Mal Keyye Ko Keizaal

by Dragon Dreaming

Chapter 2 - Eternal Sorrow

((A/N: Hey, folks! Top Hat here, the other author behind this crazy project. I want to apologize personally for the delay in getting Chapter 2 out to you guys. The chapter has been 90% complete for a while; it was just waiting for me to write one last scene. Unfortunately, the past few weeks have been rather odd for me, filled with interruptions from various sources, and in the midst of it, I lost track of how much time was actually passing. Rest assured, I'll do my utmost to make sure that doesn't happen again for my part. Chapter 3 will be up in a much more timely fashion, I guarantee that. Stay Classy! ~The Less Anonymous Top Hat))

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He’d been tracking them for ages. Ever since they’d rounded that bend and walked right under his favorite vantage point. Two women, both armed, both armored, and both real pretty. Too bad Gedel was such a woman hater. Would have been nice to keep one alive.

They were chatting. Must be friends, the way they talked. Kept ribbin’ each other, or tellin’ stories of exploits; fairly usual, for those on the road, good way to pass the time an’ all that. Kind of missed that. Gedel was just a bitch, and Hern and Ragol, well, he’d already heard all their stories. Twice. And they didn’t have the wit to make any up, neither.

But friends, yeah. The pretty little red head with the daggers and the leather seemed new to the north, the tall blonde was clearly a native. She had nice hips, he thought. Child bearing hips, or so his ol’ ma would have said, bless her cold, shriveled heart. Now which one’d be most dangerous? On their own, would have been the blondie; that armor looked sturdy, if a bit cobbled together, and with that build and those muscles, those maces’d be right dangerous. The red head, well, leather was all well and good but he knew it’d just take one good hit from Ragol’s axe and down she went.

With the two of them, though … oi, now, wake up, Pael. That there was the ambush point. He put fingers to mouth, gave a sharp whistle, and pulled out his daggers, waiting for his cue. He didn’t have to wait long. Ragol never could do a proper ambush, always had to come chargin’ out bellowin’ at the top of his lungs. No matter, kept their eyes off him and on the hulking brute with a bloody great axe, which meant, and here he rolled out of his hiding spot and started sprinting up at the two girls, that he could shank ‘em in the back.

Only things weren’t goin’ quite right. Ragol had gone after the red head, and sure her attention was on him, but the damn fool had missed. That little slip of a thing had just about floated around the axe’s swing and he could just see the flash of her blades and she’d struck at the orc. He’d be feelin’ that before too long – hopefully these two had some potions on them.

Blondie’d somehow got her helmet on, and she was backin’ Hern up, which was a first. Usually he was the one backing people up with those swords o’ his but this time the guy couldn’t get close, it seemed, what with heft and reach o’ those maces. Damn, but this girl had arms. Where was Gedel, then? Takin’ her sweet time as usual? Oh well, up to him.

He slipped up behind the blondie and stabbed at her sides. Well shit. Those pelts weren’t givin’ for anythin’. What’d she done, used troll hide? He hopped back, just in time, or her elbow would’ve clocked him right in the chin and judgin’ from how she could hold those maces that would’ve been it. Easy target on her’d be either throat or where the armor didn’t cover her arms but to be honest he just wasn’t feelin’ like risking a busted head. He stumbled over towards Ragol’s way, and how the hell had they already moved that far away?

“Switch targets, oaf!” he yelled, and the orc grunted, turned and sprinted for the blondie. Redhead yelled “hey!” and went after the guy, who was already bleeding in like six places, but there he was, taking a swipe at her face, which she dodged, and then her eyes were on him. What in … she was grinnin’ like Hircine on a hunt. “You know how to use those daggers, elf?”

He sneered right back, and attacked. She stepped to the left, slipped inside his reach before he could blink, and fuck. Ow. He stumbled, daggers falling from his hands as they reached for his stomach. Gut wound. Gods damn. He felt a foot in his back, and he pitched forward into the dirt, down and out. Now he really hoped they had some potions.

He managed to roll himself over, and propped himself up on a handy rock, so he could watch. Oh. There was Gedel. Finally. Now she was facing the red head, and doin’ a better job than either he or Ragol had, on account o’ her shield and her cautious disposition. Red head moved with a grace that, if he weren’t so preoccupied with his impending death, would’ve put his mind straight to the bedroom, and not wantin’ to start that kind of thing, he looked over to the blondie.

Well fuck. They’d just bloody chosen the wrong damn targets, hadn’t they? Blondie was holdin’ off Hern and Ragol at the same time, turnin’ Hern’s blades on that armor and playing Ragol off not unlike Red had done, though the Orc was movin’ slower and that was probably on account of Red’s strikes on him. He just about choked when Hern had to dodge Ragol’s axe, and wanted to yell at the oaf. Couldn’t, though. Too busy just trying to breathe right.

There went Hern. Blondie’d took advantage of Ragol’s mistake and thunked her mace into the back of Hern’s head, and he went down hard. Ragol turned and looked at her and oh hells he was bringing the axe up to try and block. One good hard overhand and his hand was just a bloody mess, and he no longer had any kind of weapon, and then her other mace hit him in the face and that was that.

He closed his eyes, breathed a couple breaths, and looked over at Gedel. She was on the ground, no sword, no shield, with Red’s dagger at her neck. How’d that happened? Shit. They really had picked the wrong targets. He closed his eyes again, ‘cause now the world was startin’ to spin. They were talkin’ now. Who was it? Blondie? Yeah.

“I know you, Gedel Hothsright. Y’might not recognize me, but I know you.” Well now that was interestin’. “Can’t say as I’ll ever quite forget how you left town. Seems fittin’ you’d end up running with this pack o’ curs.” No response. Probably afraid to talk. Good knife to your throat, you could cut it yourself if you weren’t careful, like.

“What’d she do?” That was Red.

“She was sweet on a boy. Name of Nolan. ‘Cept he was sweet on a girl name of Rana. Had been since they were little tykes. Gedel didn’t like that, now did she? Never did like any o’ the girls. Always fightin’ and diggin’ at ‘em, and then one day she gets an axe. Y’know they buried ‘em together, Gedel? You didn’t stay for the funeral, though I can’t say I blame ya for that bit. Y’never could pull ‘em apart. And y’ain’t made no amends since.”

“Wow. You’ve gotta be, like, the fifth worst person I’ve ever stuck a dagger to. What are we doin’ with her, then?”

“There’s already been a trial. Elders’ve put out a notice for your death, Gedel. I’d take you back so the parents could see it happen, but that’s askin’ for trouble.” He managed to open his eyes again. The world had stopped spinning, but it was gettin’ blurry. He could make out the blondie’s shape, though. She was holding … he squinted. Ragol’s axe. Had to be. “Uh …”

“Y’might want to move your hand.”

The axe flashed, there was a thunk, and he closed his eyes again. He could hear footsteps comin’ toward him, and managed a small grin. “You girls … are good. Damn good. Better’n you looked.” Damn it hurt to talk. Had she stabbed him somewhere else, too? Bah. Didn’t matter much by this time. Only thing that could save him’d be a right strong spell, and neither of them looked the type. “You’re faster’n lightning, Red.”

Silence, save for a small shuffling of feet. “Do me a favor?” He heard a snort. Yeah. Thought so.

“Maybe.”

Oh? Blondie was the nice one, then? “Wound like this,” he struggled through the pain, “take a good hour to finish me off. Mind makin’ it quicker?”

Silence again. He forced his eyes open. They were lookin’ at each other, like there was some sort of unspoken conversation goin’ on. Yep. Good friends. Finally, Red nodded, and knelt down in front of him. “Thanks, Red.” Her blade flashed. There was a brief moment of pain, and then it all went dark.

“You okay?”

AJ nodded. “They weren’t nothin’ special. Couldn’t even get through my armor.”

“Yeah, I saw that. Nice fighting. But, uh, that’s kinda not what I meant.”

“I’ll be alright. I’ll admit, seein’ her was a shock. Dredged up a lot of old, bad memories. But I’ll be alright.” Green eyes met fuchsia. “Though, I do wonder why you pinned her, ‘stead of killin’ her.”

