Chapter Text
As my vision cleared, I frantically looked around. I had felt a jerk, like a fishhook behind my belly button and a dizzying flash of light when I’d poked the cube, and now… I was cold. I was sitting on something moving, the motion jostling me into hard surfaces behind me and to my left, and into someone’s shoulder on my right. A rough cord or rope was wrapped firmly around my wrists. I blinked the last of the light dazzle from my eyes and swore.
You know that joke/meme/whatever, where a scene fades to black, and then fades in with the opening of Skyrim, and Ralof saying “Hey, you, you’re finally awake”? Yeah…. That shit is infinitely less amusing when you actually wake up in that cart.
I ignored him, for all the good that would do me now, and tried to take stock of the situation. It was different than the game, for one. There were more carts, more Imperial soldiers walking and riding with the caravan, and more men in each cart. There were five men with me in the last one, Ralof, Lokir, and Ulfric I knew, but the two in the middle were new. I’m pretty sure the man between Ulfric and me was the idiot who interrupted the priest. You know, “By Talos, shut up and let’s get this over with”. The man across from him, though. He was new. Human, tall, pale skin and dark hair swept back from his temples. Fine boned and wearing decent leather armor. Green and bronze, as opposed to the Stormcloak blue. Not going to lie, he was very easy on the eyes. He was still out of it, though, barely sitting up under his own power as the carts rattled through the gates of Helgen.
Okay. Focus. I can do this. The postern gate should work as an exit. If not, well… I’d figure something out. Or die horribly in a dragon attack. That was an option, too. But first, survive Helgen. Once that was done, I could figure out my next steps.
The unconscious stranger had woken up as we passed through the gates, and I could tell that he was planning something. Didn’t have the faintest idea of what, but I wished him luck.
We filed out of the carts and I stopped at the stranger’s shoulder.
“Whatever you’re planning, wait for the dragon. It should be easier then,” I whispered.
He shot me a look out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t make any other sign that he heard me. Probably just as well. I knew I sounded insane.
Hadvar called Ulfric, Ralof, and Halder to the block, that last apparently being the suicidal idiot. Lokir was called, and the stranger stiffened a bit, then relaxed as Lokir ran off. He was still turned into a pincushion, and Hadvar turned to us.
“Who are you?”
“Caitlin.” Mentally, I shrugged. It would hardly matter in a few minutes.
The stranger stepped forward, hands spread as much as the bindings allowed. “There seems to have been something of a mistake here-”
“Shut it,” the captain barked. “Send those two to the block.”
“By your orders, Captain,” Hadvar replied.
As we filed into place, I could hear Alduin and Paarthurnax start their fight at the Throat. Halder, the suicidal idiot interrupted the priest of Arkay and got his head removed for his troubles. Then the Captain turned to me.
“You. Caitlin. To the block.”
I sighed as Alduin roared again. He sounded closer this time. I carefully made my way to the block, trying to ignore the smell of Halder’s bowels, and the fresh blood on the ground. Trying to buy enough time for Alduin to arrive. The Captain shoved me down and I lied to myself that it was water soaking into the collar of my shirt as the headsman squared up before Alduin slammed into the squat tower before me. The force of his landing staggered several people in my line of sight, and knocked the headsman off his feet.
Alduin roared his Shout for the flaming rocks and people started screaming. I took advantage of the confusion to cut my bindings free with the axe. As I stood up, a hand clamped around my arm, and I turned to meet the brilliantly green gaze of the stranger from the cart.
“You know how to escape?”
I looked over his shoulder to the postern gate. It was blocked by a dead horse and flaming cart.
“Come on. The tower.”
We ran to the tower. I didn’t bother stopping and listening to Ulfric, just headed up the stairs with my stranger at my heels. I stopped abruptly at the second landing and he ran into me, but he looped an arm around my waist to keep me upright as Alduin plowed through the wall, Shouting fire at the unlucky men that were trying to move the stones.
As Alduin flew away, I pointed at the inn below. “If you can clear the flames, you can make it down.”
He gave me a puzzled look, then scooped me up and leapt. I barely had time to yelp before he was setting me down on the floor of the inn.
