'What? Now?' Phane cupped his hands in a begging gesture. 'But you said we were just getting to the part with more dragons in it!' He looked to Lalaine for support, but she was clearly on Drelis' side. 'Fine. Damn you both. It'll be cheap wine though, so be satisfied with whatever turns up.'
'Get us some food as well,' suggested Lalaine. 'Bread, cheese, cold meat. Maybe some grapes!' But Phane was already half way to the bar, muttering. 'Are there really dragons in this next part?' she asked Drelis.
'Of course, I am no liar,' Drelis picked up his wine cup. It was empty. He sighed and put it back down. 'The nights were growing steadily colder with autumn settling in. I imagine it takes a while to get used to Skyrim's climate, even if you are already used to brisk mountain air. Even after the sun had risen, the wind still had a bite in it and snow was falling, even on the plain of the tundra.
'Khargol and Uthgerd passed a trio of giants herding their mammoths from their camp to a watering hole. Wild elk bounded across the fields, and rabbits bolted for cover as the warriors hiked towards the half-ruin of Fort Greymoor.
'The fort appeared to be manned, but the sentries on the wall turned out to be straw mannequins. "A legion trick," Khargol claimed.'
'Does that mean he was in the legion?' asked Lalaine.
'Not quite. I was going to talk about this later but... well, Phane wouldn't be interested. Khargol used to be a mercenary before he came to Skyrim, and he had some bad run-ins with the legion.' Lalaine's eyes lit up, her mouth agape. 'That's all I'll say for now though, there's too much to get through at the moment.
'The fort was occupied by a band of well-armed bandits. Thugs and outlaws, all of them, they were prepared to defend their ruined den, but they were not prepared for two experienced adventurers who stormed the place with such tenacity. Khargol commented that Uthgerd fought without remorse against the bandits, she explained that their crimes meant that they deserved no quarter. Uthgerd writes about her own feats of valour with a ridiculous amount of detail - if her accounts were to be believed in full, we would think she had slain a hundred men single-handedly while Khargol managed to best only four or five. One entry mentions the "bandits' pet wizard" and says only that Khargol took a lightning bolt to the chest, but managed to stay upright and hack the sorcerer to pieces. I suspect that Uthgerd's nordic distrust of magic had only been reinforced by their experiences in Volunruud.
'Looting the bandit dead, Khargol came across a book on legion tactics...'
'Mixed Unit Tactics,' claimed Phane, returning with a platter of food and drinks. 'Even I've read that one. Did I miss the dragons?'
'No, you didn't miss the dragons, and no it wasn't Mixed Unit Tactics.' Drelis made a grab for some bread while Lalaine cut the cheese. 'It was a book that is normally issued only to legion soldiers. Khargol suspected that the bandits had been deserters from the legion. It hardly mattered any more though, since they were all dead.
'Upon leaving the fort, both Khargol and Uthgerd were put on guard by the echoing bellow of a dragon circling above.'
'Yes!'
'The dragon circled and circled, roaring and trumpeting, never coming even close to the ground. Khargol picked up one of the dead bandit's bows and started loosing arrows at it. Uthgerd did the same, but none of their arrows found their marks. The dragon barely paid any attention to them, it just kept circling and roaring. Eventually it flew off into the northern mountains.'
Phane was visibly crushed.
'Don't worry Phane,' said Drelis, patting him on the arm. 'They pursued it to the slopes of Eldersblood Peak. They found an abandoned shack on the way up, and Khargol said he could see a number of barrows nearby. They were both already encumbered by their loads, however, so they left their packs in the cottage and scaled the slopes to meet the dragon.
'The dragon, however, swooped down to meet them. It belched flame as they scrambled for cover amongst the sparse trees. Khargol used his thu'um to distract it while Uthgerd shot arrows from her bow. The dragon became wroth and dived to land between them! Now, the slate on the slopes of this particular mountain was particularly slick. As the dragon landed, it dislodged a great tide of rocks and pebbles. The ground gave way and the dragon lost its footing. It was virtually defenceless ans Khargol's axe came crashing down onto its scaly maw!
'Utherd writes of the light and wind that swirled from the dragon's burning flesh until the beast was no more than scorched bones, and Khargol's eyes shone with the power of the monster's soul.'
'Huzzah!' cried Phane, nearly knocking his wine cup flying.
'Did they climb to the peak anyway?' asked Lalaine, catching the cheese wheel before it rolled off the table.
'Khargol did. He left Uthgerd in the shack and returned an hour later. He claimed that there was a word wall mural on the mountaintop, and he had a battleaxe strapped to his back that looked to be of elven make.'
'Elven weapons and armour are prestigious,' Phane remarked. 'Even an orc would see that.'
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