“Told ya I’m a duelist, remember? There’s special rules and stuff, but one of ‘em is that you can’t kill an unarmed opponent. Only subdue. ‘Course if they pick up a weapon again then it’s on again, but …”

“So, what, force o’ habit?”

“Yep. But you, man, where’d you learn to fight like that? I mean, that was, like, awesome.”

“Oh, my pa taught me a bit, and Big Mac too, whenever he was on leave. Granny’s the one made sure I always practiced, though.”

“Granny, huh?”

“Yep. Whenever I’d complain she’d say, ‘Applejack, filly like you is bound for trouble, an’ through no fault o’ yer own. Now you get on out there and do your drills, or you’ll be taking double shifts on manure.’ So, you know.”

“Ew. Remind me never to take up farming.”

“Now don’t go knockin’ it. It’s hard work, but it’s good work, and the rewards are right worth it.”

“If you say so, AJ.”

-oOo-

“Huh. It looked a lot less run down from a distance.”

It was true. Whiterun looked incredibly impressive from far off, with the Dragonsreach palace towering over the countryside from its hilltop vantage, its walls seeming tall and impenetrable. The closer they’d gotten, though, the more it had become clear that Whiterun, while still a formidable stronghold, was nothing like it must have been in its early days. Time, and no doubt attempts upon its walls, had worn them down - in some places, it looked like an agile person could just climb over the wall. “Well, it is an old city. Probably best if we don’t tell the Jarl to ‘is face that ‘is place is looking shoddy, though.”

“Uh, duh. I ain’t stupid,” Rainbow grumbled. “I still don’t quite get why I let you talk me into this.”

“It’s ‘cause you care, obviously,” to which Rainbow replied with a punch to Aj’s shoulder. Not a hard punch, mind - she’d forgotten about AJ’s armor the first time and had been nursing bruised knuckles for the better part of that day. AJ just chuckled and kept walking.

“Hold there,” said the gate guard, “the city is closed to visitors because of the dragon attacks.”

“That’s why we’re here,” said the blonde. “We’ve got news from Helgen, and a request for the Jarl’s aid from Riverwood.”

“Oh, really,” said the guard, looking the pair of them over. They were suspicious looking, he thought. The woman who’d addressed him was kitted in banded iron, her helmet slung at her belt, along with a couple of good steel maces. Clearly a Nord - no mistaking that stature or that long blonde hair, though her eyes were green. The woman beside her looked Imperial, maybe. Fiery red hair, two daggers, some fairly well-crafted leathers, and a multi-colored bandanna around her neck. And violet eyes, too. Impudent grin. Both with hunting bows, too. Could be just for traveling, gods knew the roads were dangerous enough for it, but still ...

“And how do I know you two aren’t bandits, looking to get in and sell your purloined goods?”

Well that changed their expressions. The redhead looked insulted, the Nord’s face was just plain angry. “Hey! I am no bandit! I’m a stand-up duelist, not a backstabber, you piece of troll dung!”

“If’n I weren’t raised better, I’d clock you one just for suggestin’ such a piece o’ hooey. The Apple family don’t hold no truck with murderers and brigands.”

The guard laughed, and held up his hands. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry, my mistake. You two go on in. The Jarl is in Dragonsreach,” he said, turning and signaling for the gate to be opened. “Go straight and head for the market area, then head up the stairs and right through the Gildergreen’s plaza. Path to Dragonsreach is right beside ol’ Heimskr. You’ll hear his ranting about Talos long before you see him.”

AJ just gave him a frosty nod, and went on in, Rainbow grumbling under her breath. “Me, a bandit. Those lunkheads couldn’t duel if their lives depended on it, what’s he thinkin’ puttin’ Rainbow Dash in the same boat as common thugs. You know you should have clocked him one.”

“Much as I’d have liked to, I ain’t never been to jail and I don’t never intend to go. Like as not it’d stop Granny’s old heart dead if she heard.”

“Hmph.”

Dragonsreach, compared to the city’s walls, was in fine shape, and very, very impressive. AJ had to keep her mouth from gaping open as she walked up the long pathway, and even more so once she was inside. Man, but this place was fancy. She looked down at her armor, banged together from iron scrap that they’d managed to scrounge from Alvor’s smithy and the farm, and reinforced with pelts that Faendal had been kind enough to donate. She suddenly felt very out of place.

Still, they were here for a reason. She shook off the nervousness as best she could, and strode forward, doing her best to look as if she belonged here. It did manage to attract the attention of a dark elf in good leather, who approached her with both frown and drawn sword. “What’s the meaning of this interruption? Jarl Balgruuf is not receiving any visitors.”

She put her hand over her heart and bent her torso forward in a shallow bow, like mum had taught her was appropriate, and could only hope that Rainbow’s inevitable scowl at their rather cold reception wouldn’t spoil the whole thing. “Pardon, ma’am, but we come with news of the attack on Helgen.”

The woman continued to frown at them both. “You were there?”

“I was, yeah,” said Rainbow Dash, her tone challenging.

“I’m from Riverwood, ma’am,” cut in AJ, hoping to head off any clashes. “Me and mine run the apple orchard and farm there.”

The elf took another look at the nord, and her eyes widened in sudden recognition. “You’re Smith’s granddaughter, aren’t you.”

“Yes’m. ‘M Applejack.”

“Well, that explains why the guards let you in. Come on then,” said the elf, sheathing her sword and heading back across the hall. “The Jarl will want to speak to you personally.”

The conversation the Jarl was having with his steward ended as they approached, the man taking a good look at the two women as they approached his throne. Not bothering to raise himself up from his tired slouch, he greeted them. Well. More like acknowledge them with annoyance. “Well. I trust you something vitally important to tell me. Important enough to interrupt me in the middle of council?”

AJ thought she did rather well, in that she didn’t swallow nervously or turn and run right then and there. She’d never been good at dealing with nobility, not even when they were just passin’ through the town on there way to somewhere else and came to the farm for some provisions or the like. Which, admittedly, was all her previous experience with them. “I hope so, my Lord. We come from Riverwood, and bring news of Helgen, and a request for aid.”

That got his attention. He was sitting upright right quickly, his full attention on them. “You were at Helgen? You saw this dragon with your own eyes?”

She blinked. Well. Of course news of the dragon would have spread before they got there. It could fly. Duh. “She didn’t, I did,” spoke up Rainbow Dash, as straightforward as ever. “See, the Imperials over that way had captured a bunch of Stormcloaks, this guy named Ulfric with them,” she said, going straight into her story and ignoring the looks of surprise on the faces of the three nobles, “and also a couple of unrelated types who just happened to be in the area, and were sendin’ them all to the execution block without anything like a trial or even botherin’ to make sure that, you know, the people they had actually were rebels and not just innocent border crossers.”

She paused to take a breath, and AJ hid her face in her hand. “So they’ve already chopped off one head, and are just about to chop off another, when BAM! Great big black scaly winged dragon lands on one of the towers, looks at us all, then, like says something, and the sky turns all stormy, and then he starts shooting fire all over the place and tossing things about and all the soldiers are shootin’ at him, but me not bein’ a soldier decide I should get out of there so I do. And it didn’t exactly make it easy or nothin’, looked like it was huntin’ me. Oh, and at the end, it talked. Told me to run, and take a message about our days being numbered and voices sundering the heavens or something like that to someone who sounded pretty important. I can’t remember all the deals, ‘cause I was kind of runnin’ for my life and everyone elses’.”

There was, for a moment, silence after this outpouring of information, during which the Jarl turned his eyes back to Applejack. “And what’s your part in all this?”

“Well, my lord, I saw the dragon as it flew over Riverwood, and met Rainbow when she came from Helgen, and decided to come here to ask for aid in person, it not being right to ask others to do things you should do yourself.”

The Jarl turned to the balding Imperial at his side. “What do you say now, Proventus? Shall we continue to trust in the strength of our walls? Against a dragon?”

Almost immediately, the dark elf spoke up. “We should send troops to Riverwood at once. It’s in the most immediate danger, if that dragon is lurking in the mountains.” AJ blinked. Oh, she liked this woman.

