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.
Bab 60: Leaving Nirn
"Is this really all that's left?" Brienne asked with a hitch in her voice.
The girl had made good time to Jorrvaskr. We had just finished up our business in the city and were getting ready to leave for Markarth when she came through the doors of the silent mead hall.
"Vilkas is out there somewhere." I told the girl as I began rifling through one of the chests yet to be loaded onto the carts for long term storage, "How was the fight against Alduin, kid? I have a theory that he weakened himself to open the portal to Sovngarde and was hoping to make that back with interest by devouring the nordic afterlife."
"It was super easy, barely an inconvenience." Brienne answered.
Guess that theory is proven. The dragon was a beast when we fought him, yet in the game you could just let the ancient heroes beat him.
Fucking pathetic.
"Here, kid. Had these made for everyone that participated in the last battle against the dragons." I chucked her a black leather jacket lined with soft fur sporting her name on the left breast and the Dragonslayers patch that Jack designed. She was still very much in love with the biker look and fusing it with Skyrim's Viking aesthetic. She took the wing leather from the dragons we killed to a clothier to make us new outfits. Personally I felt it is cruel to stuff a guy with bulging muscles and four knees into leather pants, but dragon leather was damn stretchy, nature's spandex.
With the dragon's put in check we didn't need to roll in our armor anymore. Who is left that can fight us? Harkon? Please. Miraak? Not a chance.
"What is going to happen with the Companions now?" Brienne asked while looking at the badass patch of a skeletal dragon in a coffin with the Grim reaper closing the lid with one hand from behind and holding his scythe with the other.
"That's going to be up to you and Vilkas if he ever returns." I told her, "I've made a deal with the Jarl to safeguard all the Companions' possessions for the two of you, so if you don't feel like you are ready, we can lock the doors of Jorrvaskr until you are."
"But you and Jack are here, why would you need the Jarl to protect anything when you are a thousand times better than anything he could do?" Brienne questioned.
"Jack and I are planning to leave Skyrim soon." I responded, "We might smash a few baddies so that you can have an easier time, or we might just leave you some adventures left to be had."
"Baddy smashing first, please." Brienne requested, "I think I've had enough adventure in my life."
"I doubt the world is done with you yet, Brienne of Bruma." I chuckled, "But I can smash another baddie. After all there is a vampire with a very stupid plan just asking for a hammer to the face."
"Another, 'Fuck you, I know shit.' scenario?" Brienne cocked a half grin at me.
"You're catching on, Tater Tot." I nodded, "The mind of Grunt is beyond mortal ken."
"Oh great and wise Grunt, please deliver us from the bullshit." she fake worshipped.
"Keep up with the sass and I may just leave you to slog through it." I teased.
"Please don't." Brienne shook her head, "I really did get to skip a lot of bullshit because of you."
"Damn straight." I nodded, "Well at least Serana will be pleased. You want to come with when we slay her dad?"
"I prefer to stay far away from vampires and werewolves. Thank you very much." Brienne stated and I laughed very very hard.
"Your dad definitely has the whole vibe of this castle on point." Jack commented as we fought Harkon's gargoyle guardians on the bridge to his castle.
She cleaved one in two with the ebony blade and flung another into sea below with her biotics.
Coming up to the barred gate I shook my hips and started swinging the Hammer of Might down onto the wooden doors. I broke enough with my first swing to stick my head in and shout "Here's Johnny!"
Shelly Duvall wasn't on the other side, just a bunch of pissed off vampires.
"The prey delivers itself to us!" one of the delusional bloodsuckers shouted.
He turned into a fine red mist after I finished bashing open a proper entry way into this undead hive.
I think the others had a better grasp on the situation, but committed to the defense of their home while Harkon fled deeper within. They didn't buy him much time, just enough to get into his chamber with his blood fountain and transform into his 'vampire lord' form. I think Rada-Al-Saran would like to dispute that.
"Serana!" He bellowed, "You would lead enemies into your father's house?"
"I am so sick of the games you and mother play against each other." our lover growled, "So I am flipping the board. After today I will never have to fear you again father."
"You think this overgrown reptile will save…" Harkon didn't get to finish that thought as Volendrung impacted his chest launching him to the wall of the chamber where he burst into bats and reformed at the fount, erecting a shield while trying to heal himself by pulling our life energy to him with blood magic.
The sound of his shield dropping when my hammer struck it caused the vampire to turn and gape his mouth.
"I don't suppose you might consider switching sides?" the grey skinned bat thing asked.
Turning his head into paste answered that question concisely.
And people say violence is never the answer.
"Well that was neat." Jack commented, "We going to loot the place?"
"I would prefer it if we just leave." Serana stated and led our exit from the castle.
Jack and I explored Skyrim for a bit longer, and quickly decided we would like to get back to a more advanced world. Swords and magic can be fun, but we were ultimately people accustomed to having a galaxy of luxuries at our beck and call. We broached the topic with our vampire lover gracefully.
"So, wanna explore the multiverse with us?" Jack asked her at dinner while I loaded up on interdimensional travel fuel.
"Pardon?" Serana asked in confusion.
"Grunt and I travel to different universes using the magical powers of his cock." Jack explained, "We eat a native when we arrive and gain his or her knowledge and powers. It's pretty sweet and a once in a lifetime opportunity."
"You plan to just leave Nirn behind and do what exactly?" Serana questioned while sipping a goblet of blood.
"Whatever takes hold of our interest." Jack answered, "We've built two empires that span the stars, fought in wars against all kinds of things, hunted giant monsters, slain beasts of the Apocalypse. There is always something to keep the blood pumping."
"No." Serana refused, "I'm not interested in leaving this world after I finally gained a measure of peace in it."
Jack tried her best to keep the hurt off her face, failed at it, but tried valiantly.
"Oh." she sounded, "Okay then. I guess the house and all our stuff is yours. Grunt and I are only taking the essentials."
We had packed up our clothes and a few Skyforge steel daggers along with our enchanted jewelry into a lager leather duffle bag. We'd strapped Volendrung and the Ebony Blade to it as well having taken such a liking to the legendary artifacts.
"I guess this is goodbye." Jack muttered and we left for the bedroom.
After packing away the Horn of Party Hardy and our clothes from the evening Jack and I were left in just our ankle strapped knives and the Ring of Namira that never left my finger.
"I really thought she would come with us." she said glumly while jerking me off.
"People are who zhe are, not whos we wants zhems to be." I slurred in the perfect sweet spot drunk.
"You snag that from a fortune cookie?" Jack asked as she mounted me.
"Podcast." I answered and we got to the business of fucking our way through reality itself.
A while later I signaled that I was two minutes out from finishing. Jack grabbed the strap of our go bag and dragged it with us through the portal to our next universe.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA
JManM
JManM
So ends the Elder Scrolls Arc. If you felt that Brienne was a Mary Sue then you are right. Just like all the other Elder Scrolls protagonists, Brienne gained a rediculous amount of power in a very short amount of time.
She was also protected and aided by people who wanted what was best for her, rather than what was convient for everyone else. Cough cough Dumbledore cough.
Up next is Gears of War.
You can support me and my family at
ko - fi . com / jmanm
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