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The Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim

Chapter Six

Summoned

By Kendo Kawabata

The smell of burning flesh was invading his nostrils more then the smell of burning lumber and pitch. It wafted through the air and across his nostrils, allowing him to inhale it and to taste upon its texture. The smell made his stomach growl, and he licked his lips as he continued to smell the ari around him, inhaling deeply as he let the scents fill his lungs.

"Roast meat" he said in a softly guided effeminate voice that matched suitably with his elegant appearance. "Roast meat, carefully baked with the sweet scent of hickory and rosewood" he said as he brought a black and gold gilded glove up to his face and gently brushed a finger against his long blonde locks. "I do believe I'm getting rather hungry" he admitted.

The horse shifted slightly underneath him, blustering softly as it shook its head, somewhat bothered by their surroundings. It was hard to stay calm when the horse was surrounded by the burning remains of the once proud town of Helgen, the fires only just barely dying down and the smoke clearing enough to be able to see clearly. However, its rider didn't noticed, or if he did, he didn't care.

"Sir, we found a survivor" came a voice behind them. The rider simply turned his head, the edge of his gold trimmed hood shifting slightly to offer him a view over his shoulder. Two imperial guards were walking up to him, dragging a third person between them along the ground. They were covered in soot and much from their digging around in the ruins in the tavern.

The two heavily armoured men threw the figure onto the ground before them, and stood back with their hands on their sword hilts. The figure was a blonde haired nord, his skin looking dark from the amount of soot and ash that was covering him. He smelt strongly of smoke and there was dried blood across his face, his clothing singed from the fires.

The nord coughed a few times as he adjusted himself on his knees after being thrown to the ground, but he started to choke as he fell backwards, fear rising up in his chest to who he was now facing on the horse. He looked like he wanted to run as far away as he could, but with the two armed men behind him, the Nord wasn't able to get away easily if he wanted to.

The figure on the horse was the High Lord Justicaar of the Thallmar, Dariannus L'Cieth. Dariannus was the high elf leader that lead the chapter of the Thallmar that had been sent to quell the rebellion and to exert their control over Skyrim. He was death, in elegance. People would not even dare breath in his presence unless he found it offensive. It was rumoured that even the assassins of the Dark Brotherhood hesitated to consider a contract involving his death.

"Oh, a survivor?" said Darriannus, who looked equally bored as he sat atop his horse in the ruins of Helgen. Around him lay the still smouldering remains of the once good village, the flames still burning in some of the ruined buildings. However, the bored expression on his face seemed to gather that he didn't find the ruins rather impressive, or moving in any sense.

"How boring. You couldn't have at least found one with enough sense to be on his knees before his betters?" the high elf asked in his soft light voice. The simple fact that several burned corpses of civilians and guardsmen were littered around the ground nearby didn't seem to register to him, as the High Lord Justicaar didn't seem to be unfazed by anything that they had found.

"I...I'm sorry, my lord" the Nord said as he hurriedly got to his knees, throwing his hands onto the ground before him as he bowed before the man on the horse. "I ...I didn't recognise who you were....the smoke...it damaged my eyes and ...I'm sorry, forgive me my lord" the Nord hurreidly said as he felt his heart hammer in his chest. If the High Lord Justicaar thought he was being insulted...

He heard the sound of leather shifting, and then a dull thud on the ground as Dariannus dismounted his horse. The pointed ends of the justicaars shined leather boots appeared before the Nords vision. The nord gulped and held back choking on the taste of ash in his mouth as he dared not move.

"If you wish to beg forgiveness, you should look at the person you are asking. How is the ground supposed to grant forgiveness?" Dariannus asked in a bored tone of voice. He sounded almost like he was scodling a child. Slowly, the Nord lifted his head up and looked up at the elaborately dressed high elf. The expression on the justicaars face was one of sheer boredom.

"Would you care to explain what happened here? I was under the impression that there was to be an execution of the usurper Ulfirc Stormcloak. Instead, we have a ruined village and mulitple lives lost, including that of my men. That is rather insulting" he said as he removed a silver dagger from his belt. He held the dagger in his hand as he pressed the point against the covered tip of his index finger. "And please, be quick about it" he added.

"My lord, the execution of the usurper was supposed to happen" the Nord said as he sat back up against his heels, holding his hands in front of his chest as he slowly rubbed them together. The dust and dirt on his fingers began to smear against one another. "Ulfric was carried here with his traitor guardsmen, and a few other prisoners. The execution was happening as planned, and you're honour, it was a pleasure to be chosen to host the execution here..."

"Don't dally" said Dariannus said as he slowly twirled the dagger against his fingertip, seemingly staring off into the distance, looking at the ruins of one of the watchtowers. "I am in somewhat of a hurry, so could you please just skip the details and get to the point"he said.

"Y-yes my lord" said the Nord as he bowed his head several times in apology. "The execution was already underway, they had shot down a ...a runner and executed one of..one of the stormcloaks. But...but the execution was interrupted."

"Interrupted how?" Dariannus asked as he took the dagger away from his hand and slowly removed his glove. His hand was surprisingly slender, his fingers long and very pale, almost the colour of the snow that littered the countryside. Carefully he tucked his glove into a pocket on his robe and then proceeded to clean his fingernail with the dagger tip.

"By a dragon" said the Nord

The justicaar stopped, the tip of his dagger pressed under one of his nails as he drew his attention down to the Nord as if he registered he was actually there. There was a minute of silence, broken only by the sounds of the Imperial guardsmen around them hunting through the remains of the destroyed village.

"Do you think I am an idiot?" the justicaar asked as he looked down at the Nord. "Dragons are extinct, they are nothing more then legends. Do you honestly expect me to believe such a fairytale?" he asked. "Are you sure you are of sane mind, or are you trying to play me for a fool?"

"My..my lord, I do not wish to insult you" the Nord said as he bowed his head again in apology. "But..but I saw it with my own two eyes. It destroyed the village and killed everyone. It destroyed Helgen like it was an insect waiting to be squashed. I don't know how I survived, the Inn collapsed around me after the dragon blew it apart."

"Just because you saw it doesn't mean I believe you" said Dariannas as he resumed cleaning his fingernails with the tip of his dagger. "And I do not like it when people insult my intelligence by offering me stories" he said.

"My...my lord...please believe me...it was a dragon..."the Nord said. "I have no other explanation for this destruction, please my lord, if you could just allow me the honour of believing me...." He did not get to beg any further as they were suddenly interupted as a courier suddenly appeared, running up to the justicaar and kneeling before him.

"High lord, I bring an urgent message from Whiterun" The courier panted as he knelt on his knee, his clothes dirty with dust, looking like he had run several miles. "For your eyes only" the courier said as he reched into his sidebag and produced a folded piece of parchment.

"You are interrupting something" Dariannus said as he looked down at his fingers before he removed the dagger, extending his fingers out in front of him as he examined them for a moment. "I do hope that this is important, we are currenlty in the middle of a delightfull discussion about the existence of dragons."

"My lord, I am sorry to interrupt, but your informer from Whiterun has an urgent message for you" the courier said as he extended the letter towards the justicaar. "He said you needed to view it right away" he said as he offered the letter in front of him.

Dariannus rolled his eyes in a rather bored way as he took the letter in his bare hand and used the blade of the dagger to carefully unfold it with ease. Nearby, two Imperial guards dragged the lifeless body of a redguard woman from the remains of one of the houses, her body charred beyond recognition. Dariannus didn't even seem to register it as he opened the letter.

"Hmmm, well, this is interesting" he said as he read over the notes. "Well, ....what did you say your name was?" he asked as he addressed the Nord at his feet.

"My name? It's Alongar my lord" the Nord said, as he nervously rubbed his hands together, the dust and soot starting to smear with the sweat that was building up.