Then the imperial said his piece, and she was not nearly as impressed. “The Jarl of Falkreath will view that as a provocation! He will assume we’re preparing to join Ulfric’s side and attack. We should not...”

“Enough!” The Jarl cut him off, surprising her and keeping her from bursting in herself. A glance to her side showed Rainbow equally surprised, her mouth open in preparation to shout. “I’ll not stand idly by while a dragon burns my hold and slaughters my people! Irileth,” and now she had a name for the dark elf, who, come to think of it, was probably the Jarl’s housecarl. “Send a detachment to Riverwood at once.”

“Yes, my Jarl,” she said, and left, and Proventus similarly excused himself. Balgruuf turned back to the women, and nodded. “Well done. You sought me out on your own intitiative. You’ve done Whiterun a service, and I won’t forget it.”

“That’s mighty kind of you, sir,” AJ replied, a slight blush working working its way onto her cheeks, “but Riverwood is my home. Looking to its safety ain’t anythin’ special.”

“A fair point. But you hold no such ties, do you?” he said, now addressing Rainbow.

“Well, uh, not really, but living is a lot easier when all the towns aren’t burnt down, so, you know.” She shrugged. Balgruuf chuckled.

“Another fair point.” He leaned back, a speculative look coming into his eyes. “You are both armed and armored. Did you run into trouble on the way here?”

The two looked at each other. “We did hit a snag with some bandits, but-”

“It wasn’t anythin’ the fastest hands in Cyrodiil couldn’t handle!” boasted Dash, patting her daggers and grinning. Which faded a little when she caught AJ’s look. “Uh, and, uh, she helped too.” Rainbow leaned forward a little, lowering her voice to an ostentatious whisper. “Actually, don’t let her fool you. She’s mean with those headcrushers of hers.”

Balgruuf nodded gravely, his eyes twinkling, and AJ had to resist the urge to cover her face again. Dammit, Rainbow. “Well, it seems that the two of you may be able to help me with something. Suitable for people of your particular talents, perhaps.” He rose, and beckoned for them to follow. “Come, let’s go find Farengar, my court wizard. He’s been looking into a matter related to these dragons and... rumors of dragons.”

-oOo-

"So... lemme get this straight," Rainbow began as the pair took the winding path down from Whiterun's gate, "We came all the way here from Riverwood... just to go back?" They had gotten a rundown of their task from Farengar, the court wizard, the previous day and had spent the remaining daylight preparing for the journey back to Riverwood and spent the night at the local inn. The early morning sun barely touched them through the heavy cloud cover as they rounded the last corner. AJ shrugged at Dash’s question. In all honesty, she was glad to be heading back home.

"Can't help that the Dragonstone is up in Bleak Falls. Reckon it's a good thing it's so close to home, though. Gives us a proper place to rest up. You rather it was out on some gods forsaken hill, leagues from the nearest town?"

"Well, when you put it like that ..." Dash grudgingly admitted. AJ just smirked.

As they passed through the final defensive gate, they were greeted with the scent of cooking. Just off the path, a number of crude hide tents had gone up overnight. Within the camp, several of the Khajiit cat-people could be seen gathered around a cooking pit, spooning mouthfuls of soups from wooden bowls that steamed in the early-morning chill. Manning the pot over the fire was a pale red female with a hopelessly frazzled mane. She looked up from her work and spotted the pair of travelers. She smiled and waved to them enthusiastically.

“Rainbow...” AJ said quietly, eyeing the cat-folk.

“Yeah?”

“Who in Talos’ name are they?”

“They’re Khajiit. Probably part of a trade caravan.” Rainbow explained off-hand.

“What now?” AJ turned to her with a face that made it clear she didn’t quite understand.

“Khajiit! C’mon, AJ. You can’t say you...” A sudden dawning realization settled on Dash’s features. “Don’t tell me you’ve never met a Khajiit before!?”

“Uh... no?” As if in response to this, the flaps to the nearest tent were pushed aside, revealing an older grey-haired Khajiit who smiled warmly at the two.

"Ah! Travelers! Come! Weapons, armors, supplies, and trinkets Ri'saad provides. Come! See what Ri'saad has to offer." That decided everything.

"That's it, now we're definitely going in," Rainbow declared, pushing AJ towards the tent.

"Wh-what? Why?" AJ objected.

"Whadaya mean 'why'? It's a Khajiit trade caravan! You never know what they've got!" The inside of the tent confirmed what Rainbow had said. The tent was packed with displays of almost every kind of ware available in or out of Skyrim, and some things you couldn't get anywhere else. "Moon Sugar," Dash noted after taking a whiff of the air inside the tent.

"Yes. Only the finest. Are you looking to purchase?" Ri'saad asked.

"Nnno, sorry. I don't 'do' Moon Sugar," Dash said quickly, stealing a quick look at AJ.

"A shame," Ri'saad muttered. He spent the next few minutes pointing out the centerpieces of his collection, expounding the merits of various trinkets and baubles and their associated enchantments. Applejack and Rainbow patiently listened to his spiel; AJ more so than Rainbow, who was both unimpressed and had eyes on something already. Taking advantage of a break in Ri’saad’s endless pitch, she worked her way over to one of the weapon displays. Ignoring the flashy enchanted and gold-gilt trash, she picked up one of a pair of simple steel daggers. They were longer, which was an improvement over the short iron abominations she carried already. She tested the balance in her hand and checked the edges next. Whoever made these knew what they were doing.

“Hey, buddy,” she began, tapping the merchant on the shoulder. “How much for the pair?” she asked, holding out the daggers on the palms of her hands. Ri’saad blinked at her, confused.

“Are you sure? This one would recommend...”

“No. I want these. How much?” The Khajiit seemed on the brink of arguing, but instead let out a sigh of resignation.

“Forty gold for the pair.”

“Thirty,” Rainbow corrected. The merchant’s eyes narrowed.

“Ri’saad will take no fewer than Thirty-seven.”

“Twenty-five and you get my old daggers,” Rainbow replied. “They’re in better condition than when I found ‘em, trust me.” Ri’saad seemed to pause, then shook his head.

“Give this one your daggers, and the price will be thirty. That is the best price Ri’saad can offer.” Now it was Rainbow’s turn to consider the price. After a moment, she nodded in agreement.

“Deal.” The exchange was made, the iron daggers replacing the steel ones on the display rack and a small purse changing hands. Rainbow felt a good deal more secure now that she had proper weapons instead of cheap military knock-offs. “You ready to go AJ?” Rainbow asked, turning to the Nord.

“Just a sec, Rainbow,” she said, taking her turn catching the merchant’s attention. There was no haggling this time. Just a quick exchange of a few gold and AJ had what she wanted. “A lil’ horse figure,” she explained, stashing the wooden toy in her pack. “For Apple Bloom.”

As the two of them left the tent, they were greeted once more by the pale red Khajiit that had been manning the cooking pot. “Hiya! Thanks for stopping by to shop! You have no idea how many people just walk by. Seriously! Who would pass up the chance to buy from us? So that’s why, when Pinkie saw you, Pinkie was all ‘Hiya!’ and waved and everything, because being friendly is one of the best ways to attract customers, and besides, being friendly is fun!” The Khajiit gave them a huge grin. Rainbow looked confusedly at the Khajiit. AJ’s face had gone blank.

“O-kay, then ...” Rainbow said after a long moment of awkward silence. “No problem. Glad we stopped. Bye now.” She turned and gave Applejack a shove to get them moving down the road again, leaving the grinning cat waving at them from the edge of the camp. “Creepy, that one,” she muttered under her breath.

The first leg of the trip was completed in relative silence, both women spending most of it wrapped up in their own respective thoughts. Rainbow wore an unreadable frown as she walked, eyes locked on some point on the ground a few paces ahead. Applejack’s eyes kept drifting over to the mountains to the south, back towards Riverwood and the orchard. They spoke seldom, and only in short exchanges, until they arrived at the Honningbrew Meadery and the crossroads it stood next to. Here, AJ stopped, eyes turning back towards Whiterun.