“Okay then,” I said, shaken. I’m not a small woman, and he’d picked me up like I weighed nothing. Between that and the touch starvation he was feeding, not to mention the amazing good looks, I was pretty sure I’d be in love with him by the time we reached the caves under Helgen.
Please don’t let him turn out to be an asshole, though.
I snagged the knapsack on the wardrobe then jumped down to the main floor of the ruined inn, the stranger following and keeping me upright as I staggered, then led the way toward the fire-blasted alley. I pulled him back against the wall a heartbeat before Alduin landed above us, clearing out some rubble and soldiers.
“You know, if he wasn’t trying to kill us, he’d be really helpful, you know?” I muttered, leading the way through the ruins of a house and to the final stretch before the Keep.
“I’m sure we can complain to his superior later,” the stranger replied.
I snorted as I led the way into the further door, to the barracks.
It was empty, but I could hear the sounds of fighting ahead, and I would guess that it was more than the handful of soldiers shown in the game. Probably a unit of Stormcloaks trying to spring Ulfric and running into the forces posted here.
I turned to my companion. “There’s armor and weapons here, if you can use them.”
“You can’t?”
I snorted as I started collecting the abandoned septims from a table. Looks like the rebels had interrupted a poker game, or equivalent. “I can shoot a bow, but I’m not good enough to get through all of that alone. And I’m not sure how much longer you’re willing to help deadweight.”
“A proposal, then. You seem to know a great deal of what’s happening. More so than the soldiers here. I’ll keep you alive until we reach safety, if you’ll tell me everything you know about this.”
“Hell, you keep me alive, and I’ll help you become the High King of Skyrim. You ready?”
He twirled a pair of iron daggers briefly, scowled at them, then nodded. “Let’s go.”
I led the way through the gate, passing Imperials and Stormcloaks locked in battle as we headed to the storeroom. My companion tried to push me back as the wall fell, then let me up once it was clear the section we were in was safe. Once in the storeroom, I hung back as he made short work of the soldiers. I’m pretty sure I saw a few flashes of magic, but they didn’t look anything like in the game. Could just have been the light.
“Start over there. There should be potions.”
“It would be wise to collect some basic supplies, as well,” he commented, beginning to root through the barrels.
We loaded some dried meats and fruit into my knapsack, as well as the small handful of potions I found. My companion presented me with a hunting bow and a quiver of iron arrows as I swung the pack on.
“You said you could shoot a bow, and I doubt they need these anymore.”
“Thank you.” I tied the quiver to my belt and tested the bow. It was a bit heavier draw than I was used to, but I could shoot it. “Torture room next. There should be another pack, and a dead mage that has some pretty valuable stuff with him.”
“A mage?”
“Yeah. The robes are enchanted, and he’s got a spell tome. Sparks. Lets you shoot lightning.”
He hummed, turning his attention to the sounds of fighting ahead.
I stayed on the relative safety of the stairs, watching the brawl below. He was fast, almost dancing through the crowd. I raised the bow to take pot shots at the people, but a sudden gout of blood startled me. I felt the bow fall, and I staggered back, trying not to puke.
Those were real people. This wasn’t a game anymore.
Oh, god. What was I being shoved into?
The sounds stopped and I forced myself to breathe and step into the room. I tried not to look at the bodies as I crossed to the pack, shoving the book on the table into mine. There was a small handful of lockpicks, and I crossed to the cage. We needed money.
“Can you pick that?” my companion asked, nodding to the cage.
“Eventually. I’m not perfect at this.”
He nodded and left me to it, moving around the room and collecting arrows and other things from the bodies. It took me a few tries, but the lock popped open, allowing me to strip the mage and grab the coins and spell tome.
“Ready?”
I nodded as I slung the pack back on. “Should only be a few stragglers, and then the caves. We can have a real talk there. Oh, there should be an oil spill in the room ahead, under the archers. If you can light it, it should account for them.”
He nodded and I followed him down the corridor to the collapsed wall. I took a few moments to collect the scattered septims from the bodies we passed, then followed him into the final room.
He stopped before the entrance, studying the layout from behind a fallen stone.
“Shouldn’t be overly difficult. Wait here a moment.”