"Alongar, it would seem that you are not the only one that is seeing dragons" said Dariannus as he looked down at the Nord before he slid the dagger back into its sheath and then started to fold the paper letter up in his hands as he kept the gaze on the Nord. "My contact in the Whiterun guard seems to believe that a dragon attached the Western tower and destroyed it" he said.

"Whiterun was attacked? But....if he saw a dragon...that does mean I'm not lying" Alongar said as he looked up at the justicaar. The high elf was folding the paper with precision and experience in his finers while he kept his bored gaze on the Nord.

"By a dragon no less" the justicaar said. "Two people, announcing that a dragon was behind two major attacks here in Skyrim. I suppose, if two people claim it, then there must be some measure truth amongst it" he said as he held his bare hand up, the finshed folded product extended from the tips of his fingers. It was a paper bird, perched in the tips of his fingers.

"Then you can believe me sir. A dragon did attack Helgen. Perhaps its the same one that attacked the watchtower" Alongar said as he rubbed his hands together firmly.

"Perhaps. But, I'm afraid I'm not completely convinced on the matter" Dariannus said as looked at the Nord on the ground. "A dragon, seriously? What not just say it was a vampire or something more believable" Dariannus said as he flicked the paper bird away with a twist of his fingers.

The paper bird seemed to float rather gracefully in the air as it gently soared to the ground, before it landed on a blackened piece of wood. Gentle white whisps of smoke started to curl around the underside, the wood still clearly hot.

"Your contact also said that I was deliver this to you, my lord, in case you didn't believe his letter" the courier said as he reached again into his sidebag and extracted something bound in cloth. He stood up as he extended the object towards the high elf.

Dariannus actually raised an eyebrow as he took the item in his glvoed hand and used his bare fingers to slowly unwrap the material. As the material fell away, they all caught a glimpse of the symbole of Whiterun that had been emroidered into the blue material, and the blood splatter that was still fresh.

All of them saw what was revealed, and all except from Dariannas held their breath. Dariannas picked up the bone with two fingers and held it up as he examined it. It was parched white and several inches long, the tip curved forward. It had a sharpened edge like a knife, and he found it surprisingly heavy. It was obviously a claw of some kind, but it was far bigger then anyone there had managed to see before from any kind of animal.

The paper bird suddenly ignited and burst into flame, briefly flaring up like a majestic creature before it turned black and started to flake away as the paper burned into white ash. Dariannas placed the bone back onto the scrap of uniform and then gestured his bare hand at the courier, dismissing him. The courier nodded as he turned and immediately began to hurry away without looking back.

A single thought passed through all their minds about where this came from, but there was only one explanation that they all silently agreed on. It had to have come from a dragon.

"Sir, over here" came a voice that interrupted their thoughts.

"What is it now? Oh rue this day, will these interuptions ever stop? This is really becoming tiresome" Darriannus said as he slid the bundle into one of his pockets as he strode forward, brushing past the nord and the guards.

"Hold him there while I deal with this" he said once he had walked past them as he strode his way over the charred street. His gait was rather gracefull, his body movements suggesting that he was moving to a slow soft beat that only he could hear. Each step the elegant elf took was precise as he walked towards an imperial guard standing before the ruins of the keep, who was gesturing towards him with a hand in the air.

"Sir, I found Hadvar" the guard said as he gestured to the ground with his hand. Dariannus looked down with a bored interest, almost like he was expecting this, or the concept of finding someone dead was nothing to get excited about.

Hadvars body was lying stretched on the ground, a dried pool of blood surrounding his body that had drained down through the cracks in the ground. There was a lot of blood, far too much to be spilt outside a body like this. It must have been bleeding for hours beyond his death.

"Oh. How unfortunate" Dariannus said without much conviction. He gently brushed a strand of his long blonde hair away from his delicate looking cheeks as he gazed at the guard with his large piercing eyes. "How did he die?"

"I do not know sir" the guard said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "I have inspected his body, but there are no visible signs of a stabbing or penetration of any kind. Nor are there any signs of the usual magic attacks. I'm sorry to say, that I do not know how this happened" he said.

"I guess this supposed dragon that attacked didn't kill him either" Dariannus said as he looked over the body. Hadvars armour was intact on the body, nothing was missing. He was not burned, nor was he torn open. It was almost like he just collapsed and started bleeding.

Dariannus narrowed his eyes as he nudged at Hadvars head with his boot. The head moved over and they both got to see his face properly. His ears and mouth were full of blood, pools drooling out of the open holes in surprising amounts. His eyes were bloodshot, so much so that neither of them could barely see the iris.

"I believe I have seen this before" Dariannus said in a surprisingly curious tone of voice. "If I am not mistaking, I think every organ in his body ruptured and exploded. His blood has nowhere to go but out any available hole in his body' he said, his bored sounding voice was starting to sound interested. "Was he carrying anything important?" he asked.

"Just this. The list for the execution" the guard said as he produced the document from under his arm. The parchment was splattered with a pool of blood, but it was intact. He handed it to the justicaar, who took it without hesitation.

"Hmm, I see. The list for the execution. They had started it indeed. Two names are crossed off" Dariannus said as he scanned the document. Then his features contorted as he saw a name had been added in ink at the bottom of the page. His face suddenly showed annoyance as a flash of anger crossed his face.

Without a word he strode back over to the guards who were still standing behind the Nord. He hadn't moved from his position, still wringing his dirty hands in his lap out of nerves. The guards behind him didn't look interested in him at all, but they straightened up as Dariannus appeared again before them.

"Tell me, was he the only survivor you found?" Dariannus asked as he stood before them. There was a very annoyed expression on his face, his bored lofty gaze replaced with determination.

"The only one we could find. If there are any others, they either must be long gone by now, or dead" one of the guards said.

"Hmmm" Dariannus said as he carefully folded the parchment over several times and slid it into his pocket. He then pulled his silver dagger from its sheath again and held it up, tapping the tip against his slender chin, as if in thought. "Did you find anything on him, by any chance?" he asked.

"No sir, we didn't" the guard said wit ha straight face. Alongar looked between them both in confusion.

Dariannus brought the knife up before his face and slowly extended his tongue. Then slowly, with the grace and delicacy of someone licking icing from a sweetroll, he dragged his tongue across the sharp edge of his blade. His tongue slid from the base to the very tip, a soft sigh eminating from his throat as his breath expelled over the blade, a soft visible cloud that hung in the air.

The moment his tongue left the blade, the justicaar brought the dagger down and around, the tip arcing through the air before it made contact with Alongars throat. The Nord felt the blade slice through his neck with ease, the blade cutting through him like it was cheese. It took him a moment to actually register that his throat was cut.

Alongar fell to the ground as he clutched at his throat as thick rivulets of blood poured through his fingers as he found himself choking, unable to breathe as he struggled. But it was useless as he rather quckly bled out, his body slowly coming to a standstill, a few twitches across his limbs as his life left his body. He lay on the ground, one hand still clutching his throat as he stared up lifelessly at the sky.

Dariannus held the blade up in the light and inspected it, seeing only a thin spray of blood across his blade. With delicate movements once again, he passed the smeared side of the blade across his tongue once more, cleaning it of the stain, another pleasurable sigh escaping his throat.

"Plant a stormloak blade on him. Then burn the body" Dariannus said as he slid his now clean blade back into its sheath and carefully slid his glove back onto his bare hand. "I want every available operative to keep their ears above ground for any talk about dragons. And I want our historians to start pouring through the catacombs and histories of Skyrim. Anything to do with dragons, no matter how remote, I want answers" he said as he made sure that his glove was fully secure.

"Yes sir" the guards said with a nod and a bow of their heads as the justicaar mounted his horse easily and picked up the bridle in his hands.

