I, Draugr Chapter 5 (Patreon)

Aurelia had heard stories of Nords being… very boisterous, especially after a battle. Of how they celebrated victory and saluted the fallen by drinking and partying and… beating each other up?

Her eyes stray away from the drunken brawl, slightly amused at the women cat-calling the bare-chested and sweaty man punching each other in the face.

The moment the battle was over, the Companions called for a party that took place in the enormous Jorrvaskr and nearly half of the large square before it, the Guards and warriors that took part in the battle being the main stars of the party.

Entirely deserved too, she had to admit. Even though they may have swung their swords once or twice, or only shot a couple of arrows, the mere fact that they picked up arms and rushed to go and fight a Dragon of all things was worthy of respect.

After the victory, the Jarl sent a guard to thank both her and Leonidas for taking part in the battle, and offered the both of them a home to rest for the night as the man clearly did not wish to summon people for a meeting at night, and after such a battle.

She felt weird at the mere fact she did not mind sharing a home with an Undead… But then again, it's Leonidas.

Said man had excused himself to grab a change of clothing due to having a powerful stench of blood hanging around his robes after he blew up the Dragon and showered in its blood.

As her thoughts fall upon her strange companion, she cannot help but be very, very glad that she spared him back within Bleak Falls Barrow.

His mere presence, the way he attracted the Dragon's focus upon himself, and the way he was pivotal in slaying the beast… With him simply being there, only five warriors fell in battle.

There are nasty injuries and broken bones, but nothing that she couldn't fix with her Restoration Magic or simply mend enough to make it so it wasn't fatal anymore.

Her shoulders slump, and a thin smile tugs at her lips. Never before would she have thought that one day, she'd look at an Undead being and view them as a friend.

Nor the fact that his mere presence actually makes her relieved.

And speaking about her silly friend, he was actually the talk of the night.

"-am telling you, that guy is no mere Spell-Flinger. That's a man, right there." She turns her head to look at one of the Whiterun Guards, helmet sat on the table and bearded face flushed from one too many drinks. "And he ain't no Bard either, yet he spewed insults as sharp as a blade towards the Dragon… And pissed off the fucker so much that it actually stopped flying!"

Her lips twitch at that. Leonidas's way of speech is weird, and it can go from being very polished and noble-like to quite vulgar within the snap of a finger.

And to see him throw those insults out made her forget that there was a Dragon hanging above her head for quite a bit.

That is, until the enraged beast came crashing down and started chasing Leonidas for a very good reason.

Funnily enough, she understood the Dragon. Sometimes she too wants to strangle Leonidas, even though it will be a useless endeavor.

"Unlike all them other coward Spell-Flingers I've seen in my life, that guy did not hang back and hide, he instead made sure to keep the Dragon's attention on himself, and even got up close to blow up the beast from the inside!"

More laughter sounded out, more drinks were downed, and Aurelia smiled at the sight before her.

Those words she just heard… They were true. She doesn't like saying it or even thinking about it, but the enormous majority of Mages are all cowards.

They would do anything in order to make sure that they survive another day, so to further their studies, so to gain more and more power.

Necromancer's are by far the worst of the bunch. Vile cowards that do not care about the lives of those around them and would willingly sacrifice them in order to either survive, or gain power.

After all, the more people die around them the more 'soldiers' and 'tools' they end up having at the end of it all.

Leonidas could have done all of that… But did not. He put himself, a fragile Skeleton, in harm's way and made sure the Dragon was always and constantly focused upon him.

Who would ever have the guts and courage to do that?

An uproar from outside made her perk up and look towards the large doors of Jorrvaskr, whistles and shouts and praises being thrown towards a lone figure that slowly strides into the hall, making her smile grow a tad bit more.

"Maidens!" Leonidas hollers, arms raised high in the air, his voice making the large hall quiet down just a tad, "Lower thy socks below thine ankles! Tonight, we shall be so boisterous that our brothers in Sovngarde will hear us!"

