Chapter 6
Chapter 6
I make my way out of Dragonsreach and begin heading down to the main gate through the cobblestone streets, once I get there I'm pretty shocked as I see Irileth standing in front of around 50 guardsmen carrying a wide assortment of melee weapons but they all have bows, which is way more than the five or so guards that come with you in the game and as I walk up to her she looks over to me with a confident smirk on her face.
"The jarl has decided not to take any chances that dragon won't know what hit em."
"So it would seem, before we leave I would like to give these out." I say while pulling my fire resistance potions out of my inventory in a wooden crate "These potions will help mitigate the dragons breath for about 30 minutes, they won't make you immune but they could save your life." I only made twenty of them I didn't think there would be this many guards here but twenty is still better than nothing so I hand the crate off to one of the guards, I'll let them divide them up amongst themselves.
+5 Affection with Irileth
For protecting her men
+5 Reputation with Whiterun
For protecting their guards
We exit through the gate and and begin moving towards the western watchtower and it's kind of funny seeing all the wolves, spiders and sabercats that would normally attack me run away in fear of the sound of the solders marching along the road. Once we get to the ruins of the tower and they are ruins at this point, there are black marks all over the ground likely from dragon's breath, the walls that were around the main tower are mostly gone having crumbled to pieces and a nearby tree has been completely carbonized the tower itself is still standing but the structure has suffered some major damage, the air smells heavily of charcoal and ash. Shit, in the game you could definitely tell that the dragon had attacked the tower but seeing it in person really puts things into perspective.
As I'm musing to myself Irileth addresses the whole group "No signs of any dragon right now, but it sure looks like he's been here. I know it looks bad, but we've got to figure out what happened. And if that dragon is still skulking around somewhere. Spread out and look for survivors. We need to know what we're dealing with."
After we're done taking it all in some of the guards mumble amongst themselves in astonishment before we all start to look through the ruin, we don't get to look around for long though because five more guards come out of the tower looking a mess with their blackened armor having rips and tares and with burns all over their bodies, one of the waves over at our group and shouts at us.
"No! Get back! It's still here somewhere! Hroki and Tor just got grabbed when they tried to make a run for it!"
When Irileth goes to respond she's interrupted by a loud roar and the beating of wings in the distance and as the sound grows closer the huge brownish green dragon comes into our sights, the first thing that I notice that's off is that this dragon has four legs in the game dragons only had two legs but this only throws me off for a moment before I use (observe) to see what I'm up against.
Name: Mirmulnir
Race: Dragon (Lesser)
HP: 10,000
MP: 5000
Strength: 200
Dexterity: 100
Endurance: 250
Intelligence: 150
Wisdom: 90
Charisma: 50
Luck: 100
Thoughts about you: you're just another puny mortal to crush
Well shit, this is going to suck, I immediately make a break for the tower and I make it just in time to hear the sound of several guards being roasted alive outside, a few of the guards that were already inside the tower grab their weapons and rush outside I on the other hand start summoning some spectral archers for the first time since they are the only summons I have that can hurt a flying enemy, I'm carful not to go all out with them because I want to conserve some of my MP for attack spells.
After I send my first wave of archers out of the tower I begin climbing the spiral staircase in order to reach the top of the tower, once I'm up there I'm able to survey the battlefield down below, most of the guards are still alive as only a small handful were killed in the dragons initial breath attack all of the remaining guards have pulled their bows out and are trying to take shots at the dragon but most of them are missing, a few do manage to score some lucky hits though, I also see Irileth shooting some lightning spells at it and her accuracy is much better.
The dragon itself is currently dive bombing the guards and picking up one or two at a time and dropping them once it's high enough to kill them, before I switch to attack magic I make a couple more spectral archers so they can attack from above, I think this dragon should be resistant to fire so I should avoid using that kind of magic so I start out by shooting two (ice spikes) at it the first one misses going too high but i wait until the dragon dives and I catch it under the wing.
As this continues with the dragon occasionally breathing fire on the group down below I learn that I can consistently hit the dragon when it dives and this pattern goes on for a few minutes with me regularly alternating between firing attack spells and resummoning new waves of spectral archer to replace the destroyed ones, even though the majority of the archers shots are missing we've still done a lot of damage with the dragon having lost over half of its HP.
Between my summons and my spell spam I've been doing the most damage and the dragon it seems has had enough of my shit because instead of diving he starts flying straight at the tower no doubt looking to send my flying just like all those guards, reacting quickly I cast (flash of light) just as the dragon is about to reach me and it doesn't blind it but it does obscure me long enough to fall prone which causes the dragon's grab to just barely miss, it just ends up carrying off one of my spectral archers instead.