“Hey, Rainbow,” she began. There was no answer. She turned to see Rainbow hadn’t stopped walking, eyes still vacantly staring at the road. “Hey! RD!” Rainbow stopped suddenly, snapping out of whatever thoughts had kept her occupied.

“Huh? Oh! Sorry. What did you say?” Dash asked, turning to face her companion.

“I was thinkin’. While we’re here, Cousin Alfhild’s farm ain’t that far down the road from here, thatta way.” She pointed down the left fork of the road, back towards Whiterun. “Haven’t seen her in a while, an’ I figure I should at least pay her a visit.” Rainbow’s shoulders slumped a little as she gave Applejack a flat stare in reply. “What? It’s only ‘bout a twenty-odd minute walk from here. It’s the second windmill over there.”

“That’s twenty minutes we could be putting behind us on the way to get this Dragonstone whatsit for mageface,” Dash said pointedly. “And your cousin’s farm is in the exact opposite way we want to be goin’ now!” She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder to emphasize her point, indicating the fork that wound its way south towards the mountains.

“I know that! But she’s family, and it just don’t feel right leavin’ without catching up a little.” Dash’s face scrunched up in frustration. AJ could tell Rainbow didn’t like cutting their daylight hours by backtracking like that. She prepared herself for another stubborn refusal, but instead, the redhead seemed to deflate.

“Fine. Let’s just... let’s just make it quick, alright?” Applejack smiled gratefully in response and clapped a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder.

“Alrighty then! Let’s get goin’... er... Rainbow? You alright, sugar cube? You look like you just seen a ghost.” There was no response from Rainbow, but her eyes had gone impossibly wide. “Rainbow?”

“What in godsblood... is that!?” Her arm, mechanically rose, pointing across the bridge that lead back towards Whiterun. Applejack turned quickly, suddenly on edge, looking for the source of Rainbow’s sudden paralysis. It was hard to miss, but when she saw it, she let out a relieved chuckle and gave Rainbow’s shoulder a gentle shake.

“You can relax, Rainbow. That’s just one of our local Giants. They come through here often enough.”

“But it’s a freaking Giant, for Stendarr’s sake! What in Oblivion is a Giant doing here?”

“They live here, Rainbow. They been livin’ here for as long as anyone can remember. Don’t worry ‘bout them none. They’re generally quiet folks, so long as you don’t go after their herds.” Rainbow was not completely convinced, but she gave a shallow nod and followed AJ closely as she lead the way towards the bridge. The Giant didn’t seem to notice, continuing its long, lumbering pace. “See? Nothin’ to worry ‘bout, now is th-”

CRASH! The bridge shuddered as the Giant’s club struck the stonework, sending shards of stone and dust scattering. Both women froze in their tracks. The Giant’s stance had changed. It hunched aggressively forwards, swaying in place. Its eyes watched them. Very. Closely.

“Oh sweet Mother Mara...” AJ muttered.

“I thought you said they were peaceful!” Rainbow hissed.

“They are... usually.” That brought a low groan from Rainbow. “It’s alright, we just need to slowly back off, and it’ll leave us be.” AJ swallowed hard and started to slowly step away from the eleven foot tall, club wielding hazard. As if in response, the Giant let out a grunt and lumbered forward. The first thing Rainbow noticed was that Giants were fast for their size. “RUN!” shouted AJ, and the two took off in the opposite direction, the thump of the Giant’s steps following swiftly after.

Rainbow risked a backwards glance as they rushed up the road, just in time to see the Giant wind up to bring its man-sized mallet down on top of them. Instinctively, she dove to the side, grabbing AJ by the arm and dragging the Nord down alongside her. The club struck the ground shortly after they did, right where they had been a split second before, leaving a sizable dent in the stone-paved road. Before they had time to stand up, the Giant was poised to stomp them into the road with a massive foot. The two rolled in opposite directions, once again narrowly escaping the coup de grâce. They scrambled to their feet and reached for their weapons.

The Giant’s head swayed back and forth, moving from Rainbow to Applejack and back again, as if trying to decide which should be turned to mush first. It finally raised its arm and swung in a wide arc, trying to hit both fighters in the same swing. AJ backed off quickly, getting safely outside the arc while Rainbow’s training brought out a completely opposite movement. She closed in with the hulking thing, getting in under the swing of its arm, running right up to its torso-thick legs. Her daggers flashed and struck at the back of nearest leg. The blades bit, but not very hard... or very deep. In fact, they didn’t even draw blood. Letting out a frustrated hiss, Dash leaped backwards, avoiding a retaliatory backhand.

“Great! My daggers don’t do squat to this thing! What now?” she called to AJ.

“Keep its attention! I’ll try to get in and give him a right good thumpin’!” the Nord replied, moving to position herself behind the Giant. Rainbow didn’t argue. Once more, she rushed in. The Giant moved to intercept her with the back of its huge hand. Unable to change course fast enough, Rainbow brought her arms up to brace herself for the blow. The hand connected, the force knocking Rainbow clear off her feet. The landing was worse than the blow. She landed flat on her back and felt all the air rush out of her lungs. She lay there gasping for air as the sky above her spun in circles.

AJ took advantage of the Giant’s focus on Rainbow to execute her own strike. Getting up close behind the Giant, she wailed on the back of the its knees, hitting with every ounce of muscle she had, alternating blows between both legs. It was almost completely ineffective. The only thing she managed to do was gain the Giant’s attention as it turned and swung the huge club at her. She was a little slow on the retreat, and the club caught a glancing blow off her shoulder armor, sending her spinning to the ground. With the Nord down, the Giant refocused on the stunned Rainbow. The club went up, poised to turn the Imperial into a smear on the side of the road, there was a flash of blue and yellow and a genuine grunt of pain from the Giant. The club changed course to swing at the source of its pain, but hit nothing but air.

AJ was the first to see the newcomer as she scrambled to her feet. It was the pale red Khajiit from earlier! She was standing just out of the Giant’s reach with a large battleaxe laying across her shoulders, dressed not in armor, but simple clothes of weather-stained blue and yellow. And she was smiling. “Silly Giant,” the feline said with a giggle. “You can’t hit Pinkie from there! You have to come over here!” The Giant grunted and took a quick pair of lumbering steps and took another powerful swing at the annoying cat. Once again, the Khajiit nimbly danced just out of the Giant’s reach with a giggle and a snort.

“It’s not very far! Just move your giant rump! You can hit me if you try before I hop, skip, and jump!” she taunted in a sing-song voice, deftly outmaneuvering another swing of the club. Applejack took advantage of the distraction and ran over to where Rainbow was only just beginning to move.

“You alright, Rainbow?”

“Yeah. Just a little... winded,” Dash replied, her voice a little raspier than normal. “Where’s tall, dark, and ugly?” AJ pointed at the slowly retreating Giant.

“Busy chasing that pink cat critter from earlier.”

“The Khajiit?”

“Yeah. She just showed up, got its attention, and started luring it away. Just like that.” She grabbed Rainbow’s outstretched hand and hauled the Imperial to her feet. “C’mon. Let’s see if we can help.”

A short jog brought them back to the fight. The Khajiit was still grinning from ear-to-ear, merrily dodging swing after swing from the increasingly frustrated Giant. Suddenly, there was a quick hissing sound, followed by a groan of rage from the giant. A second hiss followed, and then another. The giant’s arms and shoulder had sprouted a trio of red-feathered arrows. Beyond the Khajiit, standing on a low wall, was a woman. She already had another arrow drawn to her painted cheek, and she let fly, the arrow striking the Giant in the chest and eliciting another angry growl. Over the wall vaulted a beast of a man, a large steel claymore in his fists, and he charged the Giant head-on as the archer let fly another arrow. The arrow struck first, causing the Giant to hesitate just long enough for the steel-armored man to land a full running blow to the Giant’s leg, the blade biting deep and coming out stained red with Giant blood.

The warrior turned briefly to the Khajiit and the two women, a fierce intensity in his eyes. “Go! Get out of here. Let the Companions handle this.” The Khajiit nodded and skipped over to AJ and Rainbow. “You heard him, girls! Let’s go!”

“But...” Rainbow began, but was cut off by the warrior.

