Dragonborn Rising Ch. 05

Falkreath Hold

Njada, known as the Strongarm crept forward in the darkness. She leaned against the wall of the cave passage and removed her leather helmet and used the back of one hand to wipe perspiration from her brow. This place smelled disgusting, she thought. A mixture of death and fuel oil. She saw dim light ahead and heard sounds of movement. It could be Athis, her shield-brother on this mission, but something up ahead was moving.

Athis and her had arrived back at Jorrvaskr two days-ago to find the Harbinger there. Madam High and Mighty had asked them to take on a special mission. No, 'Well done Companions, take a day or so off to rest.' Just, "We need you to go the Falkreath and track down a murderer." She chided herself for the disrespectful thought. Athis was right, she needed to let this jealousy go. Oh well, she thought with a smile, it's given me a chance to know Athis better.

They had headed out from Whiterun immediately and had camped that night near Hunter's Rest, at the southwest corner of Whiterun Hold. It had been a clear, bitterly chilly night and they slept next to each other and near to their low fire to share its warmth. The next morning, the skies opened in a torrent of snow that then turned to rain by md-day. By the time they made it to Falkreath they were soaked through. She had convinced the Dark Elf warrior to spend that night indoors at Deadman's Drink, the local inn.

Only one room was available. Neither one of them really cared all they wanted to do was get a filling meal and get warm by the fire. A barmaid fetched they mugs of warm mead and took their orders as they talked.

Can I ask you something," asked Athis, as he took a deep draft of his mead.

"That depends," said Njada" with a raised eyebrow. She was never really the sociable type. but was curious what the dark elf wanted to know.

"Why do you Nords always compare yourselves to each other," asked the Dunmer as Njada choked on her swallow of mead and spit it out in a fit of coughing.

Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand Njada exclaimed, "What the hell."

Athis continued evenly, "In my time in Skyrim, I have noticed that you Nords are always comparing yourselves to each other. For some reason you detest the Harbinger and I can only surmise that you feel inferior to her."

Njada crossed her arms in a huff and said defensively, "Who says I've got something against ...," she stammered and then blurted out, "I just know I'm better than miss big tits and brown ass!"

"I see," said Athis, taking another draft of mead and getting to the point, "You either hate her for being a Redguard or your jealous of her appearance."

Before Njada could interject a response, the barmaid returned with plates of beef, potatoes and fresh bread. She then made a second trip with full tankards of mead. This allowed the situation to defuse. As Njada ate, her mood slowly became less foul.

After eating most of the food in silence, she looked at Athis and said, "I don't hate her for being Redguard. It's just ...," and she couldn't finish the statement as she looked down at the plate and began to play with her food using her fork.

"Njada ..." the Dark Elf began, intending to discuss matter-of-factly the topic of Nord physical attributes and then realizing his shield sister didn't need a lecture, paused.

Beginning again he said, "Njada, you are just as beautiful as she is. You ...," he was cut off as Njada reached and grabbed him by his dark goatee. Pulling him nearly across the table, she kissed him deeply. The world seemed to stop briefly as their tongues entwined in each other's mouths. Their lips parted with a smack and Njada released his goatee and patted his cheek.

"By the gods," exclaimed Athis, "That was certainly out of the blue."

Njada blushed and apologized.

"My dear," said the Dunmer, "You have nothing to apologize for. The kiss was quite nice"

"You don't have to sleep on the floor you know," said Njada, as she slid he booted foot up and down his calf under the table and smiled at him.

Looking at her Athis realized she was almost a completely different woman. She was truly relaxed and happy now. Although he knew it would likely take quite some time to get over her jealously of the Harbinger looks. He wanted to enjoy this moment with his shield sister.

"Let's go to our room and discuss it," he said, sliding his chair back from the table and stood. He reached into a belt pouch and dropped several septims on the table top. He offered her his hand and she took it. He put his hand on her waist and they walked between the tables now filled with the inn's evening clientele. She put her hand on his back and let it slide past his waist to his butt, where she let it rest.

When they had closed the door of their room, he enveloped her with his strong arms. Hopping up she wrapped her legs around his waist and they passionately embraced. Their tongues again dueling. Athis walked across the room toward the bed and dropped her onto it. Njada squealed with laughter in surprise at the gesture. Leaning back on her elbows, the Nord said seductively, "Strip out of that armor ... slowly. I want to enjoy the show," as she removed her helmet and let her brown hair fall to her shoulders.

