//------------------------------// // 14: Kynesgrove // Story: Sonata's Crazy and Wacky Adventure in Skyrim // by Sonata Blaze //------------------------------// "You do know something about the Siren Queen!" Delphine stated, seeing how Sonata had halted the moment she had spoken the name and knew that the movement meant something important, "So, who or what is this Siren Queen exactly?" "Someone you should forget about." Sonata immediately replied, turning to face Delphine for a moment, "Trust me on this Delphine, the Siren Queen is someone that you don't want to mess with... nor would you want her to awaken from her slumber." "So if this person isn't in Tamriel or, as you put it, sleeping at the moment, then why are the Thalmor so interested in her?" Delphine inquired, trying to understand why her enemies would be looking for something they might not be able to find, "It seems like a waste of time and resources for them to be searching for something that they're not going to find." "It would be a waste of their time." Sonata stated, crossing her arms as she stared at Delphine, "If the Queen doesn't want to be found by someone, be they the Thalmor or anyone else, then she won't be found until she's ready to reveal herself. Its best to ignore the existence of the Queen and move on with your life... which means that we should really be getting underway on our journey to Kynesgrove." Delphine stared at her for a moment, as if she was trying to figure out if arguing about the Siren Queen was more important than slaying a dragon that could kill innocent people, before letting out a sigh and nodding her head. She then approached the chest laying near where she had been standing and switched her innkeeper clothes for the leather armor she had been keeping locked away. Sonata watched as she also equipped what she assumed was a katana, swinging it a few times and checking its sharpness before sheathing it on her belt. Five seconds passed before Delphine pulled out a bow, an imperial one Sonata noted, and a container of steel arrows, before attaching them in their proper places. "There, I've got everything I need." Delphine said, approaching the stairs before stopping and turning to Sonata, "When we're done with that dragon I expect some sort of answer regarding the Queen... and not more of the excuses you just gave me. I'll meet you and your companions in Kynesgrove." Sonata didn't look back at Delphine as the woman ascended the stairs and left the inn, choosing to give her latest companion a head start while she controlled herself. Once she was sure that Delphine was gone she fell to her knees and hugged herself, trying to contain the memories that were constantly threatening to surface from their slumber. She had spent a thousand years repressing everything she knew about the Queen and what had happened before their banishment, but now, with all the times the Queen was being mentioned, those memories were trying to resurface... and she would not allow herself to be overrun by them. She waited for a few minutes, fighting against the tide of memories, before they finally died down and allowed her to breath a sigh of relief as she as stood back up. "You okay Sonata?" Kree said, causing Sonata to turn around and face her friend for a moment, "Delphine left five minutes ago and your still standing down here. Is something wrong?" "SHE has been mentioned too much in a single day," Sonata replied, shaking her head as she cleared the remaining thoughts about the Queen, "Come on, Delphine wants us to go and kill a dragon that's about to be resurrected. Once we're done with that I'm going to have to figure out how the people of Skyrim learned of the Queen, because there's no way that one mention of her, to a group of vampires no less, would cause such a spread of her existence like this." "You think someone else figured out Her existence without being told?" Kree asked, wondering if their enemy, Lord Grul, had somehow figured out the Queen's existence and had spread the knowledge of her to make everyone else find her for him. "Its a possibility that I cannot ignore," Sonata commented, though she knew it was highly unlikely that Lord Grul had divined that information by a vision, "but we have a dragon to deal with first." Kree nodded and the two of them walked out of the basement, to which they returned to the main area of the inn and collected Lydia, who was staring at the bard the entire time with what Sonata assumed was a look of anger. She guessed that the bard might have tried to flirt with her or something, though if that was the case then it was clear that whatever had been said had angered her housecarl. The three of them left the inn and returned to the road, where Sonata discovered that it was slowly turning to night at long last... to which she suggested that they head to Whiterun and get a carriage to take them to Windhelm. Her reasoning for that was so that they could rest their weary legs and get some rest before they arrived at their destination, where they would have to fight a dragon alongside Delphine. Kree agreed with her friend, expressing her point that once they had finished off the dragon they should seek someplace to actually get some rest in, but also said that Windhelm wouldn't be the wisest place considering their dislike for argonians and other races that weren't nords. Sonata knew what was it like to be unwelcome in a city or town, all thanks to some questionable places she and her sisters decided to stay in for some years, but she merely nodded as they walked to their destination. When they reached the outside out Whiterun they approached the carriage driver and Kree asked how much it would take to get them to Windhelm, receiving an answer of twenty gold. Kree handed the gold over and the three of them boarded the carriage without wasting a second, to which their driver started them on their trek to Windhelm. As they left Whiterun behind Sonata leaned back and closed her eyes, knowing that her friends would wake her up once they reached their destination, though she knew that they'd rest as well before their arrival. However, not ten minutes later