Living with dragons

[Hiver]

It wasn't difficult to get into the city.

We basically just waited until dawn and then rode a couple of summoned horses in through the gate, pretending that we belonged.

Getting into the fortress-like castle would be slightly more difficult.

"So, what do you think?" I asked Ren as I dismounted, looking up towards the castle clinging to the side of the cliff.

"We could just request an audience?" she suggested and got off her mount in turn. "We don't have to attempt to sneak inside."

"…You're right," I agreed with a nod. "No need to make things more complicated than necessary."

Tying the horse's reins to a convenient railing outside the inn, I flipped a coin to the stableboy before I shouldered my bag as Ren did the same.

We weren't far from the castle so getting there didn't take long, moving through the winding streets.

"Halt! What's your business here?"

Seriously, guards were the same everywhere. If there was a gate to stand outside, there they were, ready to demand who went there.

"Atreus and Ren," I told him. "We seek King Anduin, we have a message to him."

The two guards glanced at each other before the right one nodded. "Wait here."


XXXXXXXXXX


The inside of the castle was different than I had expected. It was actually a lot less exposed stone; a lot of the inside was covered in wood and tapestries.

Which I guess I could understand, this position was a lot more exposed than Stormwind and humans cared about the cold so… yeah, I would have made the place warmer too.

The guard led us to a door guarded by a pair of Stormwind guards, one of them reaching to knock on the door before opening it, allowing us past.

Inside were three people. Andiun, Wrathion and an older woman with white hair that I didn't know.

Anduin smiled and then motioned towards us. "Lady Proudmoore, let me introduce Atregos and Rengosa of the Blue Dragonflight."

Seriously?

And Proudmoore? Was she related to Jaina?

He then turned to us. "Atregos, Rengosa, let me introduce Lady Katherine Proudmoore, ruler of the Kul Tiras."

She was. Jaina's mother's name was Katherine. Not sure they got along, she didn't mention her family a lot.

I bowed slightly. "Lady Proudmoore, I apologize for the interruption."

"Not at all," she said with a smile. "It's not every day we get visitors from the Blue Dragonflight."

"We're not looking to cause any difficulties for anyone," I told her. "We simply wish to speak with Wrathion."

Wrathion looked over from where he was standing, looking out the window. "I already know what you want to say, Atregos. Don't want to hear it."

"But perhaps you need too," I growled. "You know what you have to do."

He shook his head and crossed his arms. "I'll come when the war is over. Nothing is going to happen in just a couple of years."

"Likely not," I agreed and crossed the room. Ren hung back and leaned her back against the wall, crossing her arms. "But that's not the point," I continued. "You know what's been decided. And this is not something that should be discussed in front of the mortals."

Wrathion growled at me. "I am the Flightleader of the Black Dragonflight! You presume to tell me what to do?"

"I don't. The Wyrmrest Accord does," I growled straight back at him. "And if I have to challenge you, I will!"

"You don't want to do that."

"…Didn't say I wanted to," I told him with a sigh. "If I was in your position, our places would have been reversed. But we can't stay here."

Wrathion looked down at the floor for a second. "…And I can't leave while Anduin goes to war. You know that feeling."

"I do."

When Sheila and Rengosa left to fight The Legion…

Fucking damn it.

"Bring him."

Wrathion smiled slightly. "You try to convince him. It's not the same as last time. I barely managed then."

I glanced at Anduin. He simply watched us in turn, arms crossed over his armour.

Fucking damn it.

Challenge or not, unless I outright stuffed Wrathion into a soulstone and brought him unwillingly, there was no way to talk him into this. Even more, I didn't want to! He was my friend!

Talking Anduin into abandoning his people was just as impossible a task.

"…Fuck."

I need fewer friends. Why do we always end up in this kind of situations?





AN// Many thanks to Pietersielie for doing the beta magic to this part.

 

[Hiver]

Frowning, I switched to the previous parchment. That didn't make overly much sense. No, that has to be wrong.

These… it seems almost like somebody has been messing with this enchantment diagram. Obfuscating it, changing small details that could ruin the entire thing.

The question was if it was the one that crafted the enchantment that worked those into it in a way that made them look important but without actually doing anything or if it was the one that studied it that sabotaged it.

I bet on the later, I suspected the Draenei didn't actually want somebody else to figure out Naaru magitech.

Interesting.