Mirmulnir begins to circle back around to try again but another volley of arrows and magic crashes into to causing it to roar in pain and fall from the sky incidentally crushing a few guards and one of my archers in the process, I pick myself up off the floor and look over the battlements to see the dragon and the twenty or so guardsman locked in a chaotic melee, on the up side the guards aren't missing their attacks anymore but the downside is that the dragon is going to town on these poor guards and every few seconds one of them is ripped apart by jaws or claws or they're being sent flying by tail swipes.
After my brush with almost certain death I begin to to summon some spirit wolves since the dragon is in melee range now before I restart my usual spell rotation, the dragon is heavily damaged by this point it must have at least a hundred arrows sticking out of it, has cuts and gashes all over it and it's HP has plummeted down below 2000 which is great but there are less than ten guards left and the only summon I have left is the one spectral archer still on top of the tower with me.
Just as I'm thinking that I realize that I must have really pissed this dragon off because at that moment the dragon bats away the few remaining guards and Irileth with its tail before it shoots a huge concentrated ball of fire right at me, I barely have time to react but I'm just able to cast (absorb elements) which, along with my potion saves my life as I'm blasted back, as I begin to stand stand up an reorient myself I hear a loud crash and feel a rumbling coming from below, I don't have to wonder what's going on for very long because the tower begins to tilt and I begin to slide.
In the few moments before the tower starts to break apart I'm able to look over the battlements and see where the dragon shoulder rammed the already crumbling tower which collapses causing me to fall, luckily I'm able to summon a spectral archer underneath me to break my fall and I'm also able to use (iron defense) to reduce the damage even further which allows me to survive with less than ten HP.
Once I manage to stagger to my feet a quick observe tells me than the dragon it still alive even after having the whole tower fall on it but its HP is almost completely gone, I see the rubble start to shake as the dragon begins to dig itself out so I place a (shock rune) down where I know it will be when it breaks out and the I spend all of my remaining MP to summon five more spectral archers before I sprint around the broken tower so that i'll be out of sight when it gets free.
I hear a loud crash followed immediately by a huge burst of electricity and the twang of multiple bows firing then I slowly creep back around just in time to see Mirmulnir let out one las roar of pain and shouting something about the dragonborn before falling over and hitting the ground with a loud thud. It looks like my rune and those last few arrows were enough to finish it, as I walk back over to the group I see Irileth casting some minor healing spell on one of the wounded guards.
Before any one starts to celebrate I drink a health potion and walk over to the now dead dragon and when I approach it an ethereal blue and orange fire ingulfs the corpse before flowing out and into me, as it does I start to receive fractured and incomprehensible visions, in some of them I'm flying high in the skies above Tamriel and sometimes I'm fighting different dragons, as the visions start to fade I realize that I'm seeing parts of the dragons memories, as I start to recover from my dazed state a bunch of game text boxes open in front of me.
Dragon Soul Absorbed +10 to all stats
New Power added (Unrelenting Force) Level 1/3
Your Voice is raw power pushing aside anything or
anyone who stands in your path
Power scales with character level
Level Up! Level Up!
New Perk Added for 25 STR (Brawny)
Through continuous combat your muscles have grown stronger
All of your melee attacks deal slightly more damage
New Perk Added for 25 DEX (Fleet of Foot)
Your rapidly growing experience with people trying to hit you has
caused you to become quick on your feet
your reaction time has been slightly improved
New Perk Added for 25 END (Tough)
You've learned how to properly take a hit and keep going
The amount of HP you get per point of END is increased by 2
New Perk Added for 25 CHA (Merchant)
You know how to haggle and how to get more for less
Prices are better when buying or selling goods
New Perk Added for 25 LCK (Lucky Shot)
You somehow have an uncanny knack for hitting the right spot at the right time
The odds of scoring critical hit are now higher
Quest Compete: Dragon Rising
Description: A dragon is terrorizing Whiterun hold, show it why the dragonborne is called the ultimate dragon slayer
Objective: Defeat the dragon attacking the western watch tower
Rewards: Gacha Token x 3, +10 to a random proficiency (Martial Arts), +50 Credits
Now that's a reward worth almost dying for, I know in the lore the dragonborn is supposed to get stronger every time they absorb a dragon's soul but still I was half expecting to just unlock the shout, still this was cutting it close I've basically had at least one near death experience every day since I've been here I need to find a way to get stronger faster.