His words made the whole of Jorrvasks go wild while her cheeks flushed faintly.

The previous howls and cheers grew deafening, and some of the ladies even threw their undergarments towards Leonidas, making the surrounding laughter hike up.

Leonidas previous black robes were now hopefully burnt away, while he now wore a dark crimson robe that was quite a bit bigger on his form than normal. Perfect to hide his Undead features.

The hoods was up like usual, and his face was hid by a black leather mask that hid the blue glow of his flame-like eyes.

His hands instead were covered by black and bulky gloves, clearly made by the same type of leather of his helmet.

She watched as his head turned left and right while people called for him to join their table, but her eyes widen when his gaze soon finds her, and he swiftly moves to join her.

Despite not really being in the mood for the festivities or to chat with others, she found the fact that Leonidas wanted to join her quite heart-warming.

"Septims for your thoughts?" He asks softly as he takes a seat beside her. Her gaze falls to her drink, which she had barely touched at all. Just like the food.

Said drink swirls in her mug from a shake of her hand, making her faint reflection disappear in the process, "I feel like things have only been getting worse since I got to Skyrim…"

First she was thought to be a member of the Civil War fighters, the Stormcloaks, and would have been decapitated without fair trial or chance at freedom.

Then a Dragon attacks Helgen, leaving barely a few survivors despite her best efforts in gathering as many people as possible before running away.

And recently, this. Another Dragon attack, and then the reveal that she was this… Dragonborn of Legends.

She had a gut-feeling back then, of coming here because she felt like she could make a change if she tried hard enough… But this wasn't something she wanted to be pulled into.

"Yeah…" The hidden Undead sighs softly despite having no lungs, "Fate can be a bitch. And so can prophecies and all that crap."

Aurelia's gaze doesn't leave his form, "I can't run from this, can I?" His head turns to regard her for a few quiet seconds before shaking slowly.

"End of the world type of bullshit, I am afraid." He whispers lowly, and her hands clench lightly above the table before her, "I wish I could have said no, and that I could reassure you." Deep down, she is glad that he didn't sugarcoat the whole issue and try to lie to her.

"I'd prefer if you are honest with me…" Aurelia drawls out, tired and very annoyed. But also quite afraid.

Yet deep down, she knew she could rely on Leonidas despite the fact that they recently met. And that they should be enemies.

"How troublesome will everything be?" She had to know. She needed to prepare herself, both mentally and physically. Or at least, try to do so.

Leonidas taps the table before them with a low hum, "Going to the Greybeards will help you a lot, but because they are a bunch of dumb senile fools and pretty much asked you to go to them in such a loud way, doing so will very likely end up with us under the siege of Dragons laying in wait, and anyone or anything that may or may not work below them."

Despite his words, Aurelia smiles warmly, her mind mostly focused upon that 'Us' Leonidas said.

He wasn't going to leave her to handle everything by herself…

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Staying here, of course. And milking it for all that it is worth." His words bring her to a confused pause. "Think about it; You are the only one that can put a Dragon down for good, and by doing so you only grow stronger in the process."

"The weaker the Dragon, the more they will want to prove themselves, so they will slowly come here to challenge you, and if you add changes to said challenges, the majority of Dragons will be forced to comply due their pride."

"And finally, by being here and protecting Whiterun, Jarl Balgruuf will protect you from the other Holds who will want you for themselves. Just to protect his city, but yeah... Though you can easily demand more and more benefits from the man, which you should."

That… He put a lot of thoughts into this already, hasn't he? All for her?

"I don't think I can bring myself to make demands, though…" She whispers, as the mere idea of doing so leaves a bad taste in her mouth. "Helping the people is more than-"

"Yeah, no." Leonidas cuts her off, voice stern, surprising her, "You can't do this shit without making demands and having concessions granted to you. You aren't a Nord, Aurelia, you don't have their mentality of 'Live to fight, and die fighting'."