Switching paper again, I tapped my fingers on the table before glancing at the diagram I copied down. They still used a similar system to normal enchanting in Azeroth, that wasn't anything strange.

These things are incomplete, not only sabotaged. Parts were outright missing.

But even so, this thing had potential. A lot of things were missing, but it had some ideas I was missing.

Nothing to do with their FTL drive, but this should be the floating enchantment and a very efficient one at that.

Well, part of one anyway. Still need a strong hull though. Didn't I see something about reinforcing somewhere? It was a bit back, if I combine that with…

"So, what are you planning now?" Wrathion asked and settled down across the table from me, completely shattering my train of thought.

There is a reason I usually do this in my lab.

Putting the papers down, I leaned back in my chair as I looked at him, "What is there to plan? You made your decision. We'll leave in a couple of days and report back to Alexstrasza. What happen after is up to her."

"…Now I know how you felt when your consorts went into battle alone," He answered after a moment, sounding frustrated, "I can't leave him to face this alone and I can't stay."

I just nodded, "I know."

"…How dangerous do you think it really is to stay here for a while?"

I shook my head, "No idea. May be completely safe… or you staying may doom this world. But considering we haven't run into a dragon pretending to be a gnome, it's likely closer to the first than the second."

Wrathion smiled slightly, "Let Umbria know what is going on?"

"Of course."

"So how soon do you leave?" He asked a couple of minutes.

"A day or so," I answered and tossed a tracking necklace to him, "Don't 'loose' this again. And I have a portal key stone I want you to keep onboard of the flagship in case we need to find you again."

He held the necklace up, "You presume to give me orders?"

I growled at him for a second before we shared a chuckle, "Do as you wish," I sighed, "Not like I could stop you, my friend."

"How did you find us anyway?"

I grinned, "That would be telling. But you know I'm good at scrying."

That was true, but not exactly what happened. The best lies are the true ones and I really didn't want him to ditch the armour.

"Hmh. Any any luck there?" He asked and motioned towards the papers on the table.

"…Some," I admitted, "Not all that I hoped for, but there are clues here I needed. But I need back to my workshop to get any real work done. But this… this is the big piece," I revealed and slid one of the papers over to him.

He picked it up and glanced at it before he slid it back and shook his head, "Can't make head or tails out of this."

"That, is part of the enchantment system of the Exodar," I explained, "More specifically, the parts that gather and contain the massive magical power required to fly it."

"So, you have what you were looking for then? Wasn't that the part you needed?"

I scowled, "It would have been if somebody had not been fucking with these diagrams," I growled and then sighed, "So, not completely. But it contains clues that'll help me figure it out. But I need my worksho…"

I frowned at the diagram as I trailed off and slowly turned it upside down. Not a solution, but… if you ignore the bullshit runes, deceptions and gasps and just went to the basics and just followed the flow of the power…

Where did I…

Pulling out my notebook and ball point pen, I started to scribble down actual calculations, working through the diagram. It wasn't anything like the Orb of Black Ice, that one was overly engineered as fuck. It was a power storage, a casting focus and a bunch of stuff I didn't have time to figure out.

This one did one thing and one thing only. Combined with what I learned from those Rings and what I leaned from it and everything else…

A pair of arms slipped around my shoulders and someone nuzzled at my neck, "Mmm… time to sleep, love."

I blinked and glanced Ren, "Huh?"

"It's the middle of the night. We're leaving tomorrow, remember?"

"Night?"

The moon was shining in through the window and Wrathion was missing. I suppose I got a bit distracted there.




AN// Unbetaed. Blame Stellaris.

 

[Hiver]

Beating my wings steadily, I circled down to land at the top of the Tower, looking out at the landscape all around. Tall trees and the wall of ice to the south broke up the snow and ice along with the domes of magic greenhouses.

The sun was setting in the distance and it was just nice to be home again.

…not that I could stay for long, in a week or two I would need to do the delivery to Skyrim. But this was still two weeks where I didn't really have that much to do.

Focusing my magic, I turned back to mortal form as Ren set down behind me, her wings buffeting the soft snow.

As she copied me and turned into mortal form, I gathered her into a quick hug, "Welcome back."

"Mmm, thanks," she answered and sighed, "I'll go report what happened to Alexstrasza. Let her know what happened with Wrathion and see what she wants us to do."

I nodded and smiled at her, "I'll find Sheila and Zrazta."