I close all the menus which I'll deal with later I notice something peculiar, the dragons corpse is still intact usually all the flesh burns away but its still there so I go up to it and place my hand on it before I put it in my inventory hopefully they will think the whole dragon disappears when I absorb the soul, as I'm thinking that one of the few living guards runs up to me and starts speaking with a shocked expression on his face.
"I don't believe it your dragonborn just like Tiber Septim himself, in the oldest legends the dragonborn would kill dragons and steal their power, that's what you did isn't it." the guard says in awe. at this point another one chimes in "I never heard of Tiber Septim killing any dragons," a frustrated grimace crosses the first guards face as he clutches a wound on his side
"that's because there weren't any dragons then, you idiot." as the two guards descend into an argument I walk over to a pile of rubble to test something that has been bugging me.
Once I'm right in front of the rubble which is actually a chunk of the tower that's bigger than me and clearly weighs several tons, my new (unrelenting force) shout didn't give me any damage values just the same vague description from the game but back in Bleak Falls Barrow when the draugr overlord used it on me it did a ton of damage so obviously I need to get to the bottom of this, When I think of how to shout a sudden influx of knowledge rushes into my mind and I suddenly know how to do it as if it was as easy as breathing, I take a deep breath in and then let out a primal roar. "FUS!"
With the word spoken a shockwave of blue energy bursts from my mouth and strikes the tower chunk sending it flying back several feet and breaking large pieces off of it as well as kicking up a cloud of dust and debris if this is what I can do with one word unlocked at level 12 then I'm almost terrified of what I'll be able to do later, one of the guards who were arguing, I think the first one who came up to me looks over at me and then back to his buddy with a smug smirk while gesturing wildly which causes the other one to let out a sigh, I guess he lost whatever they were arguing about, I immediately try to do it again but I can feel the power inside me refuse to cooperate as it hasn't built up enough, oh well it was worth a shot.
After I'm done testing my shout I turn around and look over at Irileth who has been alternating between looking through the wreckage of the tower and examining the dead guards likely trying to get a head count, speaking of guards I decide to quickly go around to see if any of these downed guards are just unconscious or if they're all dead, I take a few minutes checking and out of the fifty or so guards only five are still breathing, not a lot but its still a chance to raise my (healing) skill level, as I'm finishing up with the last guard Irileth walks over to me and starts to speak.
"That was the hairiest fight I've ever been in, and I've been in more than a few. I don't know about this Dragonborn business, but I'm sure glad you're with us, I don't know if we would've made it without your help. You had better get back to Whiterun right away, Jarl Balgruuf will want to know what happened here, I'm taking command here for the moment you head back to Whiterun and let the Jarl know what happened."
+10 affection with Irileth
For helping her men
I give her a nod before I leave the destroyed tower and begin to head back to Whiterun but as I'm trekking through the open fields a incredibly loud sound rolls across the land its only a single word but it sounded like the roar of thunder.
DOVAHKIIN!
I have to actually clutch my ears which are now ringing, thanks greybeards I really appreciate that, well at least it's confirmation that the story is still moving along, after about a minute the ringing in my ears stops and I continue on my way back to Whiterun, while I'm walking back I send out some unseen servants to collect more ingredients for alchemy honestly I should have these things out doing this 24/7 for the gold value alone. after I do that I make to back to the city without any problems once I pass through the gate I make a beeline for Dragonsreach, I know in the game you could keep NPCs waiting forever but I feel like I shouldn't keep Balgruuf waiting.
After I push open the large doors I walk straight up to the Jarl sitting on his throne who upon seeing me waves away his steward who he was talking to and begins barraging me with a stream of questions with a worried expression on his face "so what happened at the watchtower? Why have you returned alone? Was the dragon there?"
"We made it to the watchtower and we found and killed the dragon but the outpost was destroyed in the process, Irileth stayed behind along with the survivors to clean up and assess the damage." I deadpan Balgruuf ask a few more boring questions about the details and I basically recount the whole battle including the part where I absorbed the dragon's soul before he interrupts me.
"So it's true. The Greybeards really were summoning you. if what you are saying is true then you must be dragonborn, fi that's the case you will need to pay them a visit they live secluded from the rest of the world in High Hrothgar near the summit of the throat of the world, but that's a matter that can be dealt with another time, you've done a great deed for me and my city after all. By my right as Jarl, I name you Thane of Whiterun. It's the greatest honor that's within my power to grant. I assign you Lydia as a personal Housecarl, and this weapon from my armory to serve as your badge of office. I'll also notify my guards of your new title. Wouldn't want them to think you're part of the common rabble, now would we? We are honored to have you as Thane of our city, Dragonborn."