"Just fighting without getting breaks or other ways to relax or anything else will break you. You aren't fighting to protect a single city, but the whole world."

"When the weight of that responsibility truly and fully settles in, you'll beg for an escape. Even if it's for just a few moments."

Leonidas is right. Aurelia had to admit that.

Even her duties as a Paladin and helping people around the lands of the Empire never came for free. After all, she needed food and other necessities, and sometimes even a roof over her head.

She loves helping people, but by doing so for free… She'll only be a tool. A foolish one.

"You're right." She sighs out, then finally takes a long sip of her drink. Deep down, she feels horrible that she can't share a drink and meal with Leonidas.

Setting her mug down, she gives the crimson robed man beside her a warm smile, "Thank you, Leonidas. You're too kind to me."

He shrugs and drops his chin on his gloved palm, "My fair lady, you are but my first companion and friend within this land, so of course I shall treasure you as you are meant to be." And he is back to his fancy way of speech too.

Which means he is in a good mood. And his good mood is rather infectious, it seems.

"Any plans on checking out what we discovered in Bleak Falls Barrows?" He questions lazily, making her pause in confusion.

Then her mind clicks and realization fills her eyes, "Maybe when things have calmed down and I have less eyes on me." She didn't know if this Dragon Priest was still sealed and beneath the city, and she did not wish to risk having these news leak out and terrify the people.

"'Tis a good idea indeed, my friend." Her companion nods, his hidden gaze straying away from her to take in the partying interiors of Jorrvaskr.

Seeing him fall quiet made her curious, so "Septim for your thoughts?" She fired back the line he previously used against her.

Leonidas stirrs, then hums lowly, "I'm just been coming to terms with everything that has happened so far." Her eyes widen at his words, and her armored fingers tremble.

Slowly, one hand slides over the table, but hesitation strikes her before she could rest a hand over his. Would he even be able to feel it?

All these partying people around them, enjoying food and drinks while he can only watch…

Her shaking hand slowly draws back, her stomach feeling heavy with emotions. What could she even say? Would she be overstepping her boundaries?

"I think I'm going to retreat for the night. Not feeling in a party mood right now." Her friend drawls out as he stands, and Aurelia gulps heavily, "This damn place is louder than a pair of skeletons fuckin' on a tin roof." Despite her inner emotions, Aurelia couldn't help the snort that escapes her.

Still, that improved her mood a great deal. And he didn't even try to do that. "I'll come too." She laughs out softly as she stands, forgoing the rest of her drink and food in doing so.

The action clearly surprises Leonidas, "You sure you don't want to eat anything first?" She was probably going to regret it in the morning, but now she really had no stomach for it.

"If you're sure." He nods, then turns away from her, "Now, let us leave before someone tries to shove food down my non-existent stomach. I'd rather not raise eyebrows when it splatters down on the floor below me." Another snort escapes her at that.

That would truly be one silly way to discover that Leonidas is an Undead. Perhaps even awkward and embarrassing on Leonidas's part.

Still, she could not help the fierce blush on her whole face and ears when she heard the surrounding man whistle and cheer Leonidas on as they saw them leave together.

Hopefully this won't raise some embarrassing rumors…

….

She did end up regretting not eating anything, but at least she wasn't the three or so dozen people utterly drunk and passed out either in the canals flowing with water that are all around Whiterun, or bared feet and butts that stick out of bushes and trees.

Truly, taking a walk in the morning right after that wild party ended up bringing Aurelia ceaseless amusement due to the many drunkards strewn across the streets.

And roofs of buildings.

The fact that the majority of the drunkards were the very guards supposed to be patrolling Whiterun's streets made it even more amusing to her.

Still, the walk also allowed her to notice the enormous skeleton of the Dragon and its hide being wheeled into the city, clearly meant to be studied and perhaps even forged into powerful weapons.

That thought slowly brings her to a pause. She does not lack good armor and weapons, but Leonidas…

He is a mage, and that Spell that pretty much destroyed the Dragon from the inside out was already powerful enough to punch a hole into its side.