“Listen to the cat and go!” He shouted, bracing the flat of his blade against his hand to parry the Giant’s next swing.

“I think we best get movin’, RD.” Applejack hissed, giving Dash’s shoulder a tug as she began to jog away from the fight. Rainbow snorted and followed, casting several glances over her shoulder as they went, until the fight was hidden from view by a copse of trees.

Once they were sure they had put enough distance between themselves and the fight to avoid getting involved again, the two women slumped to the ground in the grass beside the road, giving their legs and lungs a chance to recover from the fight. The Khajiit plunked herself down nearby, that perpetual smile unfazed by the whole ordeal. AJ and Rainbow shared a look, and something unspoken passed between them. Rainbow just shrugged.

“Thanks for the help back there,” Applejack began, addressing the Khajiit. “Not sure if we’d still be breathin’ if it weren’t for you showin’ up when you did.”

“No problem! Pinkie was glad to help!”

“That your name? Pinkie?”

“Pinkie Pie is the name! Though, most people use just ‘Pinkie’, or ‘that pink cat;’ which doesn’t make much sense because Pinkie is not a cat. Pinkie’s fur is also not really pink. It’s actually mostly red, not pink. Well, not actually red. Closer to orange, or maybe a reddish-orangey-pink, but definitely not just pink-”

“Hold up a sec!” Rainbow interrupted. “How did you even know we were in danger?”

“Pinkie followed you, silly!” the Khajiit explained sticking out her tongue.

“But... why?”

“Because you didn’t have any axes! Everyone knows you don’t go traveling without axes! What if you needed firewood? Or a tree fell and blocked the road? Or you ran into a meanie Giant? Since you didn’t have axes, Pinkie knew you weren’t ready! And if you weren’t ready, that meant you could die! And that made Pinkie so sad! So that’s why I decided to follow you! Plus, Unca Sheggy said it’d be fun!”

The two women exchanged confused looks. This time it was Applejack’s turn to shrug. “Well... whatever the reason, I’m just glad you showed up when you did. I was about to become Rainbow Paste. So... thanks!” She extended a hand to the Khajiit, who shook it vigorously. “I’m Rainbow Dash.”

“And I’m Applejack.” AJ extended her hand in turn. “Thanks a bunch, Pinkie. You really did save our hides back there.”

“No problem girls! Say! Do you mind if Pinkie sticks with you? You two seem like a whole bunch of fun, and Pinkie was getting bored in that caravan anyway.”

“Pinkie, after the stunt you just pulled, we’d be fools to say ‘no.’ Glad to have you!” Rainbow said, leaning in to clap Pinkie on the shoulder.

“Well, with that outta the way, we better git a move on. We lost a lotta daylight there, so we have to hoof it the rest of today.” Applejack stood and stretched. “C’mon. Lets see how much distance we can put in.”

-oOo-

“Lucan! What’s this I hear about you bein’ robbed?”

The store owner and his sister turned as one to the door, their argument supplanted by surprise. Camilla was the first to speak. “Applejack! You’re back!”

The Nord gave her a friendly smile and a nod before stomping up to the sales counter. “Sure am, Camilla, and with some o’ the Jarl’s men in tow, too, for to help if one of those dragons comes on down here.”

What had once been rumor, once been dismissed as simply stories, was now widely known and accepted. Enough people in Riverwood had seen dragons in the distance, or even, distressingly, right overhead, that no one batted an eye. The brother, Lucan, frowned, his eyes on the Khajiit that had come in with his neighbor. “I don’t see what they’ll be able to do against a dragon.”

“They’re more to make sure that the people have a fightin’ chance of getting’ out, I’ll admit,” said Applejack, her eyes roving the store. It was in a state, sure enough, things on the floor and jumbled on the shelves, nothing like the order Lucan usually kept it in. “But back to what I was sayin’ first – what’s this I hear about you bein’ robbed?”

Camilla spoke up, her eyes also on the Khajiit, who was sniffing at the various cheeses on display, the haft of her battleaxe coming perilously close to knocking things around. “It happened last night. A shady group came through and broke in, near tore the place apart. They only took one thing, though – the claw.”

AJ’s eyes widened. “Now why would they do that? I mean I can see why someone’d want the claw, seein’ as it’s gold and all, but why ain’t they take anything else?”

Lucan slammed his fist down on the counter, eyes narrowed in anger. “And that was my question! It’s as if they did not think anything else here was of worth!”

It was at that point that a basket full of assorted cheeses and salted, smoked, and dried meats plunked down on the counter. Lucan started, and his eyes met the blue, curious ones of the red-furred Khajiit. “Hi!” she said. He blinked. “Er, hi.”

“How much for these?”

“Er …”

Applejack shifted over to Camilla, leaving her new companion to haggle with her neighbor. “Any clues, then?”

The woman nodded somewhat absent-mindedly, her attention mostly on her brother. “We saw them go, actually. They headed up towards the barrow. No idea what they hope to do up there, except perhaps use it as a base.”

Applejack frowned. Now that wouldn’t stand. Sure, with the Jarl’s men here now, and with Big Macintosh on the alert, there wouldn’t be another such raid, but bandits in the barrow? That was asking for trouble. “Well as it happens, Camilla, I’ve got business up at the barrow. It’s for the Jarl, so don’t let word get around,” she said, raising a hand to forestall the questions she could see rising in Camilla’s eyes. “And I can’t say no more about it. But I can see about getting’ that claw back.”

Her friend frowned. “That … we would like that, but Applejack, there were at least a dozen of them in town last night, and who knows how many they’ve got at the barrow. I –“

“Not another word. Like I said, I’ve business up there anyway, and I ain’t goin’ alone.”

Camilla’s eyes flicked to the Khajiit, eyebrows raised questioningly. “Yep. And Rainbow’s goin’ too.”

“That girl with the bandanna?”

“Yes. And believe me, Camilla, she can fight. We’ll be fine. Don’t you fret none on our account.”

Her friend sighed, and nodded. “It’s a poor time, this.”

“I won’t argue that.” Coin was now being exchanged, and so Applejack rose. “You all set, Pinkie?”

The Khajiit smiled back at her; really, she just widened her perpetual grin. “Pinkie’s aaaaall set! Now we’ll have real food!”

“If you say so. Come on.”

They found Rainbow waiting outside, leaning against one of the posts that supported the Riverwood Trader’s porch roof. “Hey.”

AJ frowned. Rainbow was wearing an odd expression, one she hadn’t seen before, and it set her on edge. “Rainbow? What’s up?”

The red head waved a pair of parchment sheets at her. “So are all the guys in your town idiots?”

“Idiots?”

“Like Faendal and Sven.”

AJ put her face in her palm. “Oh, Mara. What’d they do?”

Suddenly, Pinkie had her face in the parchment sheets, whiskers a-trembling. “Oooooo what’s this? Badly written love letters? Pinkie’s an expert at those!” In the blink of an eye she had the parchments in hand (or was it paw?) and was reading them, giggling. “Oh my, these are really bad!”

“Well, yeah, that’s the point. Sven wrote the one that says it’s from Faendal, and Faendal wrote the one that says it’s from Sven.”

AJ’s face darkened, her jaw set. “They’re forgin’ each other’s letters?”

Rainbow nodded. “Yep. Faendal caught me at the forge first, was on about Sven and told me he had this plan and practically begged me to help him out with it. So I took the letter, and was coming here, when Sven walks up and asked me what ‘that elf’ gave me. So I showed him, and he’s not even mad, he’s just all smug about it and then he gives me the one he forged! I mean, what’s wrong with those two?”

AJ snatched the letters out of Pinkie’s grasp, and gave them a quick once-over, her face growing grimmer by the second. “Oh, for Mara’s sake. I’ve a mind to take those boys and give ‘em a hiding. But I’ve a better idea. Wait here.” And she turned on her heel and stomped back into the Trader.

Rainbow looked over at Pinkie, and raised an eyebrow. Pinkie just gave a shrug. And then, from inside, there was a sudden shriek of “What!?” Rainbow’s eyes widened, and she started laughing.

“Oooo,” said Pinkie, “she’s gooood.”