"oh, and one other thing" he said. "spread the word amongst the operatives. Anyone who can find me the one called Sunder-Wolfbane, will be rewards handsomely. Dead is fine, but i'd prefer him alive" he said as he nudged the horse forward with his heels. "And someone should find out what that thunder in the sky was a while ago. It sounded like someone was shouting profanities into the air."The guards nodded again as they watched him ride off, disappearing into the dispersing smoke.

Alto would have to admit, that Breezeholme wasn't as bad as it could have been ,once the two of them had actually gone into the house proper and had the chance to look around. The fire pit in the central room roared to life after Kassi'm flicked his hand towards the grate on the floor and made the flames erupt with a simple gesture.

Although Alto thought that Kassi'm wasn't interested in getting warm, or moing into the house proper as the argonian took a moment or two to investigate the first level of the house with a look on his face that suggested he would rather be alone.

The moment the sky had cleared and the roaring of the Greybeards voice had tapered, Kassi'm had walked through the front door of his house and slammed the door shut so hard that Alto was briefly afraid he had destroyed it in the process. But, when he tried the door himself, the khajiit found it was still in working order.

"Two bedrooms upstairs. You can have the other one. Goodnight" Alto heard Kassi'm say from upstairs before the argonian slammed the door to his choice of bedroom closed.

Alto sighed to himself as he unstrapped his dagger from its place on his kilt and laid the weapon on the large table at the end of the front room. The table was covered in plates and tankards made out of blue pottery, and looked as mediocre as they probably were. Alto figured they would do for now, if Kassi'm intended to replace them later on down the line.

Feeling the cold interior of the house warm up from the roaring fire, Alto figured now was as good a time as any to catch up on some sleep. It wasn't every day he ended up heading into old tombs, getting caught by spiders, then ending up fighting dragons.

"Dragons. Who would have guessed?" he said to himself as he found a smile playing on his lips as he ascended the stairs. The door across from the landing was shut, so Alto stepped into the other doorway, which was open. Inside lay a single bed with a night-stand beside it, the bed covered in warm looking fur blankets.

"More then I had yesterday" he said to himself as he closed the door behind him, images of the moth eaten rotten sleeping roll he had used up until now were something he would be glad to remove.

The fog swirled around him, cloaking his field of vision with ghostly wraiths of white smoke. Kassi'm couldn't tell where he was, or when he was. All he knew, was that he was there. He couldn't smell anything, but the smoke tickled his nose in a rather irritating way.

He took a step forward, his boot coming into contact with soft grass, although he could not see it when he looked down. The mist covered the ground that each movement may have swept the mist away, but it was swiftly replaced.

Something brushed past him, something solid enough that he felt it against his side. But the figure was a shadow, a ghostly image hidden in a wraith of smoke.

"Hey, hey wait" Kassi'm said as he reached forward with his hand, walking towards the shape as he was still able to see it in front of him. But his hand grasped nothing but smoke as it billowed through his fingers, hearing the footsteps hurry away.

"Wait up, where am I?" Kassi'm shouted as the figure seemed to move faster, although its gait hadn't changed speed. Kassi'm found himself running along the ground as he tried to keep up with the moving figure.

Another one ran in front of him, Kassi'm almost colliding as he halted his tracks, stumbling a little as he gained his posture. He couldn't see who it was, the figure was gone in a blur of shadows in the smoke just as quickly as it had come.

He didn't feel panicked, nor afraid. In fact, he didn't feel anything. It should have worried him, but he didn't feel concerned about it. He was surprisingly calm as he saw another figure dash past him and disapear into the billowing smoke.

"Hey, will you stop for a moment?" Kassi'm said as he walked forward, trying to see if any of those figures were in reach. He turned and tried another direction and saw a shape in the distance. It looked like the figure was standing there, almost like it was waiting for him.

"Wait...you...no, no that's not possible" Kassi'm said as he got close enough to get a good look at the figure, and he felt not just surprise, but also fear strike his heart as he saw the figure standing before hi.

Clad in the blackest leather he had ever seen, so dark that it looked like he was wearing liquid shadows, the male was imposing amongst the swirling smoke. Slowly, the figure lifted its head, the black hood covering his face, but the front of his scaled maw was visible as the figure brought its hands up and brushed the hood back.

"You don't belong here" the red scaled argonian said as Kassi'm found himself staring into the eyes of a face he had never seen before, but someone he would never doubt about who it was. And there was no reason for this person to be seen at all, because he was dead. Dead for several generations.

"Roka?"

Kassi'm woke up with a gasp as he found himself sitting up in his bed, his arms flailing a bit as the sweat drenched furs fell to the floor with a thudding noise. His limbs splayed around for several moments as the furs were kicked from his body, his naked body exposed to the air as he sat up.

Kassi'm breathed deeply for several minutes, his heart racing in his chest as his eyes darted around the unfamiliar room, the sweat on his body starting to chill with the cold drafts coming in from the gaps in the slotted ceiling. For a moment, his mind wasn't to register where he was or what had happened, but after several long deep breaths, he was able to remember where he was.

"That...that was just a dream..." Kassi'm said to himself as he brought a hand up and wiped the now cooling moisture from his face. He looked at his glistening fingers, surprised at the liberal coating of sweat that had built up. "There's...there's no way that was the real him...he's dead and gone....gone a long time ago.." he said to himself.

"But...why am I dreaming about him now?" Kassi'm said as he brought his legs around to the side of the bed and sat himself up, looking at the wooden panelling of the ceiling as if that would help give him answers. But wood wasn't able to talk to him as he shook his head.

"It's just a dream. It doesn't mean anything" he said to himself as he pulled his naked form off the bed, pulling himself to his feet as he stretched his weary body out, feeling his cramped muscles starten to soften up.

"I'm in Breezeholme...that's right, I have a house now" Kassi'm said as he started to remember everything that had happened. "I got this house after I .....after I helped kill a dragon" he said as he placed one hand against the wall and leant forward a little as he looked down at his naked feet. "I killed a freaking dragon.... and I absorbed its soul."

"That...that really happened, didn't it?" He asked his feet as he tried to register it. Now that the excitement had died down and he was able to actually focus on what had happened, he was finding it hard to believe. Even though it had actually happened, it felt surreal.

"And I can do that...shout thing too can't I?" he asked his feet as he slowly wiggled his toes, watching them move as he shook his head. Then he sighed slowly, shaking his head back and forth. "This is just....a bit too much" he admitted.

He could smell something cooking, surprised he hadn't noticed it when he woke up as he slowly looked up against the wall. His stomach suddenly rumbled as he rubbed a hand across his abs, feeling how empty his stomach was. He couldn't recall the last time he had actually eaten a proper meal, and he pushed his problematic thoughts aside.

He crossed the bare floor of the room and walked over to the dresser where he had stashed his robes. The smell was coming up through the floorboards and it smelt like some kind of meat and gravy. Alto must be up and cooking, although that made Kassi'm wonder where he had gotten the food from. And why Alto was still here.

"Guess I should go downstairs and find out" he said to himself as he picked up one of the blankets from the ground and started to wipe himself down. He didn't want to get dressed sweaty, it would have made his clothes rank. After tossing the blanket on the bed, he opened up the drawers and picked up his robes, then noticed the holes in the material. He let out a disgusted sigh as he saw the mud, soot, dust and dried blood that had congealed into his clothing from the previous days so called 'adventures', and he knew that they were ruined. They were not worth saving, or even worth the problem of trying to clean.

"Great. Now, ontop of everything else, I need new clothing" he said with disgust as he threw the ruined robes onto the bed and decided to see if the dresser had anything else in it. He hadn't bothered to check when he entered the room, he had just stripped off and got into bed. He had fallen asleep the minute he had closed his eyes anyway.

The first two draws he pulled open contained female clothing, an assortment of dresses and bonnets that made him screw up his nose. There was no way he was parading around in a dress. That was not happening.

