Bab 58: What Could Go Wrong
I slipped into bed after coming home late at night with Goldbrand now hung up on the wall with the other daedric artifacts we'd been collecting since kicking Alduin's sorry ass out of Markarth. The sword was a big surprise as I'd gone after the Ebony Mail without going through Boethiah's bullshit and she ended up trading me the armor for the sword after I killed her former champion.
Sliding between the sheets of our bed in the Vlindrel Hall, I wrapped a huge lizard arm around Jack and Serana - who had become our constant companion in recent months.
The vampire had been a tremendous addition to our relationship. She connected to Jack quite deeply with their shared suffering and she helped me tremendously with my magic development and enchanting.
Enchanting was, big shock inbound, nothing like the game portrayed it. It was laborious, tedious, esoteric, and oftentimes disappointing. Legendary successes like the Gauldur Amulet were far more important in this world as compared to the game, even more so considering the lack of an easily exploitable cross crafting system. Also, soul gems are more precious considering the inventory of your local court wizard doesn't automatically refill every couple of days. Serana made the most of each attempt with her inhuman patience.
Her ability to enchant our gear and buff us using alteration, restoration, and illusion magic lead us to making a group journey out to the Lord Stone after I secured the Ebony Blade in Whiterun. The magic absorption of the Atronach Stone activated indiscriminately, while the magic resistance from the Lord Stone only resisted hostile magic. The additional physical durability was nice too.
Overall, Serana proved to be a large benefit to us in combat rather than a liability. Very rare in this world and much appreciated. The fact that she got along so well with us made our move to a more permanent stay in Markarth more tolerable.
In fear of Alduin returning and us not being there to fight him, Jarl Igmund had declared us the Heroes of Markarth, made us Thanes, gave us a house on the upper level of the city (Vlindrel Hall), furnished it out of his own pocket, and opened the city's resources to us fully for our enjoyment and training purposes.
When ten beggars from the undercity died to empower the Ebony Blade, the Jarl looked the other way for those dastardly Forsworn reachmen. Hell, the man viewed our gathering of daedric artifacts of dread as us hunting down the damn demon worshipers that lured the dragon to his city. A story the worshipers of Dibella backed to the hilt for the promise of me back in them to the hilt.
Word play can be very sexy.
I am pretty sure that my cliffside home will one day become the Nirn version of the Hellmouth, but I am also sure that a team of plucky teens will be able to save the day. Skyrim's very own version of the Scooby Gang shouldn't have it any harder than Buffy and her team of highschoolers.
With that comforting thought I slept until a knock, knock, knocking sounded upon my dwarven metal door. I opened my door to the morning light and the sight of a scruffy looking traveler with a messenger bag.
"I've been looking for you. Got something I'm supposed to deliver - your hands only."
Holy shit, this is one of those creepy trackers that can follow you all over Skyrim to deliver you messages of minor importance.
The letter was from Kodlak indicating the end of Brienne's training under both the Greybeards and the Companions. The girl could now outshout the old monks and outfight most of the Circle. They wanted us to meet with them in Riverwood. Apparently Delphine had stolen the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, interrupting Brienne's final test by the Greybeards before allowing her to ascend the mountain and meet with their leader.
The message told us to meet with them up at the Bleak Falls Barrow from where we would descend on the town as a team.
I looked up from the letter to ask the guy if he would like to become my personal manhunter, but the spook was already gone.
"Hey babe!" I called back into the house, "It's show time!"
"Fucking took them long enough!" She called back.
"I see that our time apart has borne more fruit than you thought it would." Kodlak greeted us at the entrance of the old nord burial ground, "Word has spread across all of Skyrim of your battle against the great black dragon, and since then the dragons haven't attacked even once."
"If they have pulled back it is to give Alduin enough time to recover, and to gain even more strength." I told them.
"I feel the same." the old warrior nodded, "It is good you have brought a new companion, the battles ahead will not be simple."