He smiled down at her as he began to unbuckle the leather crosspiece that hung on his chest. Unfastening the last buckle, he let it drop to the floor. He flexed his muscles for her and she made comments on the way his dark skin rippled as he tensed and untensed his muscles. Noticing the bulge that had formed below the waist of his armored skirt, she said, "Drop the cuirass, big boy. I want to see the ebony dagger you've hidden underneath there."

"In due time, my dear," he said and reaching for one of her booted feet he said, "Ladies first."

He unlaced and removed her boots and then unfastening her sword belt and armored skirt, sliding them off along with her undergarment. Her legs were long and like all Nords, quite muscular. Her skin was lightly tanned from many days of exposure to the bright sun that reflected off the snow. He spread her legs and slid his hands up her thighs to her vulva. His fingers brushed through the tuft of pubic hair and found the swelling lips of her labia. "Quite nice," he said approvingly, as he fingered her and enjoyed the building wetness within her.

Athis then straightened and began working at removing his cuirass, while Njada shifted her position to where she was resting on her knees and reached behind herself to untie the lacings of her chest piece. They finished almost simultaneously. When their armor dropped free of their bodies they gazed at each other in wonder and awe. Athis having seen Nord women naked before admired the firmness of these hardy northern women. Her muscles were finely sculpted. Her breasts were well-shaped and crowned by large swollen nipples.

Njada on the other hand had never made love to a Dunmer before and was quite curious. She appraised him approvingly. His dark grey flesh was taught and chiseled in well-formed muscles. He was quite tall for a Dark Elf she thought, and the years of exercise and fighting had made well-formed his muscles, sculpting his body into any woman's dream. Her eyes drank in his rippled abdomen, the slim hips and the well-muscled legs and then zeroed in on her fascination. His penis was becoming erect and slowly growing. When she saw it, she exclaimed, "My goodness that's quite the dagger you have!" Asking in a sultry tone, "Do you react like that for all the pretty girls?"

It was longer than the span of her hand as it was becoming rigid. As it became fully stiff, it was nearly parallel to the elf's abdomen, exposing the enlarged sack of his scrotum. Athis smiled at her and said, "It always reacts like that, when I see a gorgeous woman."

Njada stepped off the bed and put her hands on his shoulders enjoying the feel of his tight muscles. At the same time, he cupped her breasts in his hands and admired their firm softness. She ran her fingernails across the muscles of his chest and down the washboard of his stomach. As her hand brushed his penis, she noticed elves didn't have body hair. Some Nords were as hairy as a bear rug, but he lacked any kind of pubic hair.

She cupped his balls in her hand and enjoyed the warmth she felt as she fondled them. Stepping closer Athis moved his hands to her firm gluts and began massaging her butt. Their lips met in yet another kiss, this time more intense, as their tongues entwined. Parting with a loud smack, Njada said, "I don't think you have to worry about sleeping on the floor, tonight!"

Njada pulled him to the bed. They laid down on the fur pelts and kissed again before Athis shifted his position, lying with his head toward Njada's feet. He looked over at her with a smile and said, "I thought I would do a bit of exploring, if you don't mind." Njada smiled seductively and speared her legs wide, giving him all the access he needed as his fingers, lips and tongue stimulated her.

She stroked the shaft of his penis and with the tip of her tongue encircled the black crown of his manhood. Slowly, she started sucking more of him into her mouth until soon she was tenderly sucking more than half of his erection into her mouth.

They pleasured each other for several minutes. The silence was broken when Athis inquired, "Njada, do you remember that brawl we got into a few years ago."

As she was rubbing his butt she let his erection come out her mouth with a loud 'pop' and said with a grim, "You mean when I was beating the shit out of you at Jorrvaskr. Yes, I do. You were punching me pretty hard."

"That's when I fell in love with you," he said.

Njada had never been smitten before and her heart melted in her chest.

"I have a confession to make as well," began Njada, "I love you too!"

With that Njada took control and instructed Athis to lie on his back and she straddled him. Her voice heavy with lust said, "Let's see if that dagger of yours will fit this scabbard, shall we."