I settled against a rock as he strode into the room, pulling out and flipping through The Book of the Dragonborn as the sounds of fire and fighting came from the open cave. I will say, he was wicked fast with those daggers. I really lucked out when I decided to warn him.
Of course, now the million dollar question is which of the two of us is the Dragonborn? And the follow-up: will he stay if it’s me? I’d stay with him, if only to not die. I mean, I’d do what I could to keep him informed of his choices and all the batshit insane lore I knew about Tamriel and the Elder Scrolls games. That said, I don’t know how the fact that the Argonians are descended from sentient trees or whatever was going on with the Dwemer would be useful.
I looked up at the sound of boots scuffing on stone and relaxed when I saw my companion approaching me.
“There was a bridge, but more of the roof fell away, destroying it.”
“That’s fine. There’s a tunnel under there that we should be able to get to. And once we’re out there, we should talk.”
He flashed a dazzling smile at me. “Oh? About what?”
I grinned back at him. “Well, your name, for a start. And what we’re doing when we get out of here.”
“And what’s wrong with my name?”
“Couldn’t tell you, since I don’t know it.”
He opened his mouth, then slowly closed it, looking pensive. “No, I suppose I didn’t introduce myself, did I?” He offered a hand. “Loki of Asgard. A pleasure to rescue you.”
I gaped at him. “Wait. Like, Loki Loki? Sky Traveler? Silvertongue? God of Mischief? That Loki?”
“I take it you’ve heard of me,” he said, slowly lowering his hand.
I beamed at him. “Oh, this is the best day ever. Yeah, I’ve heard of you. I worship you, if you want to get technical. I have a shrine to you in my living room.”
That seemed to throw him. “Really? Why me?”
I shrugged and stood up. “You seem like the kind of god who looks after those who get overshadowed.”
“Ah.”
I led the way to the small bridge and dropped onto the rubble below. “I’m Caitlin, which I suppose you heard before.”
I grabbed the small coin purse down the dead end and sat on the ledge alongside the small stream.
“So, this seems like a good place to actually talk for a bit. The way out is down there, but there's a nest of Frostbite spiders and a bear between us and the exit. Although, given how many Stormcloaks we saw, that might have been taken care of for us.”
Loki settled in across the stream, watching me. “So, let us start with the dragon.”
“Okay. Word of warning, a lot of this gets tangled up with other things, but I’ll try to keep it to just the important bits. The dragon was Alduin, the World Eater, although right now, only you, me, and Paarthurnax know it’s him. Alduin was created by Akatosh, the Dragon God of Time, to unmake linear time at the end of everything. Since Alduin was also the first thing Akatosh made, he has gotten very bored waiting for time’s end. About… I wanna sat 4,500 or so years back, he created a cult. He, and the rest of the dragons, set out to enslave the mortals. Some mortals sold out, willingly serving the dragons and the like. They became Dragon Priests. I’m not sure of the details, but they’re still around as draugr, complete with magic and the ability to Shout.”
“I’m assuming by ‘Shout’, you mean more than simply speaking forcefully?”
“I do. Didn’t you hear Alduin when he was shooting fire? That was a Shout. Fire Breath, specifically. Yol Tor Shul.”
Loki nodded slowly. “I see. Continue.”
“Alduin was challenged and defeated, sort of, by three heroes: Hakon One-Eye, his sister Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, and their friend Feldir the Old. They fought Alduin, using a Shout they developed against him, and Feldir used an Elder Scroll to cast Alduin adrift in time. To now, actually. The roaring that we heard earlier was Alduin arriving at this time and facing Paarthurnax, his former second-in-command.”
“Former?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. See, the dragons must obey the strongest of them. They don’t have a choice. It’s ingrained nature, or something. The goddess Kyne, or Kynareth if you use the Imperial name, freed Paarthurnax from that, and he taught the three heroes to use the Thu’um, or Shouts. Paarthurnax has been guarding the place Alduin was set to return ever since. Now, check this out.”
I held out the copy of The Book of the Dragonborn, pointing to the relevant section.
“See, there’s this prophecy about the Last Dragonborn, who is supposed to deal with Alduin once and for all. Now, in the game, that’s the player. But in the game, you weren’t on that cart. It was just the player, Ralof, Lokir, and Ulfric.”
