into the spells and created the fireballs, which had proven to be too much at the moment. She was sure that she'd fully adjust to the magic of this world, but until then she would be sure to not pour too much power into a single spell. Once Bjorn was done collecting the gear, and gaining at least twenty to thirty arrows in the process, they moved onward, continuing up the path towards the barrow. A few minutes later they stood on the outskirts of the massive barrow, something that Sunset was impressed by the moment they neared the structures. Before they had time to inspect the area a bandit noticed them and shouted to his allies, causing two more bandits, both with bows, to appear and start drawing their arrows. Bjorn shouted as he drew his bowstring back and loosed his arrow, letting it fly though the air until it hit a bandit in the shoulder, giving them the opportunity to prepare them. Sunset ran up the stone stairs that led to where the bandits were standing, allowing the flames to dance around her hands before she loosed two smaller fireballs, hitting both of the bandits square in the chest. Sunset, assuming that all three of their enemies were dealt with, lowered her guard to search the bodies closest to her for any loot that would be useful to them, though she failed to account for the fact that the bandit that Bjorn hit had gotten up. Before she could hit the bandit an arrow tore into his stomach, dropping him to the ground as Bjorn ran up the stairs, worried that she had been wounded. "You have to make sure that all our enemies are dead before you start looting," Bjorn said, once he was completely sure that she was unharmed and allowed her to resume her search, "otherwise something terrible could happen to you." "So many rules to this world," Sunset commented, more to herself as she collected the bandit's arrows, coins, weapons, and armor before returning to Bjorn's side, "Well, I think I've picked up everything of value that could grab us a few coins. Here, take these arrows." Bjorn smiled and took the arrows from her, putting the ones that were similar to his own into his own quiver before stashing the others into his pack. Once that deed was done he nodded and they continued towards the large iron gate that one of the bandits had been standing near before their arrival. The moment they were inside they found a pair of bandits near the back of the chamber, though they were talking to each other and had failed to notice the iron door open. Bjorn pulled out an arrow and pulled his bowstring back, but he held onto the arrow for a moment, as if he was waiting for the bandits to say something. It was a good thing that he had stayed his hand for the moment, as one bandit mentioned that a 'golden claw' and been taken from them by one of their companions, who fled into the barrow. The rest of their group was following after him, leaving the duo to stand guard and deal with whoever decided to come to Bleak Falls Barrow seeking treasure. With the information in hand Bjorn released the arrow and put a bandit down, causing the other one to realize that they had guests and drew her own bow in return. Sunset, having used the time that Bjorn used to wait to get closer to the bandits, jumped out of her hiding spot behind the pillar and set the bandit on fire, causing her to run around before eventually falling over dead. As Bjorn collected the gear and arrows Sunset noticed a chest sitting near the campfire, though when she approached it she noticed that it was locked tight. "Hey Bjorn," Sunset called to her companion, wondering if she could even pick the lock, "did any of these bandits have any lockpicks on them by chance?" "Yeah, I've collected ten of them so far," Bjorn replied, though when he saw what she was looking at he walked over and handed them to her, "your curious at to what's in the chest?" "Might as well try," Sunset said, sliding one of the picks into the lock before gently turning it, "I, uh, learned the basics of lockpicking when I first arrived on Earth a few years ago. I eventually dropped the habit thanks to the help my friends gave me, but I guess that old habits truly die hard." Sure enough Sunset snapped the lock and opened the chest, finding a dozen iron arrows, a pair of red colored gloves that had a magical rune on their backs, twenty golden coins, and, oddly enough, a sapphire. She handed the arrows, coins, and gemstone to Bjorn, as he knew more about this world's currency and she was just learning the basics about the system. With the deed done they continued deeper into the barrow, Bjorn keeping his bow at the ready when Sunset allowed a small amount of magic to wrap around her arm. They knew that they needed to be prepared in case more bandits, or something much worse, decided to show up and attack them. Not a few minutes later they found a bandit, more armed than the two they had just taken down, standing in a chamber that had a switch resting in front of an iron gate. Bjorn held up a hand, telling Sunset to wait so they could observe what was going to happen, though they were just in time to see the bandit flip the switch and then fall to the ground as a dozen darts pierced his body. He was dead in seconds, though they slowly entered the chamber and studied the surrounding area, so they didn't repeat what happened to the bandit. While Bjorn walked around Sunset noticed that two symbols were crafted into a chunk of iron and hung close to the ceiling, though there was a third laying near the iron gate. "Hmm... snake," Sunset commented, turning to the three pillars near her and turning the first one to a snake, "snake," as she turned the second one to match the one on the floor, "and whale," spinning the final pillar to match the last symbol, "Okay Bjorn, try the switch now." Bjorn, having seen her spin the stone pillars around, reached for the