Following her instructions, the Dunmer took his penis in his hand and guided it to Njada's waiting slit. He rubbed it along the swollen lips of her labia and positioned it as she slowly settled onto it. Her well lubricated lips easily parted and allowed the head entry. She bit her lower lip and with a soft moan of pleasure, allowed herself to be filled by him. It was slightly painful as she stretched to fully accept him, but settling on his hips she was amazed that she had taken all of him.

As she slowly began sliding up and down on his penis she again moaned softly in pleasure. She leaned forward slightly to give him access to heighten her pleasure. "Play with my nipples," she instructed breathlessly.

The Dark Elf complied and began squeezing her lovely mounds of flesh and playfully pinched the large nipples that crowned each. They immediately hardened and he tugged at them with thumbs and forefingers to her approval. After several minutes, Athis sat up, cupped her back in his powerful arms and rolled his hips. He skillfully switched positions, never allowing his erection to slip out of her. Njada cooed with delight and spread her legs to allow him full access to work, as he plumbed her depths. She moved her hips to match his timing and began to softly moan in pleasure. Soon, they were both covered in a shiny layer of sweat.

The tempo slowly increased with each thrust and Athis pounded deep into her. Njada felt the waves of pleasure slowly building in her until with a loud moan of pleasure reached her climax. She encircled Athis with her powerful legs and squeezed her thighs to press him into her. She hugged him tightly as she continued to softly moan into his shoulder.

Soon Athis too climaxed and with a series of grunts, stiffened and drove his penis to its hilt into Njada. Spent, he rolled off her panting for breath and lay beside her. "By the Nine," he gasped for air, "That was amazing."

Pushing up onto her elbows and wiping the perspiration from her brow with the back of her hand, Njada said, "That's some dagger you've got there."

Becoming business like as she snuggled into his chest, she said, "I'd love to go again, but we have to hit the road early."

Shifting to look him in the eyes, she added, "Maybe on the way back we can stop over here again, for round two. What do you say?"

In one quick move Athis sat up and took her in his arms. He pinned her on the bed to her giggling delight and then deeply kissed her. As their lips parted he said, "I would love to, my dear."

They fell asleep in each other's arms under the furs and blankets, enjoying each other's warmth. As she drifted into a deep sleep, Njada thought it would be nice to travel to Riften sometime soon. As she snuggled closer to his strong body she mused, spending the rest of her life at Athis' side would be amazing.

The next morning ...

They left Falkreath early, after paying for their room and taking a loaf of fresh baked bread and thick slices of bacon as a breakfast to eat while heading north out of town. The rain had stopped and a chill fog hung in the air. They laughed and joked as they walked and ate their morning meal. Each noted that the other was in quite a good mood that morning. Njada quipped coyly that it was the company she was starting to keep.

They quickly found the spot the Harbinger had described and carefully approached the cave with weapons at the ready. After entering the tunnel, the passage forked. Against his better judgment he allowed Njada to split them up. "Divide and conquer," she whispered and pointed while directing, "You go left while I go right."

That had been nearly an hour ago. The going had been very slow. In the low light she didn't want to set off any traps that might have been set by the murderer they were tracking down. She set her helmet back on her head and tightened the chin strap. Creeping forward she could see the tunnel was beginning to widen. She wondered about how Athis was doing.

At that moment Athis was entering a dimly lit room. The stone walls were blackened by heavy soot. Charred wood and other wreckage was scattered across the floor. Using all his will power, he forced his body to move slowly. His eyes accustomed to the darkness, searched for safe places to set his feet, so that he wouldn't make a sound or worse. From the entrance he saw a tall, ornate wardrobe or some kind. Strange, he thought, how did it survive the fire that swept through this place.

When had approached it, he discovered it wasn't wood when he reached out a hand to touch it. The surface was cool and metallic. Amazing, he thought, its iron. He quietly walked around it is examining it closely. It appeared to have a set of clamshell doors that almost its entire length. He examined the surface with his hands until he was again at the wardrobe front. There were no exposed handles of latches. Let's see what's inside, he thought.