she was shaken awake by Kree, to which she found that there was a group of bandits blocking their way and that the carriage driver was shaking in fear. She also discovered that they had made decent progress, as they were back at the towers that they had cleared out on their way to Iverstead... which was overrun by bandits again. Then, as her wits returned to her, she also took into account that each of the 'bandits' in front of them were orcs, leading her to wonder if this was another group of Lord Grul's soldiers. "What do we have here?" the lead orc asked, planting the end of what appeared to be a blackened battleaxe in the ground, "A carriage driver and three lone civilians? Ha! You will make good offerings to Lord Grul, to do with as he pleases once he finishes whatever plan he's currently working on." "Lydia," Sonata said, glaring at the leader for a moment, "please do me a favor and shut that one up." Lydia leapt out of the carriage and drew her sword, taking into account the six other orcs that were on either side of the one that her Thane wanted her to take out. Judging by the way the orc moved she knew that she might be able to take its head clean off if the others didn't notice what was about to happen, though she didn't like her chances at the moment. She also knew that Kree and Sonata had her back, so it was possible that the three of them could dispatch all seven of the orcs without getting hurt. "And the pathetic Dragonborn sends her warrior to do her battles for her!" the orc roared in laughter, as if he thought everything that was happening at the moment was funny, "Don't worry nord, for soon your precious Skyrim and her people will belong to Lord Grul. He will use this land as however he sees fit, whether that be as a training ground for his army, a foundry to make weapons of war, or a desolate wasteland that will spread his power to the rest of this pathetic world." Lydia switched the hold on her weapon, pulled her arm back, and threw her sword so hard that it pierced the chest area of the orcs armor, but by the look on the orcs face she could tell that it didn't get his heart. "Ha! You will make a fine slave indeed." the orc said, a grin appearing on his face as he beckoned to his soldiers, "Remember boys, make sure that the Dragonborn lives to see Lord Grul... otherwise whoever kills her will end up dead as well." "THIS IS SKYRIM!" Lydia roared, leaping into the air and planting her foot at the base of her sword, forcing it through the orcs thick armor and piercing his heart with enough force to drop his body to the ground, "And she belongs to the Nords..." The other six orcs stood paralyzed for a moment, as if they couldn't believe what they had just seen, before one of them roared in anger and swung at Lydia, who leapt out of the way and grabbed the discarded battleaxe. Lightning cracked for a moment before one of the orcs closest to the carriage got blasted with a bolt to the chest, to which Sonata stood up and glared at the remaining enemies. Kree popped up and loosed an arrow at one of them, tearing through the orc's unprotected skull and dropping it to the ground in seconds as she picked another target. Lydia, now armed with the battleaxe, swung it around and took the head off the unsuspecting orc that was standing near her, before she carved open the second one not moments later. Kree pinned the fifth orc to a tree, making sure that her arrows would let him slowly bleed out until he was dead, while Sonata merely blasted the last one with another lightning bolt. "I'm going to kill Lord Grul when I find him," Sonata growled, returning to her seat as her friends did the same, "because I am getting sick and tired of his followers finding me with so little effort. I'm also tired of hearing that we'll be made into slaves and the whole nine yards... there's only so much one can take before they snap." "We'll find him Sonata," Kree promised, a light smile appearing on her face as the carriage continued down the road, "He's a villain attacking Skyrim, so he's bound to be discovered by someone and put down like the animal that he actually is." ---------------------------------- Smoke rose from Narzulbur as Aggronak and his forces finished off the orcs that had called the stronghold home, though he was careful to make sure that they had been captured alive for his master. He had been expecting a fight where he would lose some of his soldiers, but he hadn't lost any of them and they had completed their task with ease. This strongholds ore would give their soldiers more armor and weapons in addition to what they already had, all while a group of guards would be left behind to capture anyone who came looking for the orcs that once called this place home. Aggronak turned to the brazier that he had brought with him, allowing the magic around him to activate as green flames erupted from the metal, forming what many would assume was a portal. "Lord Grul, I have completed the task you assigned me," Aggronak said to the flames, bowing his head as if his master was actually there with him, "Narzulbur is yours." The green flames surged around the brazier until they formed an oval for a few seconds, to which Lord Grul stepped through the portal and touched the ground in front of his subordinate. "Ah, you continue to please me Aggronak," Lord Grul commented, moving past his subordinate as he approached the walls that would allow him to look down on the settlement nearby, one called Kynesgrove he recalled, "I see that we have a front row seat of the fight that's about to happen." "As you requested," Aggronak replied, standing behind his master as he looked down at the little settlement, spotting the great black dragon hard at work nearby, "The Dragonborn should be here in a few minutes." "Good, I am interested in seeing how she's progressed so far," Lord Grul said, staring at the burial sight that the black dragon was working on, "and seeing how much more time she needs before I can add her power to what I already have." ---------------------------------- Sonata sighed as she stretched her arms and took in the morning light, looking around at the area they