-oOo-

“Wait.”

They all three stopped, eyes on Pinkie, who had eyes on the old ruined tower ahead of them. “There’s people up there.”

“Bandits,” said Rainbow. “Let’s take ‘em out.”

“Now hold on, there, they might not be. Can you see anythin’ else, Pinkie?”

“Yep! The girl out front’s got a war axe and a shield and there’s a guy with a bow hanging out in the doorway.”

“Like I said …”

“Alright, Rainbow, they’re bandits. Wait, where are you-“

“Don’t worry, they won’t see me!”

Dash slipped forward, her daggers at the ready, making sure to keep the terrain between herself and the lookout. Her instincts were yelling at her, telling her to just go charging in and trust to her speed and skills, but she kept that down. The image of the horse-thief, arrows sticking out of his back despite his good turn of speed, kept her in check. “This isn’t a duel, Dash, they won’t play by the rules. Arrows are bad, don’t get hit by them.”

She looked back, to where she knew AJ was, and watched as the woman drew back the bow and let fly. There was a cry of pain from the other side of the rock she was hiding behind, followed by a cry of alarm and the banging of a weapon on a shield. She waited, listening to the footsteps, and as the lookout rounded the corner she stuck out her own leg and tripped her up. The woman faceplanted in the snow, and she was on her in a flash, daggers sinking into her exposed back. She wrestled down the rush of guilt. “This isn’t a duel, this isn’t a duel.”

She heard the whoosh of another arrow as it passed overhead, and jumped out from her hiding spot, dashing up to the entrance. The archer Pinkie had spotted was lying just inside, an arrow in his shoulder and one in his throat, so she ignored him and looked up. There were shouts from upstairs, and she could hear weapons clashing. What? Weapons?

The way up took her out the other side of the building, and she almost ran into another bandit at the top of the outside ramp. She recovered from the surprise far sooner than the bandit, however, was inside the man’s reach in a jiffy, her dagger stabbing into his chest. He staggered back, and she gave him a kick, sending him off the ramp and down onto the rocks below. Still, she could hear shouts and weapons, and so rushed on up.

She reached the top just in time to see Pinkie facing off a man in armor like AJ’s, battering him back with repeated swings of her axe at his shield. The room on top of the ruined tower was minimal, very narrow, and she couldn’t see a way to get around and help. But it didn’t matter. Pinkie took a step back, raised her axe in a large overhand strike, and brought it crashing down on the bandit’s shield. He staggered backwards, caught his foot on the turret wall, and went tumbling off with a yell.

Rainbow walked up to stand beside Pinkie, looking over the edge. “What in tarnation!”

She winced. From the look of things, the bandit had nearly landed on AJ. “Whoops! Sorry, Jackie!” Dash raised her eyebrow. Jackie? “Pinkie didn’t see you down there! You alright?”

“How’d you get up there?”

“Pinkie walked!”

Wait, how had she got up here? Rainbow had been the first one in, she could have sworn it; she hadn’t even seen Pinkie get by her. “You … no, I mean, without me seein’ you!”

“You weren’t looking?”

Rainbow put her hand on Pinkie’s shoulder. “It’s not all that important, AJ, let’s just get on to the barrow. I’m itchin’ to get this behind me.”

“Alright, well, come on down, then, and let’s go.”

Rainbow gave a low whistle, eyes traveling up, and up, and up, finally resting on the top of the enormous stone structure before her. And it was, truly, enormous. The dark, ancient edifice dominated the mountaintop, its triangular arches a match for its forbidding face. It looked like some tyrant’s palace, a brooding, hulking thing. She reached out to touch the central pillar of the barrow’s entranceway, brushing away some of the clinging snow, and shuddered. “Who built this?” she wondered.

“Nords,” Applejack answered, her voice subdued. “Ancient ones. It’s just always been here.” She, too, placed a hand on the central pillar, her touch tentative, almost reverent. “We had a bard come through Riverwood, a long time ago, who said something about it being from before the first empire. He even said that it might just be as old, or older, than the White Gold Tower.”

Rainbow stared, inklings of what she could remember of history rising up in her mind, and leaving her dumbfounded. “Over four thousand years old,” she whispered.

“And still solid as the mountain its built on.” There was a hint of pride in Applejack’s voice, and really, Rainbow couldn’t blame her. She was feeling it too. After all, they shared the same ancestors.

“Hey girls!” The chipper voice of their other companion shook them out of the near trance, and they looked around the pillar to spot Pinkie standing at the barrow’s door. “Are we going in or what?”

Rainbow chuckled, shaking off the awestruck mood and moving to the door. “Right. In we go then - we’ve got bandits to evict!”

Pinkie crept forward, her ears swiveling at every sound, willing herself not to sneeze. There was so much dust down here, you’d think these Nords never set foot in these tombs. Oh wait. They never did. Something about not disturbing the dead. She’d always thought that was silly, really. If the dead could be disturbed, wouldn’t they like the company?

Focus, Pinkie. And don’t sneeze. Her ears shifted forward, hearing voices from around the corridor. Two of them, male … her nose twitched at the mention of skooma, her tail at the mention of an unpaid debt. Yep. More of the bandits. Their hearing was really bad, if they were just chatting like that, what with all the ruckus that her and her new friends had caused just up a level. Oh well! Easier for her to sneak!

She looked over at Rainbow, who was watching her very closely, kinda like someone making absolutely sure that what they were watching wasn’t going to just disappear without them seeing it. She grinned the Imperial, and held up two fingers, then jerked her thumb down the corridor. Rainbow nodded, and they were both off, light feet on the old stone making very little in the way of noise.

There were the voices! Human and orc, both leaning against the corridor walls, and down the way it opened into a larger room. She twitched an ear. There were voices from in there, too. Oh well. So much for the stealthy option. She looked at Rainbow again, reached for her Battleaxe, and grinned.

AJ came clanking down the corridor at a full run, rounding the corner just in time to see an orc cut down by Pinkie’s great big axe. The Khajiit looked up at the charging warrior, grinned, and stepped into a hidden alcove, flicking a salute as AJ vaulted the orc’s corpse and ran into the room ahead. Four – two encroaching on Rainbow, one hanging back and trying to string a bow, a fourth looking at her. She kept her momentum, raising her right hand mace and bringing it down hard on the back of a bandit’s head. Her gut twisted at the messy crunch, but she ignored it, turning around in time to take a staggering blow from the war axe of the bandit she’d ignored.

She stumbled back, but righted herself, knocking his next blow to the side with her left hand mace, and followed up with a strike at his arm with her right. He screamed as the mace split flesh and cracked bone, and dropped to his knees, mouth opening to spit a curse at her. Her boot connected with his jaw first, and he was done.

She looked around, still at the ready, but there were no more foes. Rainbow had dispatched her foe with what she was coming to realize was a practiced ease; her claims of prowess were not exaggeration. The bandit with a bow had found himself on the wrong end of Pinkie’s axe, who must have followed her in. She heaved a sigh, and put her maces back in their belt loops, carefully keeping her eyes from the corpses.

“Alright. Pinkie. Any more?”

The Khajiit cocked an ear, and after a moment, nodded. “Pinkie hears one – muffled. But it’s shouting.”

AJ nodded. “Alright. Let’s go.”

“Wait, aren’t you staying back to let us scout ahead?”

“I ain’t stayin’ in here, Rainbow. I just ain’t.”

Dash took a look around the room, her eyes lingering on the two that AJ had felled, and nodded. “Alright. You lead the way, then, Ironhide.”

“Who’s got an iron hide?”

“AJ.”

There was a silence for a moment, only the sound of their footfalls there to break it. “Still looks human to me.”

AJ smirked as Rainbow sighed. “Never mind.”

-oOo-

“Ugh,” Rainbow groaned, slumping against the wall and fumbling in her belt pouch for some healing salve. “AJ, Skyrim officially sucks.” Her arms were already turning red, and she could feel that tingle that meant she’d be going numb before long. Ah, there it was. Uncorking the vial, she emptied it into her hand and started slathering it on all the places the spider’s fuzz had touched. “You’ve got, like, giant everything. I mean, the spiders are already bigger than most dogs, and now they come in sizes bigger’n bears? I’m thinkin’ I should’ve stayed in Cyrodiil.”