"I'll join you as soon as I speak to her", Ren said with a smile and pulled back to turn back to her real form, taking to the skies once more.

I watched her fly for a second before heading towards the stairs and our living area deep in the stone tower.

Sadly, when I got there, it was empty.

Nobody there.

Well, we had our own jobs. Sheila was liaising with the mortals and Zrazta had her studies. For all I knew Zrazta was half a continent away looking at flowers and Sheila might be in Meereen or King's Landing or somewhere else.

Sighing I dropped my satchel on the couch and stretched, looking around for a second before I turned and headed back out the door.

Might as well find Kalecgos and tell him what happened.

As usual he wasn't difficult to find, simply ask the closest dragon or dragon-kin and they'd point you to him.

I found him in his study. Not unexpectedly, Jaina was with him. He was sitting by the wall, Jaina resting her head in his lap as he scratched by her horns.

Saistrasza was sitting next to him, her head against his shoulder and her eyes closed.

"Atregos, welcome back," Kalecgos said with a small smile as he looked up when I entered, "Everything went well?"

"…Define well?"

Jaina opened her eyes and shot me a look that said, 'say what you're going to say and get out!'

I cleared my throat, "Problems on Azeroth, the Alliance and Horde are going to war. Wrathion is refusing to leave Azeroth while Andiun is in danger. I did learn a new enchantment method. Might also have found what I needed for the ship's power core. On the drawback, I accidentally blew up a mountain."

"Well at least it wasn't here," Jaina sighed and settled back down.

There is that.

"Wrathion refusing to leave," Kalecgos said and scratched behind Jaina's nose horn, causing her to close her eyes and put her head back down, "I can see that. Seeing your Consort in danger is never… right. Couldn't convince him?"

"…I couldn't fully convince myself," I sighed and then shook my head, "No, I couldn't. And I wasn't prepared to do what would be needed to force him to come."

Kalecgos nodded and frowned, "Yeah, I can see that. Alexstrasza knows?"

"Rengosa is telling her now. Anyone know where Sheila and Zrazta are?"

Jaina nodded and raised her head to look at me again, "Sheila is visiting her Uncle in Meereen for the week. Zrazta is leading an expedition south to look for some sort of plant, unsure which one."

"Thanks."

She tilted her head and shot me a 'look', "You must be tired from Walking here."

"…Yeah, I'll go get some rest. Have a nice night."

I know a hint when it has big teeth and glares at me.

At least occasionally.

Retreating to leave my Flightleader with his Consorts before one of them got really annoyed with me, I returned to our quarters.

Empty or not, it was nice to be home again. Tomorrow would be a long day in the workshop trying out what I figured out from the Naaru schematics.

…Damn, I really am tired. Jaina had been right, Walking was exhausting and then we flew for a couple of hours back to the Tower.

It's nice to stretch your wings, but just after Walking it wasn't a good idea.

Stripping off my armour, I barely made it to collapse into the bed. It smelled of Sheila and Zrazta.

I was asleep in seconds.




AN\\ Many thanks to FPSCanarussia for betaing this section.

 

[Hiver]

A sphere of metal floated before me in a telekinesis spell as I shifted it in my mind. Dwemer metal, adamantium, silver and a just a hint of cobalt and silver moved into shapes and veins thought the construct.

I might as well have closed my eyes, I didn't use them much for this anyway, it was all in my mind and magic.

Lifting a diamond, the size of a human head from the ground, I inserted it into the metal, incorporating it.

It was the largest one we had. But the bigger and clearer crystal, the better this would work.

All four enchanting systems were involved in this in a weave of enchantments working together, reinforcing, improving, channelling.

Finally, I allowed the metal to solidify and I gently allowed it to settle down onto the stone floor. Letting my breath up, I got up and slowly padded around it, looking for imperfections.

None that I could find.

It seemed perfect. About a meter tall and a little smaller in the other directions, it was more or less egg shaped with power. It was smooth, no lines moving magical power around on the surface.

Efficient, no waste on glowing effects.

Sitting down, I placed my front leg ontop of it and closed my eyes, feeling through the enchantments. It all seemed to be working.

It was already gathering and storing ambient magical energy.

Gathering a bunch of mana from the tower, I gave it a big burst at once. The Core just dampened it, took it all, channelled it and then absorbed it, storing it.

