The Adventures Of Fjord

Brothers

Fjord bit his bottom lip, his sharp canines puncturing it slightly. Miraxsil stared impatiently down on him, awaiting his answer. Fjord had no idea of where they were, or where they might be. This stinks. I guess I'm stuck being live bait.

"Well? I haven't got all day, Dragonborn."

"I think you do." This was the wrong response, as the dragoness didn't even bother to repress the snarl.

"Tell me. I haven't the patience for you little games."

"I have no clue where they went, nor any idea where they might be."

"You understand I can't trust you, Dragonborn? I must test you to see if you are lying." Fjord nodded nervously. Hopefully she doesn't eat me... Or anything like that.

"Uh, what're you doing?" the dragoness was leaning down, sinking to Fjord's level. Her creepy eyes bored into his soul, and the low lighting in her cave made it even weirder.

"I am going to cast a simple truth spell on you. Now, you will feel intense pain if you lie, but nothing if you are truthful." The dragoness raised her claw, gentler than expected, but still roughly pushed it against Fjord's ebony chestplate. The chestplate glowed with red tendrils, snaking down Fjord's body, until they were covering every inch of him. Fjord still felt nothing.

"Where is Alduin?"

"No idea." Nothing happened, so Fjord was truthful.

"Thank you, for your honesty. I now must search for Alduin. But we can't have you leaving... Oh no..." A wide grin split her face, making her seem ever more crazy than usual. Sheogorath, Daedric prince of Madness, would be proud. The dragoness walked off, leaving Fjord sitting there. Wonder if I could make a run for it...

Miraxsil went down a corridor, looking for something big enough to pin Fjord, but not seriously injure her bargaining chip. She came across a smallish boulder, about 400 pounds in mortal measures. She got behind it pushing it forward across the stone floor with relative ease. When she came to the central chamber, she found Fjord "Booking it" as mortals would say. This infuriated her, and she stopped pushing the boulder to charge across the room, catching up to Fjord quickly.

Fjord heard thunderous steps behind him, and broke into a full sprint. All attempts at stifling his noise were forgotten, and he was almost there! Almost. He felt claws grip his abdomen, and jerk him backwards. He was face to face with Miraxsil.

"Heh...." Fjord smiled sheepishly. Miraxsil growled, and went back to the boulder, still awkwardly holding the Khajiit. She pushed it to near a crack in the wall, and set Fjord down. The dragoness pinned him with her smooth, plated tail, and began scraping at the wall with her claws. Soon, it would be Fjord sized.

Fjord wriggled underneath her tail. If I could just reach my sword... His gloved fingers groped his waist, feeling for the hilt, when his fingers made contact with a sword hilt. Now I have to get my arm unpinned... Fjord wiggled his arm back and forth, and almost had it free when Miraxsil turned around, grabbed Fjord, and set him inside the crack. He had a little bit of wiggle room, and could turn around. She then pressed the boulder against the crack, trapping Fjord there. His head poked above the boulder, but fat load of good that would do him if the rest of his body was stuck in the crack.

"Now now, Fjord, don't struggle. It is pointless to try and escape." Miraxsil turned around to face the cave mouth, which moonlight was streaming into. It was night now. She walked outside, and Fjord could hear her wingbeats steadily receding, and he felt himself falling asleep.

Alduin was flying around, not caring if he went the whole night without landing. He needed time to think, and be alone, without his brother badgering him. The crescent moon was out in full, and it bathed the lands in silvery light. Alduin could not enjoy it this night, as something was bothering him. Fjord, that damnable Dovahkiin, has gotten captured. Alduin did not like he fact that he needed Fjord if he were ever to truce with the mortals, and disband the Blades. Ah, but you don't need him. You could kill them all yourself... A dark voice in the back of his mind whispered. He let out an angry huff, and a short jet of flame followed.

Regrettably, I have grown rather attached to this mortal. He is an excellent ally. Growling in frustration, Alduin decided to at least go looking for the Dovahkiin.

Atop the Throat Of The World, Paarthurnax paced back and forth in the pale snow, concerned for his brother. He always was the rash one, biting off more than he could chew on numerous occasions. Paarthurnax's thoughts were interrupted when Tilpaar butted in.

"Not that I don't mind the pacing you're doing, but you've been shoveling snow on me for the past twenty minutes."

Paarthurnax sighed, and gave an apologetic look to Tilpaar before taking off to look for his brother.

Fjord was not at all enjoying being trapped while Miraxsil was presumably searching for Alduin. He could only hope he'd get rescued soon. Man, this is about the most uncomfortable position in the nine realms...

Alduin decided to start at Riverwood, which was now abandoned. The oaken buildings which he had flew by many times now had angry scorch marks on them. The cobbled stone path through the center had burnt corpses on it, and ash was strewn about the town. He landed with a soft thump in the center of the stone path, near the blacksmith shop. He sniffed the ground, ash entering his nostrils, making him sneeze. Smells like mortal blood, and burnt ashes. He hand no scent of Miraxsil, or Fjord. He searched the entire town, finding next to nothing, until his nose led him to the sawmill. There! A small scale, presumably Miraxsil's. He sniffed it deeply, and it had Fjord's scent on it as well. I suppose it's in this direction... He headed southwest from Riverwood, hoping he wasn't too late.

Paarthurnax was searching the base of the mountain for his brother, and his sense of smell was not nearly as honed as the other dragons. The evergreen trees almost seemed to be mocking him, the way the gently swayed in the wind. He eventually decided just to shout Alduin's name, hoping that he would respond with his.

"Al, Du In!"

Alduin heard his name being shouted. He recognized that voice, it belonged to his brother. However, it would be foolhardy to shout, as Miraxsil could be within range. He didn't need his brothers' help anyway. He was the World-Eater! After assuring himself of his skill, he resumed tracking. It was the rosy dawn when he found where the scent was strongest, near a cave. The mouth looked menacing, full of stalactites and stalagmites, lining it like teeth. He could see why she would like this place. He landed near the entrance, and crept inside. She was nowhere to be seen, so he began searching the cave.

Paarthurnax was in Riverwood now, his damaged sense of smell not doing much good now that there were many stronger smells in the area. He just hoped that his brother wasn't doing anything stupid...

Fjord woke up in his crack with the worst cramps he'd ever experienced. Oh real classy, back pain. That might be because I'm living in a LITERAL HOLE. Fjord sighed loudly.

"Man, this sure sucks dragon balls."

"What about dragon genitalia, Dovahkiin?" Fjord nearly jumped out of his skin. Apparently, Alduin had snuck in here.

Miraxsil was flying over Riverwood, her wings ached from such a long flight. She didn't see Alduin at all on her travels, which was frustrating. She could always cheer herself up by eating in front of Fjord, who was probably hungry by now. She licked her lips as she thought of the meat she had buried in her cave...

Paarthurnax saw Miraxsil flying overhead, and decided to follow her. He might as well discover her location.

Fjord was staring into the crimson eyes of the World-Eater, shocked that it was him who came back.

"Huh. It's you."

"Well spotted, Dovahkiin." Alduin huffed, and latched on to the boulder, pulling it aside. Fjord, who was incredibly stiff, clumsily fell onto the cave floor.

"Mmrrgggh..." Fjord groaned.

"Get up." Alduin did not wait. He grabbed Fjord, and flung him onto his back. He felt him grip his horns, and shift up into a more comfortable position.

"Let's get out of this hellhole, Alduin."

Alduin was just about to turn around to leave, but something stopped him in his tracks.

"Well, look what we have here. The coward and the furball."