What if he had a staff to amplify said Spell? Staves have precious Magicka Crystals on top of them, which – depending on the grade – can massively amplify the owner's Mana and make their Spells several times stronger than usual.

Her greatsword does have a low quality Magicka Crystal embedded in its guard, amplifying her Sunfire to greater levels and making it even deadlier against the Undead.

And now here she is, about to go and perhaps buy a weapon for one very silly Undead.

...She left said Undead unsupervised through the night, now that she thinks about it.

Oh well, he surely didn't do anything-

"Did you hear about what happened to Nazeem?" Aurelia hears a woman to her right whisper to her friend group.

Instantly, Aurelia knows Leonidas is behind this.

Divines damn it, you stupid Skeleton…

xxxXXXxxx

It is laughably easy to find where someone is when everyone around you is drunk enough to think that the tree before them is one of the Divines.

Mainly Dibella, the Goddess of Beauty.

Seeing a drunk Nord hump a tree has scarred me for life.

Either way, people thought that the Skeleton before them asking for directions was just a figment of their imagination, and this allowed me to go and do some… tomfoolery, I might say.

Needless to say that everyone will simply blame the party and the alcohol.

All according to keikaku-

"Did you seriously track down this random dude, beat him up, then strap him to a horse and let it go wild?"

Aurelia stares down at my poor, innocent self sitting down on a bench, under the wondrous morning sun right outside our shared home the Jarl kindly gave us to spend the night at.

"Pardon?" Her eye twitches, further feeding my amusement. "I have been here all night long as you snored away, my friend."

Her cheeks flush, and her foot childishly stomps on the ground, "I-I do not snore!"

"You don't? Must've imagined that trumpeting mammoth then." Aaaand she's reaching for her sword. "I would live to apologize."

Bullying her is just too much fun.

Her pout doesn't fade even with my 'apology', and she huffs out and turns her gaze away, "And I even got you a present?" Hm?

I tilt my head at her, then notice the long object strapped beside her sword, covered only by a tarp.

"You shouldn't spend money on me." I say that, but I still feel very happy that she went ahead to do such a thing.

She is a really kind and lovely woman, that I gotta admit.

Aurelia shrugs, pout disappearing into a satisfied smile, "I wanted to, so here." Pulling the tarp covered object over her shoulder, she excitedly offers it to me. I couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the sight.

Still, her excitement seems to be rather infections when I find out that the long object she gave me is a long staff, one with a large spherical blue gem at the top.

The wood of the staff is dark brown, and it all is nearly as tall as me, and a strange feeling fills me when I grasp it. Like it became a connection of sorts, or an extension of me.

"This is a Magicka Staff." Aurelia proudly tells me, fists on her hips, "The stone at the top is a Magicka Crystal, which will enhance your Spells a great deal if you cast them through it." So they work differently from the in-game ones, huh?

How peculiar. There seem to be quite a few differences that I need to learn about as soon as possible.

I wonder if I can still exploit my knowledge of Skyrim, like where I can find some good loot that can or cannot be useful depending on the situation.

Books I doubt can grant me anything, so the only good thing I can do perhaps is get my money up and buy things that may be useful, as I remember this Merchant Guild existing from the corpse of the mage I stole my first robes from.

"Spoiling me, are we?" I chuckle as I set the large staff on the ground, quite satisfied with its looks and feels. How strong will an Arcane Cannon shot through it be? Still, I have to Evolve again and fast, as that Spell does take a lot of my reserves to make it very powerful. "I'd give you my heart, but… Ya know-"

Aurelia sighs, "Yeah, yeah, you don't have it. Throw me a bone, will ya?" I pause.

I look away from the staff to look at her, and she looks away with mildly flushed cheeks.

Did she just…?