That worked. Now for the big question…

Tapping into the Core, I pulled on the magic, looking for any resistance. It flowed smoothly out of the object and into me through my claws and I got rid of it with a quick fireball towards the testing targets at the other end of my lab.

It worked.

It WORKED!

"Does it work?"

I blinked and looked to the side to see Sheila sitting close to the door, a book in her lap and a smile on her lips.

"Sheila!"

Moving back from the Core, I quickly turned into mortal form and moved over to pull her into a tight hug and a kiss as she got up.

She hugged back and then smiled up at me, "You figured it out?"

"I did," I agreed and rested my forehead against hers, "It seems to be working. When did you get here?"

"Couple of hours ago," she admitted and smiled a bit, "Didn't want to disturb you while working, you would have to start over."

"Thank you," I purred and pulled her close, "It works."

She grinned, "It's the power source, right? Did you find what you needed?"

Nodding, I pulled back and took her hand, leading her over to it, "Yes and no. But what we did find, gave me some clues I needed to figure it out. I have to run some more tests but… I think it's working!"

Sheila nodded, "Can I touch it?"

"Go ahead."

She put her hand on the core and half closed her eyes, "…There is plenty of power in here already but how it works, I have no idea. How does it compare to the Orb of Black Ice?"

"Hmm. It should work just as well as power storage, but it lacks the other features. It's dedicated to just that role," I explained before I frowned, "…It's also a lot bigger."

Shaking that from my head, I smiled at her. It's good enough, it was actually perfect for what I needed.

I didn't need to start making it smaller already.

"How's Roger?"

"Like normal," she said and pulled her hand away from the Core, "So how was your trip?"

Uhm.

"…I accidentally blew up a mountain?"

She stared at me for a second, "What?"

"It's not as bad as you think," I quickly said, "It wasn't even really my fault. There was this wizard warlord that had left a magic ring laying about. I was examining it and he tried to attack through it and when I kind of nudges his elbow and then the little hobbits destroyed it, it caused a feedback to his entire magical fortress. And then the volcano it was sitting on erupted."

Sheila just looked at me for a second before she crossed her arms, "…I'm not even sure where to start."

"He left out where fighting the artefact left him in a coma for three weeks," Ren said as she walked inside, "I thought he was going to die, but I got him to the local elves and they managed to save him."

…Thanks Ren…

"What!?"



AN// Unbetaed because derp.

 

[Hiver]

"Atregos," Alexstrasza said and stroked my head, "Welcome back."

"Thank you," I answered and leaned into her touch, "…I'm sorry for the trouble."

She shook her head and lowered her hand, "Hardly your fault, World Walker. Wrathion make his own decisions."

I nodded and sat down, shifting my wings.

"He is your friend," she continued with a small smile, "No way for you to force him."

"…But you want him back."

"There is a meeting with the Wyrmrest accord tonight to discuss the matter, but unless Nozdormu and the Bronze say something is going to go horribly wrong, he can stay and make sure his Consort is safe."

I rolled my eyes, "Good luck getting a straight answer from a Bronze."

That got a laugh from her and she nodded, "A small tip, Atregos. If they are not panicking, it's usually not too bad."

I nodded, "I come up with something similar… if a bronze dragon don't show up to stop you, how bad of a decision can it really be?"

The Dragonqueen looked somewhat amused at that and scratched beneath my right eye, "There is that. I heard you had a had a breakthrough with your project?"

"I did," I answered and shifted my wings, "It still require some testing, but I think I solved the power storage and collection problem required for the ship to be effective."

She nodded, "What would you need to construct the vessel? To bring it with you between worlds?"

"…I still need to test that, I have only theorized how that could be done," I warned her.

"But that's what would be required to move large amounts between worlds."

I sighed, "Yeah, anything else I would need to carry. As for what I need… some three hundred tons of dwemer metal, ten to twenty tons of adamantium, couple of tons of silver. We would need to build it in Skyrim and mine the ruins. That or figure out how to actually make the stuff or something just as good. Etherium seems like it would be even better, but I have only been able to track down even a small sliver of it."

Alexstrasza looked thoughtful, "Having things reliant on a limited resource seems risky. If you could figure it out, it would be a great boon."

"Mmm. I am heading to Skyrim for a drop of next week. Could extend that a bit and examine one of the dwemer ruins to see if there are any clues."

She looked thoughtful and looked out over the trees far below the top of the tower, "Perhaps a more through expedition would be in order. We do need that material if you are ever going to be able to build the ship, correct?"