Serana now wore a suit of dragonscale armor, made using the finer scales of several dragons rather than the segmented plating used in the game, and a hooded cloak of dragon hide, all made from the dragons with a high innate fire resistance and enchanted to take that resistance even further.
"Do you think we are walking into some kind of ambush?" Brienne asked.
"Maybe." I told her, "Anyone who would go to this length to draw you out isn't to be trusted."
"That's why we were hoping Jack would go in Brienne's place to spring any traps." Kodlak said, "I doubt there is anything she couldn't fight her way out off, and she is far more attuned to skullduggery than the young Dragonborn."
"Oh, I can't see anyway this could go wrong." I grinned.
Two hours later Delphine shot up through the roof of the Sleeping Giant Inn, landing face first in the mud at our feet, while Jack came out of the front door whistling a tune and twirling the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller on her finger.
"Big waste of time." Jack commented as Brienne kept poking the downed breton with the butt of her spear.
"Is she dead?" the young nord asked.
"Who cares?'' I chuckled and lead the way back to High Hrothgar through the Helgen route.
"You are going to want this, Tater Tot." I said as we stared at the path up to the summit of the Throat of the World and handed her a golden Elder Scroll.
"Did you just hand me an Elder Scroll?" The startled Dragonborn jumped at the sight of the scroll I took out of a traveling tube.
"Yep." I replied, "Take it knowing I saved you a bunch of wasted time through the power of sex, drugs, and Rock and Roll."
"Thanks? I think." Brienne's eye twitched as she thanked me, "I don't think I understand why I need an Elder Scroll."
"When the time comes, you will understand." I told her like all the great vague asshats that came before me, "Then you're going to be like, 'Woah! How did Grunt know I was going to need this specific Elder Scroll?'"
The eye twitch intensified.
"My answer to that is, 'Fuck you, I know shit.'" I grinned at her.
"Well tell Future Grunt, 'Fuck you too!" and 'Thanks.'" Brienne responded as she strapped the Elder Scroll to her back and turned to climb the highest peak in Tamriel.
"Well here I go. Up the mountain to meet with a creepy old hermit. Alone." she mumbled.
"You're going to do great, kid." I assured her and pushed her onto the path, "Alone. Without help. All by yourself. On the most dangerous climb in the world. EZPZ."
Her look of betrayed horror would fuel a good chuckle or two for me in the future.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
JManM
JManM You can support me and my family at
ko - fi . com / jmanm
Bab 59: The Many Deaths of the Brave Companions
Riding Paarthurnax to Skuldafn saved us from so much bullshit, and because he is fucking enormous the entire company loaded up onto his back ready for battle. Seriously, the guy is huge, bigger than Alduin and all the other dragons. While they had all been dead or porting through time, Paarthurnax had been out in the world chilling out, meditating on the Thu'um, and growing slowly without limit.
Dude was a big lizard beast and this is coming from the swole as fuck Lizard Daddy.
Unfortunately for us, our beat down of the World Eater caused him to pull all his forces back to the remote temple to guard the portal he made to Sovngarde. This meant that there were dozens of dragons between us and the portal. And their draugr slaves, not that those guys meant much to warriors like us.
Paarthurnax dropped us off and engaged in dragon combat with a pair of Legendary Dragons that flew far faster than any of their lesser kin. The impressive aged dragon made up for his less agile body with cunning linguistics, his knowledge of the Thu'um and it's intricacies allowing him to counter anything the other dragons sent at him and return to them a painful rebuttal.
We had far less luck as the many dragons began landing between us and our goal.
"Tater Tot." I said as I felt Serana buffing us up with as much magic as she could muster including some of the old school elemental resistance spells that didn't appear in Skyrim, "No matter what happens, you keep running to the portal."
"And leave all of you behind?" Brienne shook her head in denial.
"Yes!" I barked, "Now let me show you something!"
I cast a unique spell I developed that would automatically channel all my magicka into healing power till I cast a quick counter spell and Serana cast the strongest frenzy spell she could manage.