A woman after my heart, eh?-

"Excuse me." A voice startles me out of my thoughts and makes both me and Aurelia looks to my left and her right, where a man dressed as a guard of Whiterun – and that isn't drunk and passed out – is standing. "Forgive me, but the Jarl of Whiterun requests your presence."

Ah, the big guy finally decided to summon us. "Of course! Lead the way, my friend!" With a nod, the guard turns around to do exactly that, and I use that chance to lean close to Aurelia. "Remember what I told you."

I don't want her to overwork herself for chump fucking change. She is the Dragonborn, and she is fighting Dragons to keep Whiterun safe, so of course paying her should be natural.

Plus, the remains of the Dragon should be hers to be sold off too.

"I never asked, but… How do you feel?" Aurelia perks up and gives me a confused look, so I explain, "You gobbled up a Dragon Soul, so you… should feel different."

At that, her eyes widen in realization, "I do feel… stronger? My Magicka reserves have grown quite a bit bigger, that's for sure." Huh, so it is different from the game, where she can only hoard them until she finds another Word Wall.

She gets a general power-up to everything here, which is very cool and good. Definitely what she needs to throw hands with Alduin way down the line.

"And I did learn a new Word." She points out, "The one I learned in Bleak Falls Barrow… It means 'Force', while this one means 'Fire'." Ah, so she learned 'Yol', one of my favorite shouts right after Elemental Fury one.

I guess the Dragon we fought was breathing out fire through only using Yol.

I'm afraid that the Dragons that use all three words of that Shout can just breathe out fucking plasma of all things, seeing how the last word of the Fire Breath shout means 'Sun'.

I cannot imagine what Alduin is capable of then.

Miraak really thought he was something and for real believed he could kill the big fucker by himself, the cocky little shit.

Then he got bodied by a fellow Dragon Priest and needed Daddy Mora to come and rescue him. Pfft..

I shake away those thoughts and focus my sight ahead of me as we enter the large square the party started in. Jorrvaskr is enormous, far bigger than the Jorrvaskr of the game.

The overturned ship turned building does look its age, and is certainly quite the eye-catching sight.

Then there's the dead branch of the Eldergleam poking out of the earth, which stands out as a massive dead tree, a circular water canal going around it as a whole.

Similar to the game, as far as I remember. I've been here so much that this sight is just burned in my very Soul.

Aside from Jorrvasks and the set of stairs leading up to Dragonsreach, there are no other eye-catching buildings, which is perhaps done on purpose.

The rest should be in the Cloud District, I believe. Gotta travel around a bit after meeting the Jarl, that's for sure.

For some reason, Aurelia is glaring my way. "I did nothing." I raise my hands innocently, but she just pouts at me.

"I didn't forget about the guy you beat up during the night." Did they even find Nazeem?

After all, I set the horse loose.

"Such baseless accusations, my friend." I wave her off with a huff, "It must've been some other rascal." Yeah, my dumbass did it.

Again, finding people is laughably easy when everyone is drunk and thinks the skeleton before them is a figment of their inebriated imagination.

Hell, some guys even treated me as their buddy!

"Did you have something to do with the knocked out guy on the roof near the gates?" What?

"That I have nothing to do with."

"Ah, so you admit to doing something?" Shucks.

"I'll have you know I am armed and dangerous!" Aurelia raises a brow my way, "I got a pair of shoulder blades on me!" She facepalms. Hard.

"I hate you."

Truly, there is nothing better than being a little shit. How gratifying.

Still, we soon reach the end of the long stairs leading up to Dragonsreach, and we cross the bridge and step through the already open large wooden doors that lead into the enormous castle.

Which, might I say, looks cool as fuck. Never been close to a castle before, so… I'm feeling giddy.

Also, it's all made of wood… I can set this shit on fire with ease.

Another smaller set of stairs later and- Oh, hello Jarl Balgruuf. And Irileth. And… whoever the rest of you fucks are.

"My Jarl, I have brought the Dragonborn and the Mage." We got names, but whatever.