But the second drawer he pulled open had , to his surprised, much better luck. Tucked away neatly in the wooden drawer was a full set of leather armour, and it looked to be in his size. He picked up the leather armament and took a look at it. The leather was soft, but it was sturdy, free of any blemishes and cracks that would normally appear over time.

"Well, about time something went my way" Kassi'm said to himself as he started to get himself dressed. The leather cuirass slid over his body like it was made for him, and the soft furred interior felt good against his bare scales. The leather bracers slid over his forearms and were easy to snap into place. Tight fitting, but the leather would soon breath and expand enough to conform around his body.

The boots were even in his size, well padded on the inside and perfect for adventuring. And they were pleasantly warm too. Once he had finished strapping himself into the clothing, he stood up and stretched himself a bit in the newly formed armour. They were tight in all the wrong places, especially under the arms where the tight material was cutting into the soft parts of his flesh. He knew chaffing was going to happen eventually. It would take time for it to fit properly.

"well, its either this or nothing" he thought to himself as he picked up his daggers from the bedside cabinet from where he had placed them the previous night. The holsters slid into place on his belt and were easy enough to carry around. Although the blades needed a good cleaning. Satisfied with himself, he made his way downstairs, feeling the leather armour creak around him with each movement.

"I see you finally woke up" Alto said from where he was standing in front of the cooking fire. The khajiit was wearing his fur kilt beside the fire grate and he was stirring a large iron spoon in the cast iron pot, and whatever was in there smelt delicious. "I was starting to get concerned you weren't going to wake up anytime soon. And you changed your clothes" he noted.

"Found them in the dresser" Kassi'm said to him as he stepped onto the floor off the stairs. "My robes are ruined, so these will do. I don't fancy going outside in just nothing" he explained.

"That would be a sight to see, the dragonborn running around naked" Alto said with a chuckle as he picked up a pottery bowl and started to spoon a generous helping of the hot contents into it. He went to hand the bowl to Kassi'm, but saw the look on his face and his smile didn't last too much longer.

"Dragonborn, still can't believe this is happening to me" Kassi'm said as he took the bowl and sat himself down at the table. The gravy was a deep brown and there were large succulant looking chunks of meat floating around in it. It smelt well seasoned, and his stomach growled again rather loudly. "Where did you get this?" he asked as he picked up a fork.

"From the market just up the road. I got it for free" alto said as he helped himself to a bowl of the food. "I ended up getting a lot of things from the market for free" Alto said as he pointed to the shelving unit behind the table. Kassi'm turned and raised an eyebrow to what he saw there.

There were large wheels of brightly coloured cheese and sweetrolls lining the shelves on platters. Several rabbits were hanging from a rack above his head, and there was a wooden bucket of wine bottles on the floor. There was also a small wicker basket filled with what looked like coin purses sitting at the edge of the table. It looked like the city had decided to take up a collection for him.

"Apparently, word has swept through the town about you. Everyone knows that you are the dragonborn now, and they all are thankful for what you did" Alto said to him as he dipped his ladel into the pot and started to pour himself a serving.

"I didn't do it alone. I had help" kassi' m said as he pushed his fork into a chunk of meat and brought it to his mouth. Turned out it was rabbit, and it was very tender. It must have been stewing overnight, and he could taste the various spices that Alto had mixed in. "I didn't ask to go out there anyway" he reminded Alto. "I didn't really have a choice."

"I know. Irilith and the Jarl didn't give you much of an option" Alto said as he took a seat beside Kassi'm at the table. There was a very large brown loaf of bread sitting on a plate between them, from one of the gratified people Kassi'm thought. Alto produced a sharp knife and helped himself to a slice and began to tear it up. "But that was two days ago. Today is today" he said as he placed the chunks into his bowl.

"WHAT?" Kassi'm said as he almost choked on the mouthfull of food he had tried to swallow. He ended up bringing his bowl to his mouth and coughing it back up as he gasped a couple of times. "Two...two days ago? Are you serious?" he asked, a dumbfounded look on his face.

"You've been asleep for two days" Alto said to him. "I tried to wake you to get you some food and make sure you were ok, but you didn't wake up" he said.

"I've been asleep for two days?" Kassi'm said in disbelief. It didn't feel like he had slept for two days. Alto nodded at him as he started to eat his bowl of stew, letting it sink in for Kassi'm in silence. It didn't feel like he had spent two days asleep, but then again, he had done a lot in the days before he had gone to bed, and he had been dead tired. The surprise started to wear off as it sunk in, but it was still surprising in a sense.

"I must have been more tired then I thought I was" Kassi'm said as he resumed eating, the half eaten chunks still tasted good the second time around. "I feel a lot better though" he admitted to Alto, who looked relieved to hear it.

"So, do you think you will go see the Greybeards?" Alto asked as he dipped a chunk of bread into his stew and brought it to his mouth.

"Like hell I am" Kassi'm said as he put down his fork. "I'm not going to see them" he said. Alto dropped his bread onto the table where it landed with a soft splat.

"Wh...why not?" he asked. "It's....it's something you're supposed to do, you're...you're the dragonborn" Alto said, a look of disbelief across his face, unable to fathom Kassi'm not wanting to go.

"Look, believe it or not, I have plans. And those plans involve going to Winterhold, where I want to apply at the college there" Kassi'm said as he looked over at the dumstruck khajiit. "I wanted to go there when I left home. That's not going to change just because some people shouted loudly into the sky" he said as he took another mouthful of his food.

"I intended to got to Winterhold when I left home. I intended to go when the Imperials captured me and tried to behead me for no reason. I intended to go before this stupid dragon business popped up and I had to go fetch some stone because a wizard was too self important to do it himself" Kassi'm said as he felt his anger start to rise up, making his frustrations build up on everything that had been happening to him in the last few days.

"But...being the dragonborn is an honour" Alto said to him. "And its not something I think you can just walk away from..." he said, but Kassi'm cut him off.

"Like Oblivion I can't just walk away" Kassi'm said sharply. "I'm done with this, ok?" he said as he slammed his hand on the table, making his plate jump. "I'm done with people telling me what to do and where to go. I'm had people telling me to die, to fetch things, to kill things, and now these stupid grey hairs or whatever they're called think I'm a courier they can just summon" he said.

"Kassi'm, I didn't mean it like that..."Alto said, but Kassi'm cut him off with an angry gesture of his hand.

"I don't care, ok? This is my life. And I'm choosing where I go next, not some old guy sitting on a mountain shouting at the sky. I'm going to the college, and I'm going to learn about magic, just like I always wanted, ok?" he said angrily.

Alto actually looked hurt and disapointed that Kassi'm had suddenly turned a vocal rant right towards him, but he didn't say anything as Kassi'm resumed eating his food, not looking happy as he finished off his bowl of stew.

Several minutes of silence passed between them as Kassi'm slowly calmed down, and began to realise that he had actually hurt probably the only friend that he had in Skyrim. When his spoon scraped against the bottom of the bowl and he had nothing left to eat, he sighed and shook his head as he looked back up at Alto.

"Alto, I'm sorry" he said as he felt his shoulders slump a little. "I'm sorry I just went off at you like that, and I didn't mean to get so angry. But, I've had a lot to deal with in my life, way too much. I came to Skyrim to start a new life and its gone in the worst possible beginning that I can think of. I just want to be in charge of my life, not have every other person out there tell me what to do" he said.

"It's ok" Alto said with a nod. "I dont expect you to go through what you have and come out on the other side in one piece. I mean, I still can't believe I got chased by a dragon two days ago and lived" he admitted.

"Yeah, that's right. You were there too" Kassi'm said with a small smile. He had actually forgotten that.