+30 Reputation with Whiterun and Jarl Balgruuf
New quest Added: Way of the voice
Description: Your status as the dragonborn has been revealed so you must seek out the
greybeards in order to further hone your natural gifts
Objective: Journey to High Hrothgar and receive the greybeards guidance
Rewards: ???
(Battleaxe of Whiterun) added
Deals 30+ STR Damage
Can fire wind blades which deal STR Physical damage
Well I can just give the axe to Lydia so she will have a better way to attack at range speaking of which Lydia wasn't just waiting around in Dragonsreach so I had to wait there for a while as she was summoned by the Jarl, once she enters the room I look her over she looks to be in her early twenty's, almost 6 feet tall with an athletic build, she's is wearing a set of standard steel armor minus the helmet so I can see her shoulder length raven black hair with a single braid running through it and her equally dark eyes, she has a sword hanging around her waist and a circular shield slung over one of her shoulders.
There is actually a small ceremony where she swears to protect me and my property, luckily the ceremony is mercifully short just a few minutes and I don't even have to really do anything Lydia and the Jarl do all of the talking while they're busy I use (observe) on Lydia who starts to approach me after the short ceremony.
Name: Lydia
Race: Human
HP: 500
SP: 500
MP: 140
Strength: 20
Dexterity: 20
Endurance: 25
Intelligence: 7
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Affection: 10
Obedience: 40
Thoughts about you: Gratitude
Lydia would like to join your party yes/no
Well I'm happy she's not super weak, still the gamer system is really busted I've only had it for a few days but I'm already stronger than her and she probably had to train for years to get to where she is now, also I don't know what I did to earn ten affection but I'll take what I can get, the relatively high obedience is nice too, I swiftly select the yes option before I get too distracted in my musings.
"With that it's done I am now your housecarl my thane, I hope I'll be able to serve you well." she says with a small smile on her face
"I'm sure any man would be happy if a beautiful warrior like you was guarding them" I say taking a step forward and returning her smile and subtly casting (arouse) which gets a small blush out of her and causes her to look at the ground somewhat embarrassed.
+5 affection with Lydia
"M-my thane I d-don't know" she continues to stumble over her words for a few more seconds while getting increasingly more red, this is the true power of (arouse) because I used it while I was speaking she thinks the cheesy line I just gave has her all hot and bothered but it's actually just the spell.
I place a hand on her shoulder and give her a reassuring smile "I apologize for getting you worked up but it's getting late and I still have some things to take care of if you care to join me" I give her shoulder a gentle squeeze and cast (arouse) again before letting go.
Even though she has gotten even more aroused than before the mention of leaving together seems help her get her composure back. "My thane there's no need for you to even ask I am your sword and your shield." She says with a sudden steely determination in her eyes.
Giving a nod and a smile at her fiery demeanor I gesture to the door and start walking and after just a moment I hear the sound of Lydia's steel boots hitting the floor as she follows behind me.
Once I push open one of the the large doors leading out of Dragonsreach and step outside the first thing I notice is that the sun is starting to set so I quickly head for the main gate with Lydia trailing closely behind me I need to collect the ingredients I had the unseen servants gather and I'd like to do it before it gets too dark out.
Upon exiting the gate and passing the stables we immediately hang a left and begin going towards the path that leads to White River Watch which is the place where I mentally commanded the servants to leave the ingredients, it should be a safe place considering that I already cleared it out yesterday.
Or at least it should be, as I'm putting the pile of alchemy ingredients into my inventory Lydia looks like she's about to question what I'm up to but she suddenly freezes and crouches down putting a finger over her lips and motions for me to do the same. Acting on pure instinct I copy Lydia's movements dropping low and keeping quiet, after a couple moments pass Lydia begins quietly talking to me. "My thane there are bandits up ahead, this is a known den." She whispers while gesturing up the dirt path.
Now I'm really confused because I slaughtered these bandits literally just yesterday but when I listen in sure enough I hear the sounds of people talking up there, this doesn't make any sense there's no way more bandits could've move in so quickly unless, did they respawn? I mean that's the only logical explanation right? As I consider the possibilities this presents I look over at Lydia, she seem poised to strike at any moment but it's clear she's waiting for me to decide what to do, if enemies respawn this fast then... a wicked grin spreads across my face, it looks like I found my method of getting stronger.
It's time to begin the time honored tradition all gamers are familiar with, grinding.