AJ grunted in response, focused on the work in front of her: gathering as much venom as she could from the enormous spider’s corpse. Dash focused on getting the salve on as much as she could. These spiders were nasty creatures, with a venom that would freeze you as surely as a Skyrim blizzard, and fuzz on their bodies that would leave you itching for days if you touched it. A good thing they’d stocked up at Arcadia’s Cauldron.

“What are you gonna do with that stuff, anyway?”

“A good alchemist can make a cure from it. ‘S habit to grab what I can when I get the chance.”

“Oh.”

She looked up at the doorway that led out of this room, where the spider webbing was thickest. A dark elf, still very much alive, was very carefully trying not to struggle against the webs that bound him while carrying on a conversation with Pinkie … or well, trying to. She had a pretty quick mind, but trying to follow that cat’s thought process was ridiculously hard.

“Look,” said the elf, “are you gonna cut me down from here or not?”

Alright, time to cut in. “Hey elf! Aren’t you with those bandits who were up the way?”

“Um.” He appeared to be thinking it over. Smart guy.

“’Cause, see, they kind of tried to kill us, and also went and stole this family keepsake from some friends of ours. So I was just, y’know, wonderin’ if you knew anything about that.”

“Uh … there were bandits in the barrow?”

“You’re a terrible liar. I mean, there’s like seven different tells you just gave me. So were you the ringleader?”

He grimaced. “Alright, you caught me. But look, if you cut me down, I’ll let you in on the secret of this place. There’s a reason I went after that claw. And it’s not like I can give it back to you while I’m all wrapped up like this.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, toying with the blade of her dagger. It was tempting to just take the easy road, really. He was, after all, a bandit. Simplest thing would be to just stab him, then cut him down, and get the claw off him. But … this wasn’t a duel. It wasn’t even a fight. She sighed. It just wouldn’t be right.

For all the spiders themselves were big, mean, and tough, their webbing gave way easily to the edge of her dagger. It only took a couple good swipes, and the stuff was weak enough that he dropped to the floor, and immediately started pulling it off him. She waited, foot tapping, as he got himself mostly clean, and met his look with a raised eyebrow. He turned around.

“Oh for the love of Talos,” she muttered. He was running. Shouting something about not sharing the treasure. Idi- a mass of blonde hair slapped her in the face, derailing her train of thought. Wow. She’d not thought AJ could run that fast. Oh. “Hey, wait!”

She came pelting around the corner, and suddenly there were stars everywhere, and lots of loud noises. “Ow.” She raised her head, forcing her eyes to focus, and found herself almost nose to nose with an extremely pale Applejack. “AJ, what-“

“They aren’t real, can’t be. Just legends.”

“What are you talk … ing … about oh gods what is-” She’d looked up. The elf was fighting, panicked against … corpses. Walking, emaciated, dried out corpses. In armor. With swords and axes. She scrambled to her feet, daggers in hand, shivering. “Corpses! Walking!”

“Not draugr, they ain’t real, they ain’t real, they ain’t real-“

A flash of red, blue, and yellow zipped past, and there was a nasty crunch. Pinkie Pie. Axe. And a corpse stopped moving. Okay. So they could be killed. Well. Killed again? There was a step behind her, and she whirled, dodging to the side just in time to avoid the swing of the corpses’ sword. “Shit.” She’d already stabbed it, on reflex, but it was still coming. Could her daggers do the trick here? Maybe the head. It swung again, which she ducked, automatically taking a cut at its leg, which didn’t do much to slow it down either, and slipped behind it, whirling to slam the point of a dagger right into the base of its skull. That did the trick, and down it went.

The rest were all done, too. Pinkie was, in some ways, distressingly skilled with that axe of hers, but it had enabled her to take out the remaining corpses without very much trouble. Dash grimaced. If there were more of these, her daggers weren’t going to be of near as much use as usual. Pinkie and AJ would need to take lead, and one of those was looking problematic.

“They ain’t real. They ain’t. I’m dreamin’, I gotta be. Ain’t real. I’m at home, sleeping, and I’m gonna wake up any minute.” She felt her hands being gently moved from her face, but she refused to open her eyes. She wasn’t gonna risk it. Couldn’t see them again. Couldn’t. Coul- okay, that tickled. “Stop that!” she all but growled, batting at the offending fuzzy.

“Okay!” came the response. Her eyes flew open, and she backed up, raising a hand to her shocked, and suddenly wet, face. Pinkie was grinning at her, tongue wiggling. She shuddered.

“You licked me?!”

“Yep! ‘Cause you said to stop the nuzzles.”

“Th-that don’t mean you can-“ Okay, they were laughing. Her face flushed red, and she hid it behind her arms, groaning. “Dammit, Pinkie, you can’t just lick people!”

“Okey dokey lokey! Come one Jackie, we’ve gotta find that stone for that wizard!”

Right. Right. They had a job to do here. Even if there were … draugr. She was a grown woman. She could do this. She could. She raised her head, took a deep breath, and forced herself to look at the creatures that had only just recently been doing their level best to kill them. Nine, and she’d made a right fool of herself, breaking down and cowering like that. No more o’ that, missie. You got lucky this time. But you can’t let it get to you again. Just can’t. And see, they can be killed.

She took Pinkie’s proffered hand, and heaved herself up, carefully skirting the desiccated corpses and making for the elf’s. Sure enough, he had the claw on him, and surprisingly a journal. Lettered bandits? Skyrim was going down the hole.

Dash put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, you alright?”

She sighed. “I will be. Just, uh … look, I don’t really want to talk about it right now.”

“Hey, no problem. I’ve got your back, alright?”

“Thanks, Rainbow.”

-oOo-

There was a door. It was a great big thing, solid stone and built to last, and, like the hall they’d found it in, covering in intricate carvings. Right at the center was a circle made out of a conspicuously lighter stone, the vague outline of a claw leading to four holes. Just above it was an arc of similar stone, engraved in the center with the image of a bear, a pattern repeated twice more with even larger arcs – those bore an owl and a dragonfly, respectively. Pinkie was peering closely at the carvings, and sniffing at them too, while Rainbow was running her fingers over the stonework, marveling at the detail.

AJ had her nose in a book. Well. The bandit’s journal. “Alright. So he stole the claw ‘cause it’s the key to this door,” she said, snapping the journal shut and taking the claw off from where it hung on her belt. “I guess we’ll try it then. On your guard, though, just in case.” Carefully, she put the claw to the center stone. In reality, it was more like a sculpture of a hawk’s foot, extended as if for the kill; sure enough, the individual claws matched right up to the holes in the stone, and she could feel a click. “I guess I gotta turn?” But the claw wouldn’t budge. The stone shifted a bit, sure, but came up against a block. She shook her head. “More to it than that, I guess.

“Hey, these are rings,” said Rainbow, her fingers on the crack between the door itself and the housing of the stones that showed the animals. “I wonder …” she said, and pushed down on the howling wolf. The whole stone sank into the door, and then began to turn. When it stopped, a dragonfly had taken the place of the wolf. Rainbow whistled. “Now that was pretty cool. The guys who built this place knew their stuff.”

“Land sakes. I ain’t never seen anythin’ like that.”

Pinkie sneezed. “Whoo! Dusty!” And then her hands were on the door, all three rings moving at her command, until they displayed the combination of a bear, a dragonfly, and owl, in that order. “Try that!”

AJ shared a glance with Rainbow, then shrugged and gave the claw a twist. Sure enough, the center stone turned this time, until there was a clunk. The two top rings spun rapidly, lining up as all owls, and the whole door started shaking. Instinctively, she pulled the claw out, just as the door sank into the floor, revealing its sheer thickness. There would have been no way they could have broken through six full inches of solid stone. “Okay, wait, how’d you know the combination?” said Rainbow, suspicious.

“It’s on the claw! See?” Both pairs of human eyes went straight to the claw in AJ’s hand, and she turned it over. And, yes, there was the door’s combination, on the palm of the claw - a bear, a dragonfly, and an owl.