switch and flipped it, moving just in case the combination Sunset had put in was wrong, but instead of darts flying out the iron gate opened for them. Bjorn did not comment on how she had figured it out, though he was glad that she did so they could move on and find the golden claw and the Dragonstone. They found a chest filled with potions, which Sunset wasn't sure were even fresh if they had been sealed in a chest for a few hundred years, but Bjorn reassured her that they were still usable. They also found a trio of rat like creatures, Skeevers as Bjorn called them, waiting at the bottom of the stairs they took, but the two of them took care of them with ease. The next chamber was blocked off by webs, but they took them down and caused a massive spider to descend towards the ground, though Sunset would not let such a beast stand in their way. She snapped her and her magic ignited, spinning around her as she set the flames towards the spider, torching its webs and scorching its foot as it neared her. Bjorn, on the other hand, backed up and nocked a pair of arrows, pulling the string back and waiting for the best moment to let them fly into their foe. Sunset ducked under the spider's massive body, letting her flames eat at the spider's underside and making it follow her so her companion could get a better shot. The spider turned to follow her, but Bjorn loosed his arrows and they tore into the spider's back, wounding it enough to cause it to consider heading back into its hole. That was until Sunset summoned a fireball and threw it right at the spider's head, blowing up on contact and knocking the body back into one of the walls, finishing the fight and allowing them to relax for a moment. They let the thief that was bound up in webs loose the moment they neared him, though when the man was freed he immediately sprinted down the tunnel, leaving them behind. Sunset wasn't surprised by how the thief acted, though they knew he had the golden claw and followed after him, keeping their eyes peeled for anything else. They heard an echo of some kind erupt from the tunnel in front of them, though that was when the thief appeared before them with a pair of arrows sticking out of his back. Bjorn turned his bow on the tunnel and loosed the arrow at what was coming their way, though Sunset's eyes widened when a shriveled corpse, wearing armor and wielding a weapon, came into the room. "Blasted foe woke the draugr," Bjorn growled, drawing another arrow and loosing it into the tunnel, "Come on Sunset, we'll have to fight them all off." Sunset got over her shock and threw her magic out into the tunnel, setting fire to two of the three draugr, before she drew her dagger and tossed it into the other enemy. Their enemies staggered as the duo exchanged fire and arrows with them, eventually wearing them down to the point when they dropped to the ground. Sunset had to admit it, but she wasn't expecting them to actually put up such a fight, nor did she think they would have lasted so long in a fight without their bodies breaking. Bjorn was equally surprised, though he sort of knew what they would be expecting as he had heard the various tales on the undead draugr. Once the battle was done Sunset raided the thief's body and picked up the golden claw, though when she turned it over she found a trio of animals that she assumed was a code for some sort of door. They continued into the barrow, slipping passed the various traps that the ancient nords had placed in the way of treasure seekers, swiftly putting down any draugrs that decided to rise from the dead before they were overwhelmed, passed by a waterfall that was apparently guarded by a frost troll, and defeated an even tougher draugr that protected a wooden door that lead into the next part of the barrow. They immediately had to pass a swinging blade trap, but they timed their movements in time with when the blades were inside the wall and made it through without getting hurt. Then they found a trio of normal draugr waiting for them, but they were much easier to deal with as Bjorn slew one when his arrow pierced its chest and Sunset accidentally burned the other two to death when she hit the light source below the bridge and ignited the oil that had been scattered around the ground. They would have continued deeper into the barrow, but then they came upon a large iron door that had a trio of circles around what appeared to be a keyhole of sorts. Sunset immediately recognized that it had to do with the golden claw that they carried, so she looked at the bottom and found a bear, moth, and owl staring back at her. She touched the first ring and rotated it around until the symbol matched the one on the claw, repeating the process with the remaining two until it looked like the combination on the bottom of the claw. Then she pressed the claw against the central part of the door, which caused the rings to start sliding around until they came to a stop and the door slid down into the ground. Sunset was glad that she had been correct in her assumptions that the claw was the key to the door that Bjorn had told her about earlier, otherwise she wasn't sure how they would have advanced into what she believed was the final chamber of the entire barrow. "I never would have thought to do that," Bjorn commented, just as they made their way into the next area, until they discovered that it was a massive chamber with a strange stone wall near the back, "By the Divines... this place is massive." Sunset was also impressed by the sheer size of the final chamber, though as they approached the back end of the chamber she noticed that there was writing on what she assumed was a wall of some kind. She had absolutely no idea what the writing said, though she was sure that Bjorn might have some idea of what was written there, as he was more attuned to the stories of this land than she was. She also noticed that there was an iron coffin sitting some distance away from the wall and that there was a staircase nearby, though she assumed it would lead to an exit of some kind. The last thing she noticed was the large chest sitting close to the coffin, though she stayed away from it in case whoever was inside the coffin came out when the chest's lid was opened. Though before Sunset could asked Bjorn what the writing said she heard chanting from the wall, causing her to step forward to listen to it, though when she stepped towards it the chanting stopped and she could suddenly understand the wall, rather suddenly she mentally added. "Hmm... 