“So you are assuming one of us is this Dragonborn,” Loki mused, handing the book back.
“Most likely. There is a fairly straightforward way of finding out, but it won’t be easy.”
“And what is this test?”
“Kill a dragon.” I couldn’t help but grin at his blank look. “The Dragonborn will consume the soul of a slain dragon. If this follows the main quest, then one will attack the western watchtower in the not-too-distant future. Probably a day or two.”
“I see,” he said slowly. “And you want to get involved in this?”
“Honestly, I’d rather not. But, like you said, I know more about what’s going on than anyone else. If I don’t try to help, who will?”
Loki studied me for a long moment, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I felt some other things stirring, as well. That look was… very intense.
“Very well. What are our first steps?”
I sighed. “Get out of here, and get to Riverwood. If we talk to Alvor, the smith, or Gerdur, who runs the mill, they’ll give us supplies and ask us to warn the Jarl, Balgruuf, in Whiterun. Actually, we could get to Riverwood at different times, talk to both. Get more supplies that way.”
“You want to take more from these people?” Loki asked, face a mask of innocence.
“If we’re going to be here for the long haul, we need money. So, yes. I say we fleece as many people as we can, until we have a comfortable buffer. Besides, chances are, one of us is a prophesied hero, destined to save existence. A few supplies is a small payment, on the balance.”
Loki laughed. “That seems fair.”
“Good. Anyway, once we talk to Balgruuf… the game says we immediately talk to Farengar, the court wizard, about ‘these dragons, and rumors of dragons.’ The thing is, the Dragonstone that Farengar wants us to get? He only knows about it because Delphine tells him about it. And Delphine is in Riverwood when we get there, and has no reason to suspect dragons until after we talk to whoever. Realistically, there should be at least a night between us warning Balgruuf and Farengar learning about the Dragonstone. Possibly a full day.”
“Do we need the Dragonstone?”
“No. But there is a word wall in the barrow, which might also tell us if one of us is the Dragonborn, unless the light and chanting is just a design decision. The Dragonstone is just a map of dragon burial sites. Since Alduin has some kind of pattern in how he’s resurrecting them, it should let us know which will be next. But since I don’t fancy hunting down dragons for no reason, Delphine can have it, and may she choke on it.”
“And what has this Delphine done to deserve your ire?” Loki asked, amused.
I growled softly. “She doesn’t trust you off the bat, but demands that you trust her without question. She will tell you that, as a Blade, she’s sworn to serve the Dragonborn, and then in the next breath tell you that unless you obey certain orders, she won’t support you anymore. And like, she wants you to kill an ally. Not just that, but an ally that is leagues more useful than she is! Right now, there are three surviving Blades in Skyrim: Delphine, Esbern, and that one guy in the Nightgate Inn who doesn’t do anything, he’s just there for color. And Delphine doesn’t even know about them! The player has to do all the work to get the information, and even then, she second-guesses everything you say! I mean, fuck’s sake, she makes you run halfway across the map to kill one specific dragon, she’s there and watching as Alduin resurrects Sahloknir right there in front of you both, and she’s standing right there as Alduin addresses the player as Dovahkiin! And even then, she still thinks the damn Thalmor are involved! There are no fucking elves on that hill, unless the player is one, and she still makes the player infiltrate the Thalmor Embassy to figure out that they don’t know shit about the dragons! And-” I bit off what I was going to say as Loki started to laugh.
“Well, this seems like an interesting diversion. I’ll accompany you, for now.”
I took a steadying breath. I tended to go off on a tangent with the characters I didn’t like.
“Okay, cool. So, if it turns out that I’m the Dragonborn, what do you want?” I asked, standing up.
“Pardon?”
“Like, once Alduin is handled. Do you want to stay, go back to Asgard, overthrow the Empire, what?”
“Overthrowing the Empire is an option?”