"…Could probably make it with adamantium and other metals, but none has been as optimal so far other than etherium," I admitted, "I guess even steel could work in a pinch, but it would be really inefficient without the right materials."

Alexstrasza noddes, "I want you to bring it up during the meeting of the Wyrmrest Accord. Organize a full expedition to the Dwemer ruins to find what you need."

"You seem very intent on getting my interplanar transport idea up and running," I said after a moment as I looked at her, "I thought the Dragonflights were going to stay on this Plane."

"We are, until we have found a way to defeat the Old Gods," Alexstrasza explained and ran her hand across my head to rest on the tip of my snout as she smiled, "I believe that the answers are out there on other Planes. Even if you are the only one of us that can travel between them, making it more efficient to move people and materials back and forth would speed that up a great deal and put less strain on you, World Walker."

I slowly nodded and gave the palm of her hand a nuzzle, "We could even set up colonies on different planes, guaranteeing that the Dragonflights could never be wiped out."

"That as well," she agreed sadly, "While this world seems safe, we don't yet know if there might be something worse than the Old Gods. Something created the White Walkers after all."

That was a very good point. While this seemed like one of the safer ones, those things had come from somewhere.

"True," I sighed and shifted my tail across the stone, the club scraping slightly, "But what Planes would work? Skyrim is dangerous, the locals fear and hate dragons. Tyria is… just no. Earth had potential, if danger. Now it's filled with magic users that see anything non-human as beasts or slaves. Caldeum have more demons than Azeroth."

"The Planes would have to be carefully chosen," she agreed and let her hand drop from my snout, "But I believe it may be a worthwhile task."

"Really well worth," I said and scraped my claws against the floor as I got up, spreading my wings in a stretch, "Would require more exploration though."

"Luckily, that's something you rather enjoy, isn't it?"

"It is," I admitted, "After we return from Skyrim, we'll head out for a month or two."

Alexstrasza smiled at me, "Be careful, Atregos. We need you to stay safe."

"I'm always careful."

Her eyebrow arched, "I remember having to heal you more than once. Re-growing your eyes come to mind."

"I'm always careful," I protested, "…It's just not always enough. It is dangerous out there and always unexpected."

"…It is indeed," Alexstrasza agreed quietly.





AN// Unbetaed. Sorry for being a bit disorganized for a bit, things have been crazy at work. I have barely had time at all to write for almost a month, it's difficult to be creative when constantly stressed. Hopefully things will calm down a bit now.

 

[Hiver]

Dropping down onto the couch next to Sheila, I shifted to rest my head against the top of hers.

She glanced up from her book with a small smile, "Seriously, dragons and cats. How was the meeting?"

"…Productive," I admitted, "No effort will be taken to retrieve Wrathion. Just have to check on him in five months and see if it's over."

"You're worried about Venir."

"A bit," I sighed and then nodded, "But she can more than handle herself."

Sheila nodded and closed her book, shifting to lean against me in turn, "And what of the trip to skyrim?"

"It is getting expanded to a full expedition and pushed back a week for preparations," I said and nuzzled at her hair, "Twenty dragons and dragonkin in total. Caelestrasz will be leading the expedition once we leave them there."

Sheila shifted away and frowned up at me, "Okay, the dragons I can see blending in, but the dragonkin?"

I shook my head, "Don't need to. I talked it over with Caelestrasz after the meeting, the plan is for him to come with us to one of the branches and we track down a location with Dwemer ruins. Then for everyone portal there from where we arrived."

"We have had worse plans in the past," Sheila agreed with a nod, "Should work I would think. I'm coming this time."

"Didn't expect anything else."

Sheila nodded, "Talked about it with Ren, we're both coming this time."

I don't need a babysitter. But I was hardly going to complain about spending more time with my Consorts. I might not be that bright, but nobody was that stupid.

"Sounds good, "I agreed as I slipped my arm around her, "What are you reading?"

"Budget report."

"Riveting."

That got an amused sound from her, "I figured you would think so. It's for our embassy in King's Landing."

I scowled at that, "Those fuckers don't deserve an embassy."

"The Consortium might not talk to them anymore, but the Flights still need to have a venue of communication with them" Sheila sighed, "I was there a couple of weeks ago. Not the nicest people, but somehow they always treated us with respect."

"Might have had something to do with your guards," I told her with a smirk.

