Chapter 2: A Chaotic Escape
The dragon's roar echoed through Helgen Keep, its fury shaking the very stones. Panic seized the non-combatant, but for a handful, it ignited a desperate hope for escape. Silver, the young Breton mage with eyes that glittered like amethysts, glanced at his unlikely companions - Ralof, the resolute Stormcloak, his face grim with determination; Ulfric Stormcloak himself was a surprise, eyes blazing with an internal fire; Hadvar, a young Imperial soldier, his usual bravado replaced by a flicker of fear of the sidden emergence of a dragon; the Imperial Captain at the block prior to the dragon's arrival, her armor polished despite the chaos; and Runa, a stoic Nord woman whose calmness belied a hidden strength. The others - Gunnar, Haming, Vilod, and Lokir - huddled together, unfit for battle.
Vilod, despite being a former soldier wwho ended up making mead, was hit by one of the rocks raining down on Helgen, so he opted to escape to the keep. Gunnar, despite being in suit of iron armor, was complaining how hard it is to keep up with the action after retiring for a long time. Haming is just a child, and Lokir is only a horse thief whose only plan was to go to Hammerfell.
"You damn Stormcloaks took that dragon out of legend, didn't you!?" The imperial captain shouted as she pointed her sword at Ulfric.
The rest of them raised their guard up just in case a fight broke.
"Taking a dragon from the legends? They're no mere legends. They are as true as the Thu'um I learned from the Greybeards. And that dragon was not our doing." Ulfric replied.
"RARGH! Can all of you shut up for 2 seconds!?"
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*Inhale*
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*Exhale*
"Thanks! Now what in Oblivion is going on!? Last time I heard Skyrim was fine from my aunt! And that was like a year ago before she died from her illness."
They just looked at her as if she was a sore thumb.
"What are you looking at me like that? I was just never raised that long in Skyrim, But I still remember when we had to move to Bruma."
Ralof chimed, "That makes sense. Since you don't really seem to know what's been happening for years."
The keep started shaking and some of the dust created from breaking rocks were falling from the ceiling.
Silver stepped forward. "We have to move. Otherwise, we might get buried in the rubbles."
They all nodded and ended up facing a locked door.
"Wait, I have the key."
"Wait up, remove these bindings first." Runa told Ralof and also pointed towards Lokir as well. Ralof undid the bindings by slicing them with a dagger.
And the imperial captain opened the door and they all proceeded to go down. And they ended up meeting with the torturer and his assistant. Their initial reaction upon seeing the Stormcloaks were to pull their weapons out. However, Hadvar managed to settle them down made them listen to reasoning.
"Wait, stop! No fighting. We have a bigger problem. A dragon has attacked and now the soldiers are trying to take it down."
"A dragon? Boy, you can't convince me to believe a dragon has come back to life."
Silver contemplated and whispered but he was loud enough to be heard, "Maybe it didn't come back from the dead."
The torturer persistently stays despite the fact that a dragon attacked. His assistant also decided to join them.
Hadvar, his voice slightly higher pitched than a seasoned Captain's, directed everyone towards a hidden passage in the keep. The passage, cramped and dusty, led them deeper into the bowels of the mountain, a dank smell clinging to the air. After what felt like an eternity, they stumbled into a vast cave dripping with moisture. But respite was short-lived.
A skittering sound sent shivers down their spines. From the shadows emerged a horrifying sight - a swarm of Frostbite Spiders, their glistening bodies and venomous fangs glinting in the dim light. The group erupted in a desperate scramble for their lives. Ralof, ever the warrior, swung his axe with practiced ease, felling several small spiders in quick succession. Ulfric, a force of nature, roared out a challenge and charged headfirst into the fray, his sword made of iron, but still cleaving through chitinous bodies.
One particularly large spider, bigger than a bear, bore down on the hapless Imperial soldier. Just as its fangs were about to sink into her flesh, a searing heat filled the air. Silver, his fist ablaze with fire magic, pummeled the beast, sending it reeling back. Hadvar, inspired by Silver's bravery, charged in with a battle cry, his sword flashing in the flickering torchlight.
Runa, ever the protector, shepherded the non-combatants - Gunnar, Haming, Vilod, and Lokir - into a hidden alcove in the cave wall. The screams of battle echoed around them, punctuated by the sickening squelch of spiders meeting their end.
Silver, realizing the futility of fighting all the spiders, urged the others into escaping with the others. Once they all reach the other side of the small passage, slammed his foot against the rocky floor. A wall of earth materialized from the ground, blocking the passage and separating them from the remaining spiders. Relief washed over them, but it was a hollow victory. They were trapped, and the battle had taken its toll. Hadvar clutched his arm, pain etched on his young face. Even the mighty Ulfric bore small wounds, yet they could have been poisoned. Fighting a bear was now out of the question in their current state and they need to escape than trying to fight everything in their way.
Exhausted but determined, they huddled together to discuss their next move. The tension was thick, the usual animosity between Stormcloaks and Imperials simmering just beneath the surface. Suddenly, Silver intervened.
"Your petty squabbles can wait," he declared, his voice ringing with authority. "We need to work together. The Emperor didn't surrender to the Dominion with the White-Gold Concordat. It was a strategic retreat - a way to buy time, rebuild the Empire's strength, and take down the Thalmor once and for all. The Emperor certainly didn't abandon Hammerfell. It was all according to the fact that they lost three entire Legions and the once who survived were almost wiped out. The Thalmor certainly didn't gave the Emperor any time or any chance to deny, but at leasy their initial demand of gold was never accepted, otherwise the empire will crumble."
He then looked at the only Jarl. "And you, Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak. Why do you think that you Jarls and the High King aren't consulted for the concordat?"
"Because the Emperor is a fool to ban Talos worship."
Silver massaged his nerves and replied, "It was to not make the thalmor suspicious and suddenly call off he treaty. The gold he gave wasn't even for you Jarls to shut up. It was to take the hint that you and your holds must prepare for another war. After all, the war only affected Cyrodiil the most. Skyrim was fine during the war. He knew that the Thalmor would try to take control of Skyrim, that's why the Jarls never had a say and were instead given a haul of gold. Cyrodiil has lost many men, but Skyrim is still full of able-bodied seasoned warriors and mages thanks to the college. We've got no time to fight each other when those Thalmor are happy to see us fight against each other."
A stunned silence followed his words. Ralof scoffed, but Ulfric's gaze remained fixed on Silver, a flicker of something akin to interest passing through his steely blue eyes. Hadvar, too, seemed intrigued. Runa, ever the observer, simply raised an eyebrow.
"We may have different goals," Silver continued, "but our enemy is the same. The Dominion seeks to tear Skyrim apart. We must unite, fight them together, and reclaim our freedom."
His words hung heavy in the air, the seeds of doubt about the White-Gold Concordat sown. Had their escape been a temporary truce or the first step towards an unlikely alliance? Only time would tell. With renewed purpose, and with a bit of strategy, they managed to bypass the bear, using the shadows to their advantage. They finally emerged from the cave, blinking at the sight of the midday sun.
The escape may have been chaotic, a blur of fear and desperation, but it had forged a bond between unlikely allies. The journey ahead would be fraught with danger, but facing it together, they may just have a fighting chance. And as they looked towards the horizon, towards a future uncertain, they knew one thing for sure – the fight.