Bound By Madness

8. Burning Skies

I did not like this Riverwood. It was small and too easy for them to connect any thefts with someone passing through. No, there would be no staying here. I needed to find someplace larger, where I  could be just one face among many travelers and easy to forget, easy to lose within the crowd. I would sell some of the small items I had found on my way here and resupply, maybe stay the night at the inn, but then I  would be off. Even Ellery agreed with us, there was no treasure to be had here.

Sadly, it was not much later that I realized trying to sell any of my stuff was a task in and of itself. Sighing, I tapped my foot as I waited for the two people to finish their argument. Did these people always air their family problems in front of people? That must make for some awkward situations with some of their customers.

After a few more minutes and no sign of them letting up, I shrugged and left the store. I might have better luck trying elsewhere. Maybe the innkeeper would be willing to buy enough to at least get a meal before I  moved onward. It wasn't like I couldn't just sleep in my bedroll again,  especially since it was much warmer here than the pass was. I would just need to make sure to set a few traps for anyone that might try to catch me unawares.

Let's go, Ellery. I don't think we are going to find any cloth for a cap here anyhow. And nothing else would be worth waiting around for.

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I hate people! I hate them! Everyone but you two! You're the only ones who don't either ignore me or treat me like I'm stupid.

Sighing in frustration, I counted the miserable amount of coins in my pouch.  Far fewer than there should be for the items I'd had to sell, but at least I'd been able to buy some food for the road and still have a few remaining for when I hit the next town. And maybe I would get lucky and meet a traveler on the road that I could relieve of some excess weight without them catching on.

Continuing down the road, I  tucked my coin pouch away where other fingers couldn't slip inside so easily. Every so often, I would dance to one side of the road when  Amicus would nudge me that direction, often finding ingredients I could hopefully sell at the next town for some extra coin. Other times, there would be something like a late fruit hanging from a branch or a dropped item someone hadn't noticed. Once in a while, it was a coin that I could slip into my pouch, but those times were rare. Usually, it would be something like a button or a hairpin, but even those could have their use.

I knew there was danger ahead when I heard Ellery give a wild cackle, darting to the side of the road and ducking down between the bushes. Moments later, Amicus was pulling me back further into the bushes as I stared in horror at the sky, the sound of flapping wings barely heard over the roar of the fire that seemed to want to burn everything around. Stumbling, I froze in place as the flying beast of a  lizard - a dragon, father, it was a dragon just like in your stories and oh, divines, I don't want to die, I'm not done yet and I can't die until Ellery's forgiven me! - as it looked right at me when the branch under my foot snapped so loudly.

I'd never imagined that dragons would be so huge, had never seen anything like this one before. It looked similar to the drawing father had shown me once, yet at the same time, it was completely different from the tales he told of the Blades his great-great-uncle had been a member of.  Were they supposed to be so huge? So angry sounding when their flames burned the world?

If not for Amicus whispering behind me and guiding my movements, telling me when to duck and which way to run between attacks, I would likely not live past a moment. With his guidance, I was able to weave between its claws when it landed upon the ground before me when I'd tried to escape, knew when to dive aside from the next bought of flames that sought to burn me up before I could escape.

Nearby, my Jester, my Ellery, cackled loudly at the black beast from the edges of my vision before shouting at me loudly. "Run!  Run, foolish girl! You're not allowed to die before you make me a  proper cap! One that can finally replace the one you stole from me! Now  RUN!"

And run I did, diving between the bushes and trees as I tried to escape the winged terror that lept back into the sky and chased after me. I could hear Ellery continuing to shout at me to  run, faster and faster, while Amicus would push gently in seemingly random directions as he led me further and further from the road.

Finally,  after what felt like hours of running and ducking and diving, the sound of the dragon's wings beating finally began to fade into the distance. Peering around the trees, warm hands gripping my shoulders gently as they kept me from leaning too far and showing myself to the monstrous creature, I could just see it vanishing over distant mountain peaks.

Soon, the hands pulled away and I could hear my two companions whispering to each other behind me. "Skyrim is far more dangerous than we expected it to be. We'll need to keep a  close watch on her from now on. There are things here far worse than mere bandits and wild animals to protect against. And we can only help so much."

I could only nod in agreement, knowing that I could not rely on them to save me from every enemy that came. After all, I was supposed to be getting stronger, not weaker. But yes, I would prefer to avoid any future dragon encounters. Seriously, dragons... The world must have gone mad!

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I took days getting to the place I finally saw in the distance. I wasn't  sure what to think about Skyrim yet, other than really not caring for the dragon I'd seen, but I had to admit that I liked the way the  buildings looked nestled on the various levels of the mountain it was built upon. Of course, most of the people were still annoying. Too many were either loud and aggressive with each other or so overly cheerful that I could feel my head begin to throb.

Ellery was the only one I could stand to hear carry on like that. He was the only one whose laughter was not painful to hear. How could anyone else laugh when I'd  killed the source of laughter? When I had killed...

No, no, no! He wasn't really dead, not anymore! He wasn't! He was right here with me! Right here, laughing at me! I can hear him, filling the air with his glee!