"Although, I do still think that you should see the Greybeards and at least hear them out" Alto said carefully, not wanting to incite another rant from Kassi'm. "I mean, you could at least hear them out, or tell them off in person" he said.

"I don't want to have anything to do with a bunch of old guys telling me what to do" Kassi'm said, although he tried to say it in a carefully controlled voice. "I have no intention on visiting them" he said.

"Look, I know that you said that, but, you are interested in learning magics, right?" Kassi'm said as he leant forward on the table, resting his arms before him. "Well, I saw the shout thing you performed, and that would be considered a type of magic, wouldn't it?" he asked.

"I guess so" Kassi'm said.

"Well, what if they want to teach you new ...shouts I guess you call them" Alto suggested. "I mean, that is a kind of magic, and I guess no-one else would be able to learn it easily, or at all. So, I guess its a kind of exclusive magic then" he said. Kassi'm stared at him for several long moments as he considered it.

"Have you have been thinking about this long?" he asked.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking the last couple of days" Alto said to him. "Wasn't really much else to do other then explore Whiterun and make sure you were ok" he said.

"Well, I can't deny that you have a point" Kassi'm said to him with a nod. "A very convincing one. So, I think you might be right. Maybe I should go and see them. At least to hear them out. And if they don't have anything good to offer me, I have no reason to stay and listen" he said.

"At least you'll know you didn't miss out on anything after that" Alto said to him before he lifted his bowl up to his lips and swiftly drank the rest of his stew with a loud slurping noise.

"You know, you're not a bad cook" Kassi'm said as he watched Alto slurp down his stew rather quickly. " I have to admit, it hit the spot pretty well, considering it was just rabbit and gravy" he said.

"Has it really been that long since you had a proper meal?" Alto asked him as he wiped his lips with the back of his hand, and then extended his tongue to lick the remnants from his hand.

"I was living off river water and salted beef strips for about a week or so before I came here. They tasted a lot better when I left then they did after a week of being wrapped up in my pack" he admitted with a smile. "Maybe I should hire you on as my personal cook or something" he said with a light chuckle.

"I think I'd like that" Alto admitted to him.

"You would?" Kassi'm said, suddenly feeling surprised.

"Kassi'm, you saved my life in that cave. Anyone else would have killed me or let the spider finish me off because I'm a thief by trade" he admitted. "But you didn't. For some reason, you didn't, you saved my life. And you let me come along. Maybe it was a poor error of judgement or something, but I don't care. I owe you my life" he said.

"You don't really owe me anything. I don't kill because I want to, and I had no reason to let you just die" he admitted.

"I know. But, I owe you" Alto said to him as he leant forward a little. "And like I said, I've been thinking a lot the last couple of days. I...I think I would rather serve or...I guess assist the person who saved my life then go back out there and forage for a living" he said.

"I've....never had a servant before. Or someone to take care of me like that" Kassi'm admitted after he took a minute or two to think about it. "But, I can't really see a reason to say no to it. I mean, if you really wanted to harm me, you've had lots of chances the last two days" he admitted. "Still can't believe I slept that long" he admitted.

"So, you'll let me stay?" Alto asked him, a rather hopefull look coming to his bright yellow eyes.

"I think I just said yes" Kassi'm admitted. "Have to get you a copy of the house key then, although I don't fancy on giving you servant clothing to wear" he said with a chuckle.

"I don't dress in people clothes" Alto said to him with a grin on his face as he stood up and stretched a little before he picked up his empty bowl and took Kassi'ms from him.

"Anyway, we should get packing. If we hold off heading out, we'll probably put it off for too long and end up forgetting all about it" Kassi'm said as he stood up as well. "Probably a good chance to empty my pack and properly prepare" he added.

"Alright" Alto said to him with a nod as he cleared the table of the food and put the plates away in a bucket on the floor. He then headed up the stairs to the room he had been staying in, suddenly a bit relieved that he could actually call it his own room now.

It was a good thing that Kassi'm had suggested checking his pack as he grabbed it from where he had tossed it into a chair when he had first entered. Because when he opened it, he was met with the foul stench of rotten meat.

"Oh by the Nines, that is a disgusting smell" Kassi'm said as he coughed a couple of times and hurriedly emptied his pack onto the floor, the contents spilling over the stonework as he shook his pack empty. "Guess Gurder didn't cook her food to last" he said, coughing a few more times as he grabbed the covered rotten food.

It hissed when he tossed it onto the fire grate, the rotten food igniting rather quickly due to the leaked juices that had congealed into the covering. A brief smell of burnt meat filled the front area before it vanished as the fire returned to normal after a few moments as Kassi'm turned his attention back to his items.

He restocked the bottles containing the health potions and counted out the gold in his coin pouch. He got up and headed over to the bucket filled with donations and started to open them up and inspect them when he noticed something he hadn't seen before.

There was a side room behind the wooden stairs and the door was open. Kassi'm poked his head in and saw the room contained an alchemy table, a circular shaped table covered in runic circles complete with a mortar and pestle and set of alchemy tools. Beside the table lay a small two door cupboard, and on top of the cupboard was a bow and a quiver arrow.

"Oh, this is nice" Kassi'm said as he picked up the bow and inspected it. It was well curved and strung with a tightly wound string as he held it up and aimed it at the wall. He pulled the string back slowly, testing the strength in the string. It was strong, and the design looked to be imperial, which slightly surprised him. The quiver of arrows were steel tipped and four bladed to a point at the end. They were definitely lethal enough in design, and were sure to travel far.

"An adventure isn't complete without a bow and arrow" Kassi'm said as he smiled. Someone in the city had to have been very grateful to him as he sling the quiver across his shoulders, fitting it into place against his armour.

"Almost ready?" Alto asked as he stepped down off the stairs as Kassi'm headed back towards his pack, carrying the heaviest coin pouches he had found. "I see you found the bow and arrow" he said. "I thought you could use it more then me" he said.

"Do you even know if I can fire this thing?" Kassi'm asked as he had the bow slung over his shoulders well.

"I had a hunch" Alto said to him as he stepped off the steps. Kassi'm nodded as he picked up his map from the floor and tucked it into his pack, then added the pouchs of coins. He cut some bread and cheese from the table and wrapped them in some slips of cloth before putting them in his pack as well. Satisfied he had packed enough, went to slide his backpack on.

"Should we pack a bedroll?" Alto suggested as he watched Kassi'm attach his pack around his waist, letting it hang against his lower midsection just under the bow and quiver.

"No, I think we should just take the carriage outside the city gates" Kassi'm said as he made sure that he had everything in place. "It'll probably be quicker to get there" he added as he headed to the front door.

"Actually, the carriages don't head to High Hrothgar" Alto said to him as he followed Kassi'm out the front door, the argonian shutting it behind them. It was mid morning and the people of the city were already up and about, the sun shining brightly overhead. "They only go to the capital cities of the holds, so we'll have to go to one of those and walk the rest of the way" he said.

"Well, at least it will be more comfortable then walking for several days. I don't plan on doing that again" Kassi'm said as they headed down the streets towards the open gates of the city. He did notice that there were a number of guards patrolling the streets, more so then he had noticed two days prior. And they looked like they meant business as well. The dragon attack must have put the whole region on alert. They both crossed through the open gates and headed down the path towards the stables outside. The khajiit camp was gone from its perch, only a burnt circle remained to show that they had been there. They must have packed up and headed off after the attack.

A weathered old mean in dusted clothes lead a magnificently black horse past them across the road and behind the hut that was the main house of the stables. Behind the house was the actual horse stables, where the man lead the horse into a vacant stall. A young blonde stablehand, barely in his teens, picked up a brush and began to immediately groom the animal as the older man secured the horses bridle in place. Kassi'm and Alto watched for a few moments before they turned their attention to the carriage that was nearby.

