Murphy's Law

Chapter 6

"Good, you're finally here! The Jarl's been waiting for you!" was the first thing they were greeted with when they entered the doors. Irileth wasn't far behind them, and strode forward to give her report.

"So what happened to the watchtower? Was the dragon there?"

"The watchtower was destroyed, my lord, but we have discovered that we are able to kill dragons."

"I knew I could count on you," Jarl Balgruuf said, sounding relieved. "But there must be more to it than that."

"There is." She turned to Emmet and Lucy. "Something happened out there- the men I brought with me started speaking of a Dragonborn. They seem to believe this young man is one." Emmet shuffled nervously.

"And how did they come to believe this?"

"I guess I absorbed some sort of power from it," Emmet admitted. "Though I don't know how I did."

"So it's true," Balgruuf mused. "The Greybeards really were summoning you."

"Greybeards?" Emmet asked.

"Masters of the Way of the Voice," the Jarl explained. "They live in seclusion high on the slopes of the Throat of the World."

"But what would they want with me?"

"If you really are Dragonborn, they can teach you how to use your gift. You'd better get up to High Hrothgar immediately. There's no refusing the summons of the Greybeards. It's a tremendous honor."

"I... I suppose..." He glanced over at Lucy, not willing to part ways with her just yet. She looked thoughtful.

"Emmet... If you don't mind waiting a bit, I can accompany you to Ivarstead. It's not too far out of my way, but you'll have to climb the Seven Thousand Steps yourself."

"But-"

"They summoned you, not me. Besides, I've got some business of my own to take care of." He sulked.

"Okay..." He followed her to Farengar's work room. The wizard looked very eager to get his hands on the Dragonstone, and he set it on the desk without complaint. The thing was heavy. Farengar and Lucy leaned over it, painstakingly making a copy of it on a small map of Skyrim. Emmet sighed and poked around the room, not really paying either of them any attention.

"And look at this! There's text on the back! I'm not familiar with this script, though."

"There was a wall with that same script on it in the Barrow," Lucy said. "Emmet was able to read it; probably because of his Dragon Blood." Emmet glanced back over at the sound of his name. "Would you mind telling us what it says?" He wandered back over, looking at the writing on the stone.

"Umm... 'Here lie our fallen lords, until power of Alduin revives'," he read out loud.

"Alduin..." Lucy murmured. "That name sounds familiar for some reason, but for the life of me I can't think of why." She looked up at Farengar. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention; I'm sure this will be immensely helpful in stopping the dragons. You mind if I take this copy?"

"Certainly," the wizard agreed, "and thank you for retrieving it for me. Good luck to you, my friends."

As they left the Jarl's palace, Emmet was unusually silent. Lucy glanced at him, somewhat concerned. "You alright?"

"Huh?" He snapped out of his daze. "Oh yeah, I'm fine!"

She raised an eyebrow at that. "So you're totally ready to learn how to be a great warrior and start killing dragons, despite the fact that you don't like fighting."

"...You're sure they wouldn't listen if I tried talking to them?"

Lucy huffed a laugh. "I'd say it's about as likely as the General suddenly declaring you innocent and deciding to rebuild your house for you." Emmet slumped. "Maybe even less so, actually. Dragons only ever sought to enslave mortalkind, or wipe us out entirely. They have no reason to listen to anything they can eat in a single bite." Emmet made a face at that. She reached over and squeezed his shoulder. "But you don't have to do this alone. I'll meet back up with you in Ivarstead, when you're through with whatever the Greybeards have to teach you, and I'm done taking care of my business. I'll take you to meet some friends of mine."