When doing her entire envoy thing, she always had a pair of armoured and armed dragonkin with her. Usually also a dragon or two she was with.

"As I understand it, you also left a bit of impression."

"Mmm, might have."

I should have eaten the bitch. Then again, no way that could have been good for my stomach. Not that the look of their faces when I transformed into my real form in the middle of their throneroom wasn't satisfying.

Sheila grinned and shook her head, "Silly lizard," and then stretched and rested her head against my shoulder, getting comfortable.

Putting my arm around her, I sighed and relaxed.

This was nice.

I was always expecting something to burst into fire at any mom…

I cringed when there was a knock on the door. Fucking damn it. I was perfectly happy for a second there, can't have that!

"If we don't answer, maybe they go away?" I asked with a sigh."

"Since when are we ever that lucky?" Sheila said with a grin and shook her ear as she rolled her eyes, "Better go check whatever they want. Ten to one it's for you."

Nuzzling at her hair, I nodded, "I'll kick them out as soon as possible," before getting up and heading for the door to kick the first person I saw in the head.

Seriously, unless the Tower is on fire, fuck off.

"Yes?" I asked and opened the door. Empty. What in the…

Then I looked down to see a smiling, strawberry blonde little gnome in a white robe and bronze pauldrons,

"Heya!"

"No! Nope!" I yelled and slammed the door closed in slight panic, "No!"

"Hey! Nothing like that!" Chromie yelled in indignation from the other side of the thick oak, "Just saying hi!"

Opening the door, I peered out at her, "Don't believe you."

Chromie glared at me, "Just let me in! It's not work related, stupid!"

"Last time you wanted something, we ended up traveling through time and went up against the Burning Legion alone!"

Chromie just rolled her eyes.






AN// Many thanks to Jerion 'Wyverntamer' Kràl for betaing this section.

 

[Hiver]

Chromie laughed, "And then he said, that's my chicken!"

I couldn't help but laugh as I shifted my wings. Chromie had the best stories, though I suppose that did come from traveling all across time and meeting the most interesting people.

We had relocated to the top of the tower when Sheila had to head to bed so as not to bother her. I had returned to my real form for it to be more comfortable while Chromie was more than satisfied just using my front leg as a chair.

Chromie was a very strange dragon as she preferred to stay in mortal form as much as possible. I didn't even prefer that, and I used to be one!

She grinned and took a pull from a bottle of amber liquid, some sort of brandy. She then offered it to me and when I opened my mouth she poured a good amount on my tongue.

Oh man, that's some strong stuff.

Not one for drinking really, but that burned rather nicely.

"…Do you hide those back in time and let them age?" I asked and eyed her suspiciously.

She just winked and took another sip, "Would you?"

"Most likely?"

She grinned and crossed her arms, leaning back against my left upper fore leg, "There you go."

"So, what have you been up to?"

"Oh, this and that. Can't tell you a lot of it."

Hmh.

I suppose I could see that, especially if she had been forward in time. I then blinked and looked at her, "Chromie?"

"Hmm?"

"…You aren't the one from this time frame, are you?"

She shrugged a bit, "Does it matter?" and sipped her drink.

I considered that for a moment and then shrugged my wings, "I suppose not. Mostly curious."

Chromie nodded, "I'm actually not from this time frame."

"So why are you here?"

She shrugged again, "Was bored and didn't have anything I needed to do and neither had you for a couple of days."

"Good to know I suppose," I said before I looked at the dragon pretending to be a gnome, "…Will my consorts be alright?"

"Wouldn't keep it from you if they wouldn't," Chromie admitted, "I want the five of you to be happy."

I blinked at her, "…Five? I have three Consorts."

She looked at me in surprise before she frowned in thought, "How many years is it since we came to Westeros? Did I overshoot?"

I just stared at the gnome for a long second before she grinned and laughed so hard she fell off her perch on my fore leg.

Snorting, I rolled my eyes, "Very funny."

"I thought so!"

"I should punt you over the edge."

"Don't you dare!" she exclaimed and struggled onto her feet, pointing at my snout, her bottle in her hand, "Large ones always make jokes about punting gnomes! Gnomes are an old and distinct culture!"

I nodded, "Yep. And also, very puntable."

She growled at me.

It was fucking adorable coming from a gnome. I quickly bowed down in submission, my head against the stone beneath us, "Forgive me o mighty time gnome. This drake knows not what he speaks of!"

