Dragon Rising 2

The clanging sound coming from the smithy became clearer as we ascended the stairs leading to Skyforge.

It was considered the oldest forge in all of Skyrim, maybe even Tamriel. And believed to be older then men. The blacksmith responsible for the forge was Eorlund, whom I brought Vilkas's sword to in my first day as a Companion.

He was famous throughout the land as the best blacksmith, but the guy didn't take commissions from people other than the Companions. I always wanted to upgrade my gear but they always said that I was not high ranked enough so I could only wait. But now that I was given the go by Kodlak, I was giddy from thinking of the possibilities.

Of course, I couldn't have anything made in such a short time but grabbing a few pre-made products shouldn't be a problem.

As I finally reached the top of the stairs, I could see Eorlund working on a sword.

"Greetings Eorlund."

"Alaric. You are joining the battle too?"

"Indeed. Kodlak told me to get a better gear. Both for me and for Arvel here."

He sized both of us a little, then nodded.

"I should have something fit for your size." Then he walked towards the mannequins dressed in armor head to toe.

"First for our bandit friend here," then he grabbed a full set of scaled armor.

"You could tell that he was a bandit?"

"Indeed. From his eyes darting all over the place and locking onto me with a barely concealed killing intent, he is either a bandit, a thief or an assassin. He is too sloppy to be an assassin and too careless to be thief, so that leaves a bandit."

I was filled with awe against this man. He was capable of deducing that much just from a gaze and that made me wonder whether Kodlak could see it also.

As I looked towards Arvel, I saw the panicking expression on his face.

"I-I'm sorry!"

"If you are sorry, show it with your attitude not your words. Here take it. I'll put it on your tab. Try not to die."

Then Arvel took the scaled armor from Eorlund and went to change.

After that, Eorlund walked towards another mannequin that was donned in full steel plate armor and gestured me to come over.

"I know that you prefer speed but I believe that you are strong enough to handle the weight to not be encumbered with it. Take it."

Nice.

I donned the armor in gusto. It wasn't exactly a perfect fit since it was just a pre made product but it was as good as it can get.

"Thank you Eorlund. Now I'm gonna need a good bow and arrows. If you have, arrows that can penetrate a dragon scale would be great, considering the situation we are in."

"I don't know how you are expecting me to know which arrows would penetrate a dragon's scales but I can give you the best I have. I've been trying my hand in creating something that can work ever since I heard the rumors of the dragons but I'm not too sure about their performance. You can test them out for me. And for the bow, I believe I got the perfect one."

Then he passed me a huge bow. It was almost as tall as me. Wood being the main component but there were ebony and steel used here and there.

"I couldn't find a good material for the string so I had to make do with giant tendons since they are the best ones we can use currently. I thought of using troll tendons but they are not as flexible. And I'm guessing you noticed the material of the wood?"

"Yeah. Isn't this from Eldergleam?"

"Indeed. I had to work harder than trying to smelt ebony just to make that piece of wood stay bent but it was worth it. It is flexible and nearly impossible to break. Even an ebony bow wouldn't be as tough as that piece of Eldergleam. So, don't be afraid of breaking it. And for the arrows, these were the best ones I could make."

There were 24 huge steel arrows at the place where Eorlund was pointing at. Even if it was steel, I knew that Skyforge steel would not be something to scoff at. It would make some of the dwarven make armors a run for their money.

And they were big so that they could be shot from this huge bow. Eldergleam. Well, it was a piece of Eldergleam but anyways.

I was surprised that he could make a bow out of the piece I brought back. During the year in my days as a Companion, I was tasked by a priestess of Kynareth to bring some sap from the Eldergleam tree, and let me tell you, it was the most breathtaking sight I saw in my travels.

It was a huge tree that spanned across almost hundred meters in a cave in Eastmarch and some pilgrims were worshipping it as if it was a god or some sort of higher being.

Moon shining down upon the tree from the crack created a majestic appearance that even made me think of it as if it was higher being. It was most likely so since it was sentient enough to give me some of its sap and part with one of its branches.

Why it gave me a branch beats me, but I was grateful for it now. And the sap was used by the priestess Danica to restore the Gildergreen, a tree that grew from a seedling of Eldergleam, in Whiterun. Gildergreen was struck by lightning and that caused the tree to dry up completely. And if not for the sap, it would never have been revived.

All in all, it was a successful journey and I reaped the full harvest just now. A bow made from a godlike tree, I wonder how strong it would be.

"Thanks." I quickly stuffed them all in my storage and grabbed Arvel before heading towards the main gate.

I saw Kodlak and the rest quickly enough because they were one of the few people who were donned in different armors.

Especially Kodlak and Farkas were donned in what they call Wolf armor. It was a special sort of armor only given to the Circle. The Circle being the people who were highest ranking among the Companions.

I met up with the rest and waited for the army to march. There were around 3 thousand soldiers with almost 200 adventurers from different places and 7 Companions.

'Not that I'm sure but this number should be enough for a dragon right?' I thought as we finally began the march towards the western watchtower.

With the speed we were going, I estimated that we would reach our destination in two days.