He wedged his strong fingers into the seam and gained purchase. With a slight metal-to-metal squeak the doors parted to expose the desiccated remains of what appeared to be a woman. Her arms were wrapped around her in a gruesome hug and her head was tilted to the side. Eyes wide and mouth agape. She was bound or wrapped in rope or some kind.

"By the gods," he whispered as he stepped back. His foot bumped a piece of debris and depressed a pressure plate on the floor. In an instant he was caught in a swarm of darts. Many found their mark, hitting him in the back, buttocks and legs. His sword slipped out of his hand and clattered to the floor, as his body went numb from the powerful toxin that coated the needle sharp tip of each one.

As he slumped to the floor, with all his remaining effort he tried to cry out, but could only manage a croaking whisper, "Njada," as the paralysis seized his body, constricted his windpipe and smothered him. As he died, he heard a woman fiendishly laughing. It seemed to be coming from the corpse in the iron coffin.

Nearby Njada heard metal hitting stone and wondered, what the hell was that. She was at the opening to a large room of some kind. Glancing around in the low light she saw an opening to the right, which was the direction she thought she had heard the noise come from. The room was shaped like an overturned bowl. Although there were cracks and protrusions around the room, the walls sloped upward. At the top of the ceiling was a single ornate ceiling lamp lit the room.

The floor was littered with debris and dead bodies. The smell of death and oil was much stronger here. She slowly entered the room and headed in the direction she heard the noise when another sound caught her ears. The rasping sound of bones moving. Shit, she thought, skeletons!

From several areas of the room, stepping out of the shadows they came. Njada tried to quickly count and it appeared there were more than twenty. Several had bows with arrows already nocked. Others were armed with swords, axes and daggers. Among the skeletal undead there were some that wore cowls on their skulls. All had glowing red eyes. As they rushed her, Njada dropped all pretense of stealth and screamed, "Athis, get your ass in here. I need help!"

Usually, as she desperately thought to herself, she could handle these bags of bones, but she was slowly being surrounded. The space she had to move in was slowly collapsing as she became encircled. For every skeleton she destroyed with a powerful swing another took its place. She felt a stinging blow and cried out in pain, as an arrow found its mark in her shoulder. Almost simultaneously, she was hit by blasts of freezing cold. Oh shit, she thought, the skeletons with cowls were spellcasters!

As she took a step to regroup from the energy-sapping ice magic, her foot hit a pressure plate in the floor. Over the din of battle, she heard an audible snap. As she glanced over her shoulder she saw the hanging fire lamp begin its fall to the floor. It hit the floor and burst open among the pools of oils. The room exploded in a blast of flames as the oil that was pooled on the floor and soaked the bodies ignited. The room had become a roaring inferno.

The skeletons were blown to pieces. Njada never dropping her sword screamed as she was engulfed in flames and tried to run back the way she came, but tripped. The ceiling that had been weakened by the previous fire that swept the complex now collapsed with a roar, crushing everything under its weight.

The Pale, North of Dawnstar

The pain was like nothing he had ever felt before. The downside of mortality, he thought. Vilkas crawled from entrance to the Dawnstar Sanctuary and collapsed in the snow along the shore of the Sea of Ghosts. He was severely burned and was bleeding from a mortal wound in his back. He was having difficulty breathing as he knew several ribs had been broken and a lung was pierced by the trap that had struck him in his escape.

He rolled onto his back as he coughed up blood, which splattered his grizzled face. He mused this would have been a mere flesh wound, if he still had the beast blood coursing through his veins. All of that was long behind him now and he knew he was dying.

He could barely make out the sky and he felt cold snow begin to fall and melt on his singed flesh. Out of nowhere a shadow entered his field of vision and loomed over him. He felt his head being left by delicate hands. The shadow spoke, "What happened?"

In his delirium of pain, he thought he heard the voice of his beloved. "Naadia, oh Naadia. Farkas is dead," cried Vilkas. As his voice was becoming raspy he managed, "He was killed by a trap that bastard Cicero laid."

"It's okay," soothed the voice, "Tell me what happened."

Vilkas shared how they had left Whiterun to begin tracking Cicero. Naadia had assigned the old Dark Brotherhood hideout in Falkreath the Njada and Athis, while he and Farkas the Sanctuary outside of Dawnstar. "I'm sorry that I let it slip you were involved in the Brotherhood," he said.