“Huh. Well would you look at that.”

“Sharp eyes, Pinkie.”

The door led them into a grand cavern, old, moss-covered pillars supporting the roof the corridor that led to the main room. The cavern itself looked naturally formed, lit by sunlight from large cracks in the ceiling. They stepped carefully past the raised daises, eyes on the coffins; but they were empty, no dried corpses within waiting to rise up and attack. Across a stream, bridged by ancient stone, a grand dais marked the resting place of whichever lord the barrow had been built for. The coffin was flanked by miniature braziers, a chest, and a set of shelves, the riches of the honored lord, and across from the coffin stood the grandest construction within the tomb – a shrine, of sorts.

It had been carved from an enormous boulder, easily as tall as even the noble houses within Whiterun. The shrine curved inward, forming a near perfect arch, and a beautifully rendered carving a dragon’s head adorned the center of the arch, presiding over the man-high wall, and the writing upon it. “By the Nine,” breathed AJ, maces lowered in her awe. “This is ...”

“Our ancestors sure knew how to bury the dead in style,” said Rainbow, her tone appreciative. “I guess if this Dragonstone exists, here’s where it’ll be.” AJ stepped foot on the dais, her eyes drawn to the wall. The markings were strange, scratches and holes, like nothing she had ever seen before, but ordered, arranged. They had meaning. They had to.

Her feet seemed to move of their own accord, carrying her into the arch itself. She barely noticed the world darkening, her eyes drawn inexorably to a specific group, all limned in blue. Tendrils of color reached toward her as she approached, and she could hear the rushing of her blood, the pounding of her heart. It was as a drum, or a chant, the same word, over, and over, calling to her, reaching for her mind; her very soul.

The world went black. There was nothing but the blue of the word before her, a simple thing, naught but three letters; and yet she could feel a power here, timeless in nature. As old as the world itself. The rhythm of the word reached a crescendo, and the power rushed into her, filling her with warmth. The word took shape.

Fus.

Force.

“Fus,” she whispered. The word felt right on her tongue, at home in her mouth.

“Applejack?” She blinked, and turned. Both Rainbow and Pinkie were looking at her, concern writ on their faces. “Are you okay, there?”

Wait. What in Oblivion had just happened? She’d just learned a word, just like that, from a language she’d not even known existed, and it hadn’t even struck her as odd. And really, it still didn’t. She felt like she should be freaking out, but she wasn’t. It just felt far too natural for her to muster any kind of distress over it. She nodded. “I’m fine, just got lost in thought there, heh.” Her eyes found the chest, its open lid providing an excellent subject change. “You find the stone?”

Rainbow narrowed her eyes at her even as she shook her head. “Nope. Not in the chest.”

The crack of stone reverberated throughout the cavern, drawing the attention of all three girls. The coffin’s lid had split in two, each piece flipping off to land on the dais’ stone with a resounding crash. The draugr’s fist opened, and it pulled itself out of the coffin, its blue glowing eyes going straight to Applejack’s face. It opened its mouth as it raised its battleaxe, every bit as large as Pinkie’s, and spoke.

“Unslaad Krosis.”

The girls scattered, AJ stepping back to dodge the draugr’s first swing, Rainbow and Pinkie flanking on the left and right. The Khajiit took a swing at its exposed back, but her blade was stopped by the armor it wore – far more substantial in nature than any of the draugr they had faced so far. It staggered forward from the force of her swing, but seemed unfazed, using the momentum to once again take a swing at Applejack. She dodged the brunt of it, but the blade still caught her chest piece, the enchantment upon it flaring to life. She could feel the chill as it penetrated her armor, instantly putting her in mind of the snowstorms of midwinter.

But she was a Nord. This chill was nothing. Far greater was the fear that clutched at her heart, the terror she felt at facing the draugr in the first place. She slammed into the shrine wall in her attempt to escape the range of its axe, and the fear turned to panic. It was going to kill her. It would kill her, and then she would rise, cursed to walk these halls as well.

Then Rainbow was shouting at it, darting past and slashing at its neck, and Pinkie’s axe crashed into its arm, a blow that should have crushed it to pulp stopping mere inches into the ancient flesh. “Huh. That usually works for Pinkie,” said the cat, blinking, as she dodged backwards to avoid the draugr’s retaliatory strike. Its second attack was faster, but she slipped to the side, and the axe blade struck only stone. “Hee! Can’t catch pinkie!” she taunted, and blew a raspberry. The draugr inhaled.

There was a clap of thunder, and Pinkie was thrown backwards, her body catapulted over the coffin by a rushing wave of blue, a startled “Ouch!” signaling her landing. Rainbow gave a shout, and charged back in, slamming her dagger between one of the plates of the ancient armor. The walking corpse looked down at her, and grinned. She took advantage of this to stab it in the neck.

It grabbed her arm, and twisted it behind her back, forcing her to cry out in pain, then threw her forward. She flew, for a moment, then hit ground, reflexes turning it into a controlled tumble. Not that it didn’t hurt. She stood up as quick as she could, and turned just in time to throw herself to the side, avoiding the draugr’s charging overhand by bare inches. “Dammit, AJ, snap out of it!” She tumbled to the side again, the axe cracking the cavern floor, got up, and started running. She needed a weapon, a shield, something that could actu-

Thunder. The impact from behind knocked the wind out of her and tossed her to the ground, hard. Oh Nine, that hurt. That really, really hurt. She struggled to get up, but her arms failed her, and her legs as well. Everything was spinning, her stomach was churning, and there were footsteps behind her. She managed to turn her head, forcing her eyes to focus, and cringed. The draugr was there, staring down at her with those glowing eyes, and raising its axe. “AJ!” she cried, and it hurt to speak. “Help!”

The axe stopped, high in the air, and the draugr hissed a word, one that stuck in her mind like fire. “Dir.” This was it. She was going to die.

There was a clang, and the draugr staggered forward. Moments later, AJ cannoned into it, sending it sprawling forward. She, too, stumbled to the ground, recovering a few moments before the draugr, a few precious moments that let her grab the mace she’d thrown at it. It was up, though, faster than it had any right to be, and charging at her, mouth open and hissing. She inhaled, and yelled in its face.

The draugr stumbled, its charge halted, a twisted expression of surprise and fear on its desiccated face. AJ smacked that expression off with a strike from her mace, which sent the creature stumbling to the side. A snarl on her face, she followed up with a strike to its back, then to its shoulder, spinning it around. Her third strike, though, came up short, blocked by its raised arm, and it kicked her in the chest, sending her reeling back. She barely had time to deflect the axe, and no time at all to deal with the follow-up punch, which caught her across the chin and twisted her head painfully to the side. She kicked out, acting on sheer reflex, and managed to catch the draugr on the knee, forcing it back, and opening that allowed her to smash its side with her mace; futile – the mace simply rebounded off the armor. It struck forward with the butt of the axe, knocking her back again, and then, “Fus.”

An invisible force punched her in the chest, and this time she lost her balance, landing heavily on her rear. With two kicks, the draugr sent her maces out of reach, and raised its axe. She looked up, and for the second time that day, she knew she was going to die.

There was movement behind the draugr – a flash of blue, and yellow, and red. Pinkie’s axe blade slammed into the draugr’s feet, sending it crashing to the ground, the Khajiit transferring the momentum of the sweep up, and then down. The blade struck true, right at the draugr’s neck, and the head was severed. The body went slack. The room went quiet.

The draugr’s head rolled a couple paces away, coming to a stop with the eyes facing Applejack. They glowed blue, still, though the light was flickering, and the mouth twisted into a gruesome smile. “Unslaad … Krosis,” it hissed, and the light faded. It was, finally, dead.

“Whew! He was a tough one! Good thing Pinkie landed on her feet!”

Comments

[emberghost]

more chapters!

[HB_DS2013]

I'm not sure who read the word wall, but I know it ain't Pinkie. So far, Rainbow's an Imperial, Applejack's a Nord and Pinkie's a Khajit. I'll bet that Rarity will be an Altmer, Twlight a Breton and Fluttershy's a Bosmer or Argonian.