"Morning there. Names Bjorlam. Where can I take you?" the carriage driver asked. He was slender, but rough looking with a head full of dirty blonde hair. Kassi'ms thoughts went straight to Nord, as blonde seemed to be their standard colour.

"How close can you get us to High Hrothgar, I think its called" Kassi'm said to him. "I need to get there."

"Ha. Nowhere near it. Only go to the capitals us drivers do" said Bjorlam. "But, I can get you to Riften. What you do there, is you follow the road past the lake and across the country over to the village of Ivarstead. It's at the base of the mountain path. About a days journey on foot. The Inns nice there I hear" he said with a grin on his face.

"Ok, how much to get to Riften then?" Kassi'm asked him. Although he was thankful for the information, he did want to get on his way.

"Wait a moment, you're that dragonborn that everyone has been going on about aren't you? I heard rumours about the dragonborn being a red scaled argonian" Bjorlam said as he leant over to take a closer look to Kassi'm.

"Yes, I am" Kassi'm said as he shook his head and rolled his eyes a little. It was a little weird to be called that. A movement caught his eye as he looked over at the stables as the driver chuckled. He noticed that the stablehand had abandoned the horse and had run off, tearing across the fields as if his pants were on fire. It was an odd thing to see, but Kassi'm didn't think too strongly on it as he turned back to the driver.

"It'll cost you fifty gold to get to Riften" Bjorlam said with a wide grin on his face.

"That's the price? That's a little much" Kassi'm said to him.

"It's a flate rate. Carriage drivers don't play favourites, even to the dragonborn" Bjorlam said with a broad grin again on his face.

Kassi'm twisted the cornor of his mouth into an annoyed grimace, but reached against the side of his pack and pulled out one of the coin pouchs. He slowly counted out the money, having to dig into two of the pouches to accumulate all fifty. He scowled slightly when he realised that it was almost half the gold he had brought along.

Bjorlam took the gold and counted it out himself as he then slid each coin into a secure iron lockbox beside him. Once he was happy with the full amount, he pointed to the back of the carriage.

"Climb in back and we'll head off. We'll be at Riften by mid afternoon" he said as he settled into his seat and picked up the reigns of his horse.

"Guess we're on our way now. Should have gotten all the gold in the house" Kassi'm muttered to himself as he removed his pack, his bow and his quiver and slid them onto the floor of the carriage before he hoisted himself up.

"I think they might charge more if they know you have more money. Some traders and the like are like that" Alto said to him as he hoisted himself up as well, the two of them settling on the benches opposite one another.

"Couldn't have asked for better weather" Bjorlam said as he cracked his whipe once and the horse let out a whinney and a shake of its head as it suddenly pulled forward. Both Kassi'm and Alto jerked slighty as the cart moved under them with a jolt as it started to move. They could both hear the creaking and shaking of the wooden structure under them as it started to move along the uneven ground.

"Um...Kassi'm...when we get to Riften, I'd like to not actually go inside" Alto said to him as he looked over at the argonian. Kassi'm looked over at him as he adjusted his position so that he was sitting comfortably against the jostling.

"Well, wouldn't it be better to actually go inside and stay at the inn? It would probably be too late to start walking by the time we got there, and we could start fresh in the morning" Kassi'm said as he stretched out slightly, crossing his feet over one another as he moved his toes in the tight fitting boots.

"I...have a history in Riften, and I'd rather not start anything" Alto said to him as he held his hands together in his lap. The driver started to whistle a rather tuneless whistle through his lips as the horse trodded onwards. Kassi'm was sure though that the driver would hear anything they said, being a driver he was probably used to hearing anything and everything coming from his passengers.

"Well, maybe if we hurried we could find a cave or a shelter to stay the night in we could not actually go into Riften then" Kassi'm suggested. Pelegia Farm passed by them as the horse turned onto the main road and started to trot a little faster. Two older farmers were tending the fields, although they didn't look up as the carriage passed them by.

Alto looked gratefull as he sat back in his seat, holding his hands together as silence passed between them for several moments. Kassi'm found himself wishing he had brought a book along with him, cursing the fact silently that he had overlooked such a simple way to pass the time.

"What kind of a name is Alto anyway?" Kassi'm asked as he searched for something to talk about. "Isn't that a brand of wine from around...somewhere?" he asked. "I think there was a bucket of it in the house" he added.

"It is" Alto said with a nod before he got a sour look on his face, grimacing at some hidden thought. "It's cheap, tastes like watered down urine mixed in with sea water, and its available everywhere. Its only good for two things. Cleaning grease build up off carriage wheels and killing brain cells. Its the perfect drink for drunks, lowlifes and general scum of the sewers" he said with a lot growl in his throat as his black whiskers bristled in anger. "And it was perfect for my father to drink and name me after."

"Your father named you after cheap wine?" Kassi'm asked him as he sat up slightly. . "Yes, he did" Alto said, seething slightly through his teeth. "He used to say that drinking it was a mistake each time, so it was perfect for a mistake of a child" he said as he looked over at Kassi'm. "He got a courtesan pregnant and she handed me to him as soon as she could and then she ran off. She could be anyone. I don't care about her, she didn't love me enough to stay in my life, so I got no interest in finding her" he said.

"With a name like that and a beginning to add on, I hope you gave your father hell as you grew up" Kassi'm said to him, although he tried to be lighthearted about it. Alto shook his head a little and looked down at the carriage floor before looking back up.

"He's dead" he said.

"Oh" Kassi'm said in surprise. "You didn't....kill him did you?" he asked.

"He was part of the Thieves Guild, back when it was an actual force to be reckoned with and was worth being in" Alto said. The smell of honey and fresh mead suddenly passed across their noses as the carriage passed by the Honningbrew Meadery. A man, presumably the owner was sweeping the path at the door of the expansive building, looking up briefly as the carriage rolled past.

"He was nothing back then anyway" Alto said. "They gave him simple tasks, slip into a tavern and forge numbers in the business ledgers, or sneak into a house and steal a certain item, and he'd screw up. He got caught half the time. If he did manage to get the job done or for once bring in a good haul, he'd spend his gold drinking and gambling with anyone that was willing to outplay him till he had nothing. Then he'd borrow so he could keep going" Alto continued.

"You didn't join the guild too, did you?" Kassi'm asked him as they passed by the meadery, but the smell was still lingering in the air. It made him thirsty, and he cursed himself for being stupid enough not to pack a cask of water or any kind of bottled drink for the journey.

"I had to. It was the only way I could get money to pay him off" Alto said. "The guild has a way about debts. The children inherit the debts of their parents, so my fathers problems were mine as well. I was better then my father at my tasks, but I wasn't exactly anything big either. Everytime I paid off part of my fathers debt, he'd go and increase it and whatever I paid off didn't even make a dent in it" he continued. "He got himself killed last year."

"Did the guild kill him?" Kassi'm asked as they heard the sound of rushing water. He looked over to see that they were now passing over a bridge, a river rushing under them as the cart hit the much smoother stonework of the structure. For a few moments the cart vibrated rather then jostled, but it was short lived as they passed over and hit the uneven road beyond it.

"The guild doesn't kill. Can't squeeze gold out of a corpse" Alto said. "He made a bet that he couldn't actually win" he said, although from the tone of voice he didn't sound too shaken up about it, more like he was reading a page out of a boring story he had read before. "He bet a traveller in a bar that he could run into a bears den, startle the best and run back to the city before the bear caught up with him."

"Wait, he made a bet like that?" Kassi'm said in surprise. "Why would he make something so stupid like that in the first place?" he asked. "was he drunk as well?"

"Yes, and cause the guy bet him a thousand gold pieces that he could do it" Alto said to him. "Or perhaps my father was too drunk and stupid to believe that anyone just happens to carry around that much gold on his person" he said with a shrug. "Anyway, he got as far as the shouting part, then he tripped over his feet outside the cave. The bear got him and dragged him back in. Last I ever saw of him" he said.