A large fire in the middle of the hall, a large and long table filled with food and beverages on each side, chairs filled with well dressed people that are probably nobles.

At the other end, sitting below a large dragon skull, sits Jarl Balgruuf, who waves off and dismisses the guard, "Thank you, Guard. You can go now."

The guard does so right after a bow, then turns around and walks between me and Aurelia to leave.

My eyes drift towards the robed figure on the Jarl's left, who I believe might be Farengar. He is staring in my general direction, ain't he?

"First of all, allow me to express my thanks in joining the subjugation of the Dragon." Balgruuf speaks, a kind smile upon his bearded face, "It was not your battle, yet you still joined. I am thankful for it and shall reward you, as you are meant to be." Better not be a fucking Enchanted Shield, I swear to God…

Aurelia bows her head respectfully, "I could not just sit by and watch, Jarl Balgruuf." The man nods, clear respect in his eyes, "But, if I may, I bring some… rather horrid news."

The hall falls quiet, and Jarl Balgruuf frowns and leans forward on his throne. "Speak."

Straightening herself, Aurelia takes in a deep breath before doing so, "I come from Helgen, Jarl Balgruuf. The city… has fallen, turned into rubble by a Dragon."

"And it was not the Dragon we battled and felled outside the walls. The one that razed Helgen to the ground was far more massive, with scales as black as night itself."

A low hiss goes through the hall, shared by the would-be nobles sitting around, who instantly start whispering among themselves.

Jarl Balgruuf looks like he sucked in a lemon, and he shares a long look with the frowning Irileth.

"Two Dragon attacks, seemingly back to back… And the Dragonborn appearing at such a time…" The Jarl hums aloud, and I do not miss the way Aurelia twitches lightly at having her identity called out in such a way. "Irileth, send a runner to all the other Holds, warn them of this threat. Hopefully the Civil War can be put to a stop until the situation is handled."

Smart, but doubtful they will listen until some shit happens or someone with greater power puts their foot down forcefully on their throat.

"It might be useful to study the Spell that was used to grievously wound the Dragon." Farengar speaks up, and I instantly latch onto why he has been staring at me.

Mages, nearly all always greedy with knowledge and power. Should have expected it, I guess.

Aurelia glances my way nervously while Balgruuf throws a chastising glance towards his Court Mage.

I, instead? I see another victim of my shenanigans.

"There is not much to share, I am afraid." I start with a friendly chuckle, "After all, I am sure a grand Court Mage such as yourself already knows this flimsy little Spell."

Farengar stills, then straightens himself both suspiciously and curiously, "I do?"

"But of course!" Jovially, I raise my free hand to create a certain sparkling orb, "Here it is. I'm sure you can recognize it at a glance, yes?"

Farengar falls quiet for several seconds.

Then a whole minute.

"Do you take me for an idiotic fool?!" And he finally explodes with an irate shout, making me hold back a cackle.

Once more, Jarl Balgruuf throws a chastising glare towards his Court Mage, "Is something the matter, Farengar?"

With a huff, the Court Mage turns to face his Jarl, "My Jarl, that… Spell right there, is called Magic Missile. It is silly little Spell sometimes taught to children like yours to get them started in the study of Magic, and they use it to play around as children do. It surely is not a Spell capable of felling a Dragon."

The Jarl hums in understanding, then turns to look my way. Aurelia takes this as her chance to cough into her fist awkwardly, drawing the attention towards her, "I am afraid he is not lying, Jarl Balgruuf. The Spell my friend is using is truly the one called Magic Missile…"

Farengar looks like he is about to pop a vein, and I am loving it. He is quite literally twitching! Hah!

"Then, pray tell, what makes your Magic Missile so different from normal?" A lot of fucking speed, and the fact I jammed it up the Dragon's asshole and made it explode.

I raise a hand to rub my chin thoughtfully, "I believe the difference is called a… Skill Issue."

…

"Now listen here you son of a bitch-"

"Farengar!"

Too easy.