had stopped in and spotted the inn right in front of them. She immediately guessed that they had stopped at Kynesgrove, no doubt because Kree gave the carriage an extra few coins that made the stop worthwhile. She also assumed that the inn had been full when they arrived, because she had been sleeping on a bedroll, though when she pulled herself up she had found her companions, including Delphine, getting ready. She decided to ask what was going on, but Delphine held up a hand as if she had heard something and immediately started to look around the area. That was when she heard the roar of a dragon nearby, informing her that she had awoken in time for them to fight the dragon that Delphine had been tracking. "Come on, we've got work to do," Delphine commented, picking up her weapons as she headed towards the hill that would take her to the burial mound, to which Sonata and her friends followed after her. When they reached the top of the hill Sonata stopped as she gazed upon the black dragon that was flying through the air, the same one that had burned Helgen to the ground not too long ago. That one dragon had destroyed an entire garrison of guards on his own, to which Sonata wondered what chance the four of them had if this dragon was the one they had come to fight. That was seconds before the dragon shouted something and the burial mound exploded, which was followed by a skeletal dragon clawing its way to freedom. Sonata then watched as the undead dragon's scales reformed before their eyes, as if the black dragon had granted his brother another chance at life, before noticing that the black one had turned towards her and her friends. "Ful, losei Dovahkiin? Zu'u koraav nid nol dov do hi." the dragon said, staring right at Sonata the entire time while he spoke, "You do not even know our tongue, do you? Such arrogance, to dare take for yourself the name of Dovah. Sahloknir, krii daar joorre." As the black dragon flew away from Kynesgrove, and away from Sonata and her friends, the newly reborn dragon roared and took off, but instead of leaving the area it turned around and came back at them. Delphine, noticing what was happening first, pulled out an arrow and loosed it at the dragon's head, making it fly around them and give the others time to realize what was happening. When the dragon came around a second time Sonata and her friends were ready for it, as Sonata started loosing lightning at it so she could take away whatever magic it had. Kree joined Delphine with her own arrows, waiting for the best opportunities before loosing the arrow, while Lydia waited on the ground and patiently waited for the dragon to land. At one point the dragon landed behind them for a second and used his wing to smack Sonata in the back of her head, though when she turned to blast it with lightning she found that it was already gone. She growled as she tracked it in the air, lightning crackling in her hands as she, eventually, got ahead of her target and put a bolt where it was supposed to be in a few seconds. She held her breath as her bolt hit the dragon square in the chest, knocking it off its original course and causing it to crash into the ground near them. "That's what you get for smacking me like that!" Sonata shouted, keeping her lightning at the ready, as she knew that the dragon wasn't dead yet, "I know your not dead yet!" The dragon slammed its wing into the ground as it stared at her again, this time with anger in its eyes, before it opened its mouth and loosed a stream of fire at her. Sonata grinned as she snapped her fingers, allowing a azure colored shield to form in front of her and her friends before the flames could touch them. When the dragon cut its flames off it stared at the barrier for a moment, as if it was trying to figure out what had happened, it noticed that one of its enemies was no longer standing behind the thing that had stopped its breath. That was seconds before a bolt of lightning struck its head, causing it to look up at the sky as a barrage of lightning slammed into it from every direction. Sonata emerged from her hiding place and leapt into the air, using her lightning charged sword to the greatest of effect by driving it right into the dragon's skull before rolling to the side. As the dragon looked at her again she called upon the last of her available magic and summoned the largest lightning bolt she could muster, sending it right into her sword and, by effect, into her enemy. The resulting explosion rocked the area around them, but when the smoke cleared Sonata was pleased to discover that the dragon had been brought down, which was followed by its soul flowing into her body. Once she had the dragon's soul she collapsed on the ground, smiling as she stared at the sky that was slowly clearing up from using the last of its charge against her enemy. She had slain one dragon by using the lightning to her advantage, so she had figured that using that method again would have the same result and was glad to see that it had worked. She also heard Kree talking to Delphine, telling the woman that she needed rest, but she smiled and stared at the sky, letting her body rest from having spent all her magic. She'd figure out how to stop the dragons completely one day, but right now she was content to stop them whenever they tried to attack the people of Skyrim. ---------------------------------- "She is improving quite nicely," Lord Grul commented, staring at the scene below him and his subordinate, "Go Aggronak, your next task awaits you." "As you command, Lord Grul," Aggronak replied, bowing his head once more before returning to his troops. Grul smiled as his subordinate left him alone, because he knew that it was only a matter of time until the real Siren Queen awakened from her ancient slumber... and then he would use her ancient power for his own purposes. He already had two of the Sirens imprisoned at the moment, so he had to be patient and nurture Sonata's powers until she was at her peak once again. He had the necessary leverage to make sure that he would win in the end, so he was content to watch his target until she was ready for his end game.