Kassi'm said nothing for a few moments as he let it sink in. Alto didn't look all that disturbed by retelling his story, but Kassi'm didn't feel like trying to get Alto to change his mind about how he should feel. If the khajiit didn't feel anything for the death of his father, Kassi'm wasn't going to start changing his mind.

"Well, at least you don't have to deal with him anymore" He eventually said. He noticed that he countryside behind Alto was now changing from a rolling countryside into a high wall of rock and dirt. Kassi'm looked upwards against the high wall for a moment, then looked behind him. Whiterun was now easily in the distance as they had appeared to come to the edge of the central mountain.

"Sadly, I do. His so called 'Legacy'" Alto said with venom in his voice. "Remember how I said he had a debt and the kids inherit it? Well, they expect me to pay it back. And I've been struggling to even just pay off the interest they keep accumulating" he said with a deep seated sigh.

Kassi'm turned his attention away from Whiterun. The countryside around the city was changing along the pathway they were following. It was now starting to turn into a ravine with a river rushing through it, a secondary but smaller mountain across from them. Putting the scenery away from his mind, he turned back to Alto.

"You were down in that tomb, looking for treasure to pay off the debt, weren't you?" he asked as it suddenly clicked into place as to why Alto was there, and how disappointed he was when he didn't find anything good. Alto nodded slowly as the cart began to rise up slightly as the path began to rise upwards against the mountain.

"Which is why I'd rather not go into Riften. They'll have people on the lookout for me. Unlike most of Skyrim, they can tell one khajiit from another" he said. Kassi'm nodded as he sat back, letting Altos story sink in as he mulled it over.

"How much do you owe?" he asked after several moments.

"Too much" Alto admitted as he sat back, rubbing his thumbs together. "Its...too much" he admitted, his shoudlers slumping. A very sad look crossed his face, the feline looking like he was about to cry just thinking about it. Kassi'm decided not to press on the matter as he let Alto take a breather from telling his story.

"If you don't mind me interrupting your conversation, I think you might be interested in what's coming up" Bjorlam said as he stopped his tuneless whistling. Kassi'm turned his attention to the front of the carriage as the nord pointed the handle of his whip towards a construct in the distance.

"That there, is Valtheim Towers. A construct of the ancient nords that kept watch over this valley in times of war" Brjorlam said as he pointed his whip towards them. Although the two towers had crumbled down in size from their once proud height, the bridge that connected between them was still intact.

"Are there constructs like this all over Skyrim?" Kassi'm asked as he sat up to take a proper look at the towers as they grew closer. They didn't seem like much, but it did appear that they had withstood whatever the centuries had brought to them.

"Aye, all over" Bjorlam said with a nod. "The ancient nords built many temples and crypts, redoubts and overlooks across Skyrim, many a good place for aspiring adventurers to search and get killed inside" he said with a chuckle. "You don't want to go into one of those places unless you are well prepared."

"As if I am going to make that kind of mistake again" Kassi'm said with a chuckle as he sat himself back in his position across from Alto, who was grinning back at him. "Probably wont be a next time though, at least not for a good long while" he added.

"At least you know how to take down a draugr now" Alto said with a smile as he sat back, looking a bit more like his old self.

"Yeah. Just keep stabbing till it falls down" Kassi'm said with a chuckle as they both found themselves sharing a laugh at the private joke. "Although, I wonder why they woke up in the first place when we went down there" Kassi'm said as he started to think on it.

"Because we disturbed them?" Alto asked him as the first tower on their side of the mountain was getting closer.

"Well, I just got thinking about that big draugr we faced together. We were in the area of its sarcophagus for a while, and it didn't actually break its cover until after" Kassi'm said. "It only really died when we stabbed it enough that all that rotten gas had escaped it, so I wonder how and why it woke up?" he asked.

"I'm not really sure how..." Alto began, before they each heard a brief noise. It was a soft whistling noise, like something was travelling very fast through the air. The next moment, the horse let out a pained scream as it reared up on its haunches, jotling the carriage as it kicked its forelegs in the air, the shat of an arrow embedded in its side.

"Woah boy, Woah" Bjorlam shouted as he snapped his riengs as he tried to stablise his horse as the beast reared up again, screaming out in pain. There was another whistling noise as a second arrow hit the horse in its flanks, blood starting to pour from the wound.

"Get down" Kassi'm shouted as he and Alto quickly threw themselves onto the floor of the carriage as an arrow struck the bench above them. Several more arrows whistled through the air and landed with sharp thunks into the side of the carriage as the driver fought to bring his horse back under control.

"Woah boy, WOAH. Calm down" Bjorlam shouted as a third arrow struck the horse in its neck, a fresh stream of blood pouring against its mane as the horse reared up again. The panicked animal kicked its legs out and suddenly began to fall as it lost its balance.

"Look out" Bjorlam shouted as they felt the carriage start to upturn on its side. Kassi'm and Alto felt the carriage floor shift as the horse tipped it over, the underside of the carriage facing the towers as it was brought down.

The horse landed with a panicked scream as more arrows flew in its direction. Alto and Kassi'm laned with thuds on the ground as they spilled out of the carriage into the rough grass, their weapons falling around them. Thunks were heard as the arrows hit the underside of the carriage as they quickly set about picking themselves up.

"Bandits" Alto said as he grabbed at his daggers from around his waist and pulled them from his sheaths. "It has to be" he said as they crouched against the upturned carriage.

"Bjorlam, are you ok?" Kassi'm called out as he looked past Alto as he saw the nord pull himself up. Two more arrows flew past him and struck the horse in the neck, the beast screaming out before its vocal cry of pain tapered off and its big body started to fall silent.

"I'm...I'm ok...my horse...they got my URK" Bjorlam cried out as he looked at his horse, but unfortunately he was not protected by the carriage and an arrow caught him in his chest. A dark red stain started to blossom against his shirt as he fell backwards, looking at the arrow embedded in his chest in disbelief before his body slumped against the ground, his limbs falling still.

"Well, shit" Kassi'm said as he grabbed his bow and quiver, slinging his quiver around his shoulders and pulling the bow into his arms. "There goes the driver" he said as he turned around and cautioned a peek around the back of the carriage.

"How many?" Alto asked as he held his daggers in his hands as he heard the thunks of arrows hitting the cart. He didn't dare step out and risk exposure to an unknown enemy.

Kassi'm looked around the side of the cart, able to see both towers in his field of view. The carriage had come under ambush right in front of them, and Kassi'm was able to see, just, who they were under attack by.

He took no less then a moment to scan his eyes across the scene before him before he pulled back and pressed up against the carriage, turning his attention to Alto.

"I count five archers. Two on the tower above us, and three on the tower opposite. There are at least another three or four bandits on the actual bridge. We're outnumbered" he said. An arrow hit the ground next to him and he pulled his tail out of the way.

"Got a plan?" Alto asked as he flinched each time an arrow hit the carriage beside him.

"Yeah. Wait till they run out of arrows before we do anything. We're sitting ducks here" Kassi'm said as he pulled an arrow from his quiver and notched it into the bow. "I'm sure that's what they'll do, they'll fire till they have nothing left, then those bandits on the bridge come after us. So we either wait till they stop firing and go on the offensive, or we run like buggery" he said.

"I vote for the buggery" Alto said as the rain of arrows suddenly stopped. They both held their breaths as they waited for another volley. But it didn't come. Instead, they heard someone shouting above them.

"Come out where we can see you and we won't kill you" a female voice shouted rather loudly and harshly. "We see a weapon drawn and we'll put an arrow through you. So surrender if you got any smarts, Dragonborn."