“Well, it’s not like it’s that stable right now, anyway. It’s basically Cyrodiil, High Rock, and half of Skyrim. Granted, you’d have to overthrow the Aldmeri Dominion before you could really do anything, and they’ve already defeated the Empire. And since Ulfric’s temper tantrum of a civil war is both cutting into new recruits, and occupying the Imperial forces while also winnowing them down, the Dominion is stronger than ever, since there’s not really anyone to move against them.” I clambered up the bank of the small stream, snagging the coin purse as I headed toward the Frostbite spider den. “Honestly, it would be easier to become High King of Skyrim, and then set out to conquer the rest of Tamriel. Personally, I’d start with Riften.”
“Oh?” He sounded very amused.
“Sure. It’s one of the easiest holds to get made Thane of, just give Wujeeta a health potion, deal with the skooma dealers on the docks and Cragslane Caverns, then do favors for five citizens. There’s five fetch quests, plus like three easy delivery quests, and the thing with the Temple, and Haelga’s niece. Once you buy Honeyside, you’re Thane. Laila Law-Giver, the Jarl of Riften, is already one strong word away from fleeing in terror. Set that up, then the only obstacle is Maven Black-Briar. And Karliah is already winnowing down her status in the Thieves Guild questline. Get Maven out of the way, you become Jarl after Laila flees, and if you turn up to the Moot with the Jagged Crown, you’re practically a shoo-in. Of course, if you’re Dragonborn, that carries even more weight. And if I’m Dragonborn, I’ll support you.”
“Just like that?”
I shuddered. “I have negative desire to rule anything. If I am Dragonborn, everyone and his dog is going to try to give me power. If I put your ass on the throne, that takes the pressure off me.”
Loki chuckled. “You’d give me the throne to avoid it yourself?”
“It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”
Loki laughed as we followed the tunnel down. The spiders were dead as we passed through the cavern, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Loki stopped, nudging one of the corpses with his foot.
“I didn’t know they could grow so large.”
I barked a laugh. “Don’t worry. They get bigger.”
His head snapped up. “You lie.”
“Absolutely not. Giant Frostbite spiders are about as tall as a mounted man. There’s one in Bleak Falls Barrow. Unfortunately, we’ll need to get past it in order to get the Dragonstone, and get to the word wall.” I considered that. “And to get to the Golden Claw, if we want to return it to Lucian. I think he pays out a bit if you give it back, plus you can take some stuff for free.”
“I see. It appears there’s quite a bit I don’t know.”
He seemed discomfited at the revelation.
“Well, I’ll keep dumping everything on you, for the low, low price of you keeping me alive.”
He laughed. “That seems fair.”
“Great. There’s a bear up ahead. We can sneak past her if we’re careful.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever traveled with someone who would say that,” Loki mused as we headed toward the bear’s den.
“What, suggesting stealth over violence?” I shrugged when he nodded. “Well, I prefer stealth builds, so as long as there’s the option to sneak, I’m gonna take it.”
Loki raised a hand as the bear came into view, then relaxed. The Stormcloaks had gotten to it, too.
I pointed Loki toward the exit, then broke off to collect the last couple of coin purses before I followed him out. He stood in the sunlight, hand raised to shield his eyes as he tracked Alduin’s flight.
“So, it appears that we’re off to Riverwood.”
“One sec.” I dug through my pack, pulling the robes and two of the coin purses out. “Here. I’ll fall back before we get to Riverwood, and you can talk to Gerdur. Get what info and supplies you can, and we’ll meet up just past the bridge outside of town. If she’s reluctant, tell her you were friends with Ralof. He’s her brother. If you feel like it, the Riverwood Trader is the general goods merchant. You should be able to sell some of the crap in the bag for a decent price, or just trade it in for better. I’m pretty sure that Farengar will give you the best price for the robes and the spell tome, though.”
Loki took everything I shoved at him, studying me with an unreadable expression.
“Alright. Guardian stones, then maybe Embershard mine, then Riverwood.”
I started off, Loki following in my wake. “Embershard mine?”
“Skyrim has something of a bandit problem at the moment. Pretty much every cave, unattended mine, or decrepit fort is overrun. Embershard mine is on the main road, and is presently overrun with bandits. We could stop and clear them out, they have a decent amount of gold and gems, plus the clairvoyance spell tome, or we could just keep going. Since you’re acting as the heavy for now, I’ll leave it up to you.”
“Then we’ll leave it for now.”
I nodded in agreement and we headed off toward the main road to Riverwood.