[Skyrim Crossover] As if Skyrim wasn't already hectic enough, with its inhabitants fighting both the Aldmeri Dominion and the Empire. Now there's dragons, too, and Emmet finds himself unwittingly roped into the whole mess. What else could go wrong?
General Callaghan watched as the dragon flew away, making sure it was actually gone before making a mental tally of survivors. There was little left of the town; maybe one or two buildings survived the onslaught partially intact, and only a handful of people hurried about, trying to put out the fires. Those few were a mix of the villagers and his own soldiers, one captain, one Thalmor guard, and the First Emissary. Ambassador Sirius approached him, brushing specks of soot off his robes. The Thalmor didn't like for their government officials to get involved with battles, but Sirius refused to show such weakness. It simply wasn't in him to run and hide, and let the soldiers fight for him. "Remarkable timing, wouldn't you say?"
The General made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a growl. "Honestly, I don't find that so farfetched a conclusion. That was too well timed to be coincidence."
"Glad we agree. We'll have to triple our efforts to find the remaining Blades; if anyone would know anything about the return of the dragons, it's them."
General Callaghan nodded, then turned his attention to another matter. "Captain! A moment."
"Yes, sir!" She hurried over.
"I want you to keep an eye out. It looks like one of the villagers was actually a rebel as well, he aided the captives in escaping. If he returns, I want you to arrest him. He is to be executed with the rest of the rebels, once we've caught them again."
"Yes, General."
"I need to return to Solitude, get the word out to our camps about the escaped rebels, and the dragon. Ambassador, if you are ready?"
"Yes, yes," the First Emissary said, halfway distracted as he turned plans over in his mind. He found his horse (which had miraculously survived in the chaos) and mounted, he and his sole remaining guard already heading down the road without waiting for the General.
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The guard at the gate didn't seem too keen on letting them in, but allowed them to pass once Lucy told him they had information on the dragon. Jarl Balgruuf's housecarl was none too pleased to have them interrupt their meeting either, demanding what business they had in Dragonsreach.
"We survived the dragon attack on Helgen," Lucy snapped back. "We thought you might appreciate having news from actual eye witnesses."
"Well that explains why the guards let you in. Come on then, the Jarl will want to speak to you personally." The Jarl had already turned his attention to them, overhearing Lucy's forceful comment to the housecarl.
"You survived Helgen? You saw this dragon with your own eyes?"
"It was kind of hard to miss," Emmet said. "It was huge and black and all spikes and horns and sharp teeth-"
"And last we saw, it was headed this way," Lucy interrupted.
"When I went back to see, there was so little left, so few survivors... Not only did we have our own guards, but a troop of Imperial soldiers, and a few Thalmor guards as well, and if Helgen was burned to the ground after all that... A small village like Riverwood wouldn't stand a chance," Emmet continued.
"My lord, we should send troops to Riverwood at once," the housecarl insisted.
"The Jarl of Falkreath would view that as a provocation!" the steward protested. "He'll assume we're preparing to join the Black Knight's side and attack him! We should not-"
"Enough!" Balgruuf interrupted. "I'll not stand idly by while a dragon burns my hold and slaughters my people! Irileth, send a detachment to Riverwood at once." Emmet let out the breath he'd been holding. Lucy also relaxed, and glanced over at Emmet, who beamed at her in response. His faith in his Jarl wasn't unfounded, after all.
"Yes, my Jarl," Irileth said, and saluted him before leaving. The steward also excused himself, no doubt feeling embarrassed. Jarl Balgruuf gestured for them to come closer.
"Well done," he praised. "You sought me out, on your own initiative. You've done Whiterun a service, and I won't forget it."
"My lord," Lucy spoke up, and he focused his attention on her. "If you find it fair, I have a favor to ask."
"Speak," he said, gesturing for her to continue.
"I am one of the rebels, destined for the chopping block when we arrived in Helgen," she started, and he raised an eyebrow at her admission. "The dragon caused so much chaos I was able to escape. But it also nearly killed Emmet. I saved his life, and took him through the tunnels with the others that escaped, but now General Callaghan has assumed he's one of us. My lord, he is completely innocent of any wrongdoing- I didn't give him a choice in the matter. Would it be possible for him to stay here, since he can't return to Helgen? Would you be at all able to convince the General of his innocence?" Emmet gave her a surprised look. The Jarl considered her request.
"I may grant your request, if you could do one more thing for me. Suitable for someone of your particular talents, perhaps."
Lucy frowned. "And that is?"
"Come, let's go find Farengar, my court wizard. He's been looking into a matter related to these dragons and... rumors of dragons."
Well, if it pertained to dragons... Intrigued, she followed the Jarl, Emmet tagging along behind her. Now that she was no longer under threat of having her head chopped off, or being roasted to a crisp, her childhood fascinations were starting to resurface.
"Farengar, I think I've found someone who can help you with your dragon project. Go ahead and fill them in on the details."
"You're researching the dragons?" Lucy blurted out, startling both the mage and her tag-along. Emmet started giggling.
"Well, yes, but I've hit a dead end," Farengar told her. "There is an ancient stone tablet- the Dragonstone, said to contain a map of dragon burial sites. The tablet itself exists for certain, but its rumored location..." Lucy folded her arms, giving him a look. "It's said to be in Bleak Falls Barrow, in the mountains to the west of Riverwood. The ruin is ancient, and dangerous, and my skills are not such that I could make the trek myself."
"So you want us to fetch it for you."
"If you would be so kind."
"I don't know, Lucy," Emmet hedged. "Haven't we survived enough danger already?"
"Don't worry," she assured him. "I'll do the hard part, you just have to keep quiet and stay out of the way. Besides," she grinned, "it'll be fun!"