"Fuck, its a damn ambush" Kassi'm said in shock. "For me. How the hell did they know I was coming this way? I didn't even know I was coming this way" he said as he looked over at Alto for a moment, then stood up and brought his bow and arrow up.

He didn't say anythign as he quickly lined up his sight and fired, the arrow flying off the bow with alight twanging of string. The imperial designed bow was indeed well crafted as the arrow flew straight upwards towards the top of the tower.

It hit its mark as the arrow landed in the neck of one of the archers, the female crying out in a garbled shock as she stumbled backwards. She clutched at the arrow in her neck, blood pouring from the wound as she choked on her own blood before she fell down out of sight.

"I'll kill you, you bastard" the other archer screamed as she let another arrow fly. Kassi'm ducked down as the arrow thudded into the wood above him. He notched another arrow into his bow, but he didn't pull it back as he stood up and opened his mouth. He didn't have time to focus on his inner power, there was too much open exposure in case it went wrong, so he did something else.

"FUS"

A small wall of air pulsed out of his mouth and flew upwards towards the archer, but by the time it hit her it just caused her to stumble backwards. It took Kassi'm a moment to realise it hadn't worked as he intended so he opened his mouth again.

"FUS"

A second blast pulsed upwards and struck the bandit, and she stumbled backwards again. She let out a scream as she lost her footing against the edge of the tower and fell backwards off the edge. Kassi'm ducked back behind the carriage as they heard her scream, before there was the sound of something akin to wet eggs breaking on rocks. Then there was a brief moment of silence before there was a splashing noise from far below.

"Two down" Kassi'm said as he heard the cries of the bandits rise up into the air. "And more to go" he said as they heard them shout various profanities as steel was heard clashing together as the bandits drew their weapons.

"Seems they're out of arrows though" Alto said as he dared to stand up enough to peek over the top of the carriage. He narrowed his eyes as he saw the bandits on the other side of the valley, as they waved their arms and pointed in their direction. "Looks like its just the bandits on the bridge we need to worry about" he said.

"Well, I'm not staying here to die" Kassi'm said as he crouched himself low and pulled the arrow back in his bow. "On my mark, run like buggery. Hopefully we can outrun them and get far enough away to escape" he said as he took a deep breath. "Ready?" he asked.

"Ready" Alto said as he gripped his daggers tightly, crouching into position as well as he turned his back at Kassi'm to run in the other direction as fast as he was able to.

"NOW" Kassi'm shouted as he sprung forward, Alto springing in the other direction. Atlo leapt over the corpse of the carriage driver and the corpse of the horse as he ran as fast as his legs were able to carry him. Kassi'm leapt forward and stood up, bringing his bow around as he quickly aimed and let go of the string.

His arrow flew through the air with a twang as it soared through the air and met its target, the bandit in front on the bridge. The bandit however, seemed to be expecting it as he brought a leather bound shield up and blocked the arrow as it thudded into the covered surface.

"Get the dragonborn" the bandit shouted as he brought his sword and then brought it down, cleaving the shaft of the arrow before he started to move forward. The other bandits behind him began to charge forward as well, their fur covered armour jostling around their bodies as they ran forward, their swords raised.

Kassi'm notched in another arrow as he stepped in front of the carriage, letting it go with a twang. He didn't bother to keep his gaze forward to see if it struck its target as he brought the bow down, sliding another arrow into place before he tucked it against his body and began to run past the tower after Alto.

"Get him" he heard as he glanced back, a bandit appearing in the entrance at the base of the tower. The bandits paint streaked face was pulled back in an angry cry as he raised his sword up into the air and began to charge forward, roaring in anger as he pursued after Kassi'm.

Kassi'm turned, stepping backwards as he brought the bow back up again, pulling the already notched arrow back with the string before he let go. Another twang and the arrow flew forward as Kassi'm turned back around and started to run, his breath catching in his chest as he turned his back to the bandit.

The bandit brought his shield up to block the arrow, but he made the mistake in thinking that Kassi'm was aiming for his chest. The arrow instead caught him in the stomach, making him grunt out as the breath left his body as his insides were pierced. He stumbled forward, dropping his sword as he lost his footing and fell to the ground, coughing up blood through his mouth as blood spread across his stomach through his armour.

Kassi'm did not look back as he ran forward, following the road before him as he heard the angry shouts of the bandits behind him. Obviously, they were enraged that one of their comrades had fallen but he wasn't going to give them the chance to catch up with him.

The road turned around a large boulder as he ran past the cornor and what he saw before him made him stop in his tracks, his boots skidding along the path for a moment as he almost lost his balance in shock.

Spread across the road in front of him were another group of bandits, all with their weapons drawn. There were six in total, four of them with bows drawn and pointed forward, their arrows pointed straight at him.

In the middle were two males with their swords drawn, one more forward then the other with his furred boot resting on Altos back. Kassi'm felt a moment of shock hit him as he thought for a brief second that his friend was dead, judging by the blood that was slowly pooling on the ground against Altos head.

"One step forward, and we kill him" the bandit with his boot on Altos back said as he pointed his sword at Kassi'm. "Drops your weapons now. We'd rather not kill you, but we will if we have to" he added with a dumb grin spread across his face.

Kassi'm let his breath out as he saw Alto squirm slightly, hearing a pained groan come from him as the khajiit looked his way. It looked like his nose was broken and blood was spread acrossh is face, but he was alive. Thank the nine he was alive.

Kassi'm heard footsteps behind him as the other bandits caught up, slowing to a stop behind him as he heard their heavy breathing. He was now outnumbered, and there was no way that he could fight them off.

"Second chance. Drop your weapons and hands up" the bandit said again as he placed his boot on Altos neck. Alto whined and coughed as he felt the weight on his neck and Kassi'm momentarily thought about killing him with a single thought.

But doing that would cause his head to explode with pain. He could shout at them and knock them back and then turn his attention to the group behind him. But the shout only seemed to make people stumble, its wasn't powerful enough to actually knock them off their feet. With his back turned to the group in front, he'd be an easy target for those four archers.

With a deep seated growl through his lips, he dropped his bow to the ground as he slowly brought his hands up, glaring his eyes towards the bandit with his foot on Altos neck. The bandit grinned at him as he watched the argonian give himself up.

"Let him go" Kassi'm said through gritted teeth as it took a good amount of willpower to not do anything reckless. "I give up. Now let him go" he said as he raised his lips in anger around his teeth.

The bandit gave a smug grin as he stepped back and took his foot off Altos neck. Kassi'm felt relief as Alto started to pick himself up slowly, his breathing blocked a by the broken cartilage in his nose. He coughed a few times and spat out blood, but he looked unharmed.

"Smart move, dragonborn" the bandit said as he strode forward, resting his blade on his shoulder as he swaggered confidently forward. "Guess you're not another dumb lizard after all" he said as he gave Kassi'm a sneer.

Kassi'm did not have a chance to react as something collided with the back of his neck. One of the bandits behind him had slammed the handle of his sword into the back of his skull and the impact made blood red stars explode in Kassi'ms vision for a moment.

Then darkness overtook him, not even giving him the chance to react as his body crumbled, falling to the ground in heap as the bandits around him started to laugh.

"Yeah, maybe he is stupid after all" the bandit said as he turned and strode towards Alto, who had gotten up to his hands and knees, looking disoriented.

The bandit grunted as he brought his boot back and swiftly kicked Alto in the head, his foot catching the felines face and twisting his upper torso around. The impact was enough to send spittle and blood flying from Altos mouth as the feline blacked out from the kick to his already abused head.

The bandit watched as Alto fell to the ground with a groan of pain and fell motionless. The bandit grinned as he looked at both the motionless argonian and the khajiit on the ground before he looked up.

"Strip them down. Tie them up, and drag them up to the peak. The boss will be wanting them" he said with a grin that showed several missing teeth as he found himself chuckling, amused.