Years of anger management clashed with magic induced psychotic fury allowing me to harness my full strength and force just enough sanity to keep my targets dragon shaped.
An overeager brown dragon landed close to us and drew in a huge breath for his attack. I leapt at him with more speed and range than a jungle cat, smashing his head open with the Hammer of Might and moving on to the next.
"I AM KROGAN!" I roared as I leapt at my next victim. .
Scales of brown, green, white, red, orange, or even black, it didn't matter to me in my unstoppable charge to prove I am the badest lizard on the planet.
They couldn't hurt me. Nothing could hurt me. But every thunderous strike of my hammer hurt them.
I could see it in their eyes. The fear.
It tasted delicious.
I was pounding my hammer down into the dying face of a Revered Dragon when the magic finally slipped away. We were almost to the portal, Brienne was ascending the steps while the Companions held off the tide of dragons seeking to stop her, minus Skjor, Aela, and Njada.
"Hold the fucking portal!" Jack yelled.
In truth, if Alduin had let these dragons through to Sovngarde rather than us them to defend the portal he could have fought alongside them and likely defeated us, but the edgelord dragon had never shown himself to be cunning, just powerful and ruthless.
Serana looked absolutely taxed trying to keep everyone up with her restoration magic, but she couldn't be everywhere at once and I saw Athis get bitten in two by a pair of Elder Dragons who used him in a demented game of tug of war.
Vilkas and Farkas cut deeply into the pairs necks, but Farkas ate a vicious tail strike from an Ancient dragon and Vilkas became hard pressed to defend his downed brother.
Paarthurnax came down on top of a Legendary Dragon and shattered his head against the mountainside with an incredible Fus Ro Dah. Jack hit the second with a Flare when I tried to even the score on the aged green dragon. Her attack gave Paarthurnax enough time to smack the black bitch with his thickly spiked tail, tearing out some of the beast's compound eyes.
Kodlak and I killed an Ancient Dragon together and the old nord nodded his head grimly as we continued to hold the portal against a swiftly depleting force of dragons.
In truth, it was their lack of talent with the Thu'um that made this possible. If they had even an ounce the talent of Alduin or the dedication of Paarthurnax they would be capable of more than just flinging fire or ice at us, or the occasional Drain Vitality shout.
One such shout hit Kodlak and the old nord faded quickly, his flagging strength allowing him to be bulled over by an easily dodgeable charge from a Revered Dragon. An ice spike to the eye brought the beast down, but the damage was done.
Kodlak breathed a few ragged wet breaths before the blood in his punctured lungs drowned him.
"Nooo!" I heard Vilkas scream as the Legendary Dragon launched a Drain Vitality at this downed brother in spite as Paarthurnax squeezed down on its neck with his clawed foot.
The death of the last Legendary Dragon took the fight out of the lesser dragons as they backed off.
"Come on!" Vilkas shouted at them, "Come on, you cowards!"
Serana held the enraged and grieving nord back and we waited, staring each other down til the portal to Sovngarde exploded, nearly throwing me off my feet.
"It is done." Paarthurnax stated before he began conversing with the remaining dragons in their draconic language.
"Nothing is done!" Vilkas yelled, "Nothing is over! Not till every one of you bastards are dead and gone!"
"Sorrow is a loyal friend, Wolf." Paarthurnax stated, "You have won a mighty victory, but nothing of happiness. Such is the world. I go now to the Throat of the World, and to the Dragonborn. Odahviing will take you all home."
"No." Vilkas refused bitterly, "I will make my own way down these mountains."
Taking up Farkas's body and sword, Vilkas left our company for the final time.
It took the three of us a while to find any remaining pieces of our friends, but find them we did and placed them all on a quickly made pyre which our dragon mount lit before flying the three of us to Jorvaskr. Making arrangements for the future of the Companions would be poor chaser to saving the world, but the responsibility fell to us.
Status Power Mingguan
200+ Peringkat
Power 
0 Power
stone Anda mungkin juga menyukai
Komentar Paragraf