'Here lies The Guardian'," Sunset translated, running her hand over the stone while feeling some strange magic in the words seep into her body, "'Keeper of the Dragonstone, and a force of eternal rage and darkness.' I don't like the sound of that at all." That was just moments before the lid to the coffin behind her burst open, sliding off until it hit the floor and causing both Bjorn and Sunset to ready their weapons. The draugr that emerged from the coffin had the build of a great warrior, as Sunset could see signs of its former muscles under its armor, though it was wearing more armor than the previous draugr they had fought. As the undead came to a stop in front of its coffin it reached back in and pulled out its weapon, which turned out to be an ancient nordic weapon that had what Sunset suspected was pieces of ice attached to the blade. "Divines help us," Bjorn stated, staring at the draugr as he prepared his bow and arrows, "its an Overlord. Be careful Sunset, this guy packs more power than all the previous draugrs combined." Sunset had no idea that there was an even stronger enemy than the draugr they had already fought, but the moment the undead turned towards them it shouted three strange words at them. The moment the words left its mouth the area in front of it started to freeze as a wave of frost came their way, though both Sunset and Bjorn moved away before it could touch them. Bjorn pulled the bowstring back and loosed his arrow, though the Overlord turned slightly and was hit in the shoulder, though the attack didn't seem to do much to it. Sunset, seeing the undead decide to go for her instead of her companion, called what little magic remained in her and threw a firebolt at the creature, which started to burn its body until the flames turned to ice and fell to the ground. Sunset had to admit, she had never seen someone, or in this case something, freeze someone else's flames as if it meant nothing to the creature. She had heard a legend or two from Prncess Celestia about powerful creatures that could have done it once upon a time, though they couldn't stand against the sun itself in the end. Still, she reached deep inside her being and called upon her magic, her hands snapping open as she summoned two fireballs and threw them at the approaching creature. The first one hit it square in the chest, knocking it backwards for a moment, before the second set it over the edge, where it immediately got back up and pulled itself out of the ditch she had sent it into. Bjorn pulled arrow after arrow out and loosed them into the creature, hitting it in its shoulder, in its knees, and several in the stomach, but still it continued to come at them. Sunset, noticing the large chest again, decided to see if there was something, anything really, that the ancient nords had stashed inside it for any brave, or foolish she was considering, adventurer that wanted to fight the creature. She found a few pieces of shimmering armor, one a suit of steel, a pair of ugly green gauntlets, and a curved sword that had flames dancing around its blade. She pulled out the sword as the Overlord blasted his icy breath again, Bjorn nearly getting hit as he rolled out of the way before planting another arrow in the creature's body. As the Overlord drew closer to Bjorn Sunset gripped the handle of the sword and ran forward, driving it deep into the creature's chest, where she assumed the heart would be. She assumed that the creature would come at her again, though as she held onto the blade the flames danced around the draugr before it groaned at them. Then, just as suddenly as it had awaken, the last breath escaped its body and went lifeless, dropping to the ground with a thud and leaving the two of them to marvel at their feat. "I didn't know... that you knew how to wield a sword," Bjorn commented, breathing heavily before collecting any of the arrows that he had used in the fight, "If I had known I would have given you one earlier." "I've never used a sword before," Sunset replied, amazed that she had actually pulled that off, "I was expecting to miss and make the draugr face me, giving you the opportunity to put an arrow in his heart of head, but not to actually kill it myself. Come on, let's find that Dragonstone and get out of here before something else wakes up to try and kill us." Bjorn nodded and collected the treasure from the chest, but not before handing the blade that Sunset had used to kill the draugr back to her, so she could use it in place of the dagger she had been given earlier. As he looked around the chamber Sunset stopped behind the draugr's corpse, before realizing that it hadn't been carrying the stone on it at all. She glanced back at the coffin and approached it, wondering if it had hidden it inside to make sure that it had been kept safe, though when she stepped up to the coffin she found a large tablet. Sunset grinned as she picked up the stone tablet, glad that they had actually found the Dragonstone and that this hadn't been a wasted trip at all. "Let's depart from this place Bjorn," Sunset called out, approaching the staircase, "let's get the Dragonstone back to Farengar and see where this takes us."