"And don't you forget it!"

We started to laugh after a couple of seconds and she sat back down on the stone, holding the bottle back out to me, and I opened my muzzle so she could pour some more onto my tongue, "You're heading out in a couple of weeks."

"I am," I agreed and swallowed before I settled down to look at her more or less eye to eye, "…Anything I should know?"

Chromie shrugged and took a sip from her bottle.

"…Right, no spoilers," I sighed.

"Sorry, but you know that could cause more damage than it could prevent even if it cost half a dragon flight. Which it won't. You know what I mean."

"Yeah," I admitted before I eyed her, "I don't envy you bronze ones. Knowing things that are coming and being mostly forbidden from changing them…"

Chromie looked at me for a moment before she smiled a bit, "On the other side, you get to see a lot of amazing things."





AN// Many thanks to FPSCanarussia for betaing this section.

 

[Hiver]

I crashed back into reality and spread my wings for balance, the movement beating up a cloud of snow before I looked around, blinking.

I was in the open, but close to a collection of trees, the snow was thick enough to almost reach my stomach and it was snowing heavily.

Sheila wouldn't like that.

Turning around to make sure nobody was in sight, I then started to cast arcane explosions, blasting the powdery snow away from me until I could see bare stone.

…That'll have to be enough.

Turning my head, I raised a claw to float the soulstones out from one of the many large bags trapped to me from nose to tailtip.

I really need to get the damn ship ready.

A pulse of magic into the soulstones and they started to reform, flowing away from me in smoke and flame before congealing into their inhabitants.

Sheila squeaked as she felt the cold and rushed to dig her clothes out of my bags. Everyone else had a bit calmer reactions.

Caelestrasz stumbled slightly before the night-elf-looking dragon stood up and looked around, "So this is Skyrim."

"It is," Ren agreed and then frowned, "A bit snowier than usual. This is nice."

He rolled his eyes and headed over to find one of his bags and started getting dressed. As Ren did the same, the dragon-kin started to unload the rest of the bags and pull out their armours.

The group consisted of three dragons: a wyrm and two drakes, not counting Ren and Sheila, and ten dragonkin.

All of whom would be left behind in Skyrim while we move on. At least once we found a good place for them to explore.

As soon as I was fully unloaded, I channelled my magic and turned back to mortal form before stretching, "That was heavy."

Caelestrasz grinned, "You did need to carry everything we needed to bring. Just be glad it was all in expanded bags."

"If it wasn't, you would have had to wait until I became a wyrm to carry it all," I snorted and then almost gagged as the wind whipped around and put my hair in my mouth.

Damn it!

Fucking damn it!

Sheila giggled at me as she finished getting dressed. Sighing, I got my hair back in control. I then dug into my satchel, "Okay, everyone that's coming and can't look human, take a ring."

"I'm going, everyone else stay here and set up camp among the trees," Caelestrasz ordered his group, "Be ready to move as soon as we portal back."

"You'll still need a ring."

He smiled a bit, "I might not be a Blue, but I have learned little illusions like that in my life. Though this does seem easier," he admitted and took one of the rings, slipping it on. He didn't change overly much, his skin shifted to dark instead of purple and his ears, eyes and hair shifted to look human.

So did his general body shape.

You could still recognize his mortal form, but he was now the human version.

Caelestrasz blinked and held his hand up, looking at the ring, "This isn't an illusion."

"Nope. Meta-adaptive continuous polymorph enchantment," I agreed and shouldered my satchel again.

"Impressive."

"Not that tricky. Harder to do as a spell," I said and turned to Ren, "Ready?"

She looked at Sheila, who nodded, then she nodded in turn, "Ready," before opening a portal to the branch in Whiterun.

"Let's get out of this cold!" Sheila said and quickly lead the way through. Oh yeah, it's like twenty below freezing.

I looked over at the group, "Stay out of sight. The locals aren't big fans of dragons."

Or waaay too big fans of dragons.

"Master Atreus! Welcome back to Whiterun!" Galkir exclaimed as he walked into the portal room, "Lady Stark and Lady Ren! Welcome!"

Sheila smiled and gave Galkir a quick hug, "Thank you, Galkir, it's nice to be back."

"It is," I agreed and motioned to Caelestrasz, "This is Cael, we're actually on a bit of a quest."

Galkir nodded, "Of course, of course. Come, I'll do whatever I can to help. The shipment is ready as well."

"We have some for you too," Sheila confirmed, "How's your wife?"

"Quite good! With business growing and the expansion to Tamriel, we have been able to purchase a mansion! She's quite pleased with me."

I shared a look with Cael and grinned before I followed them. Sheila always was better with people than I was.




AN// Many thanks to Crembo for betaing this section. Posted early because need to head out early tomorrow.

 

[Hiver]

Cael tapped his fingers on the table as he watched the map spread out on it, "How about this one, Alftand?"

Ren shifted through the reports and then nodded, "It's a clear possibility. It's quite remote and in an inhospitable location. There are rumors that it's very deep and a rather large location."

Sheila nodded, "A very strong candidate I would say, it's in the middle of a mountain range and way above the tree line and has snow year around," and then reached for one of the notes Ren were looking at, "It's… in the middle of a glacier. Nobody sane would have explored that already."

"Perfect for us!" I said with a grin, earning a double eyeroll from Sheila and Ren. Score, double! That's a rare one!

"Alftand then," Cael agreed and rolled up the map, "We should travel there as soon as possible."

"Eager to get started?" I asked and looked out the window. Snowing again. Nice.

He grinned and nodded, "Exploring a ruin full of ancient knowledge unknown to anyone from our Plane, finding out how to make Dwemer metal… I can't wait."

"Not to mention finding out more about the Dwemer themselves," Sheila agreed, "It's interesting."

"Do we need to find more supplies?" Ren asked as she shuffled together the notes on Alftand, "It's in the middle of a glacier, not much to hunt there. You can only life on conjured food for so long."

Cael considered it for a second before he shook his head, "No. Worst case, the drakes can go hunting or we can return here and purchase more if necessary. We brought plenty, especially when expanded with conjured food."

"Sounds like a plan," I agreed, "We'll leave tomorrow. We should use conjured horses for about a day's ride from the town and then fly the rest of the way."

Cael frowned, "Isn't there a portal close by Winterhold?"

"Relatively," I agreed and then hmmed, "We could portal there. It would be closer than riding from here and in the middle of nowhere. We could transform and fly from there. Good idea."

Sheila shook her head, "We can do that," before she looked at Cael, "Except you shouldn't fly. You're a Wyrm, you would stand out way too much. You'll ride on Rengosa, Atreus carry me."

Cael nodded, "…Agreed."

He was larger than a couple of elephants put together, not as large as Kalecgos, but still very big.

I could tell he didn't overly like the idea of not flying under his own power, but he went along with it.

Ren looked over at me, "Should we rest for a day or two first?"

I hesitated for a moment. Getting there would involve a day's flight and Walking was always tiring.

"…Perhaps it's better to wait until tomorrow," I admitted, "A night's rest would be nice."

Cael nodded, "Understandable. I think I'll explore the town until dark. Anything I need to know?"

Ren shook her head, "Not really. Just watch the locals and do what they do. I recommend the Bannered Mare, the food there is pretty good. Ask Galkir on the way out, he'll give you some money."

As Cael left, I moved to sit down in one of the comfy chairs, rubbing my eyes. Damn, it's nice to sit down.

"Knew you were tired," Ren said with a grin as she sat down on the other free chair, pulling her legs up beneath her as she put a book in her lap.

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled and picked up my satchel, digging through it for my notebook only for Sheila to take the book away from me, "Hey!" I started to protest only to quickly be derailed as she sat down across my lap and put her head against my shoulder.

…She's right, this is much better than making enchanting calculations.

I quickly put my arms around her and she made a small soft sigh,

"…Atreus?"

"Yeah?" I asked and played with a lock of her hair.

She glanced up at me, "You want to go digging through those ruins, don't you?"

"…Kind of do," I admitted and sighed, "But not our job this time. We'll just have to make sure they get settled in and then head of to see what we can find."

"I know what you mean," Sheila agreed and smiled a bit, "I miss it, the exploration."

Ren grinned, "Luckily, that's what we are doing next!"

"Yeah, will be fun," Sheila agreed and stretched a bit before relaxing, "We're not returning to town before we head off, right?"

"I think so," I agreed, "Head out… do two or three stops, basically as far out as we get in a month and a half and then head back here going another way, see what we find."

Sheila nodded, "Right. So this is the last reliable source of food and other supplies for at least three months."

"We can always hunt?" Ren suggested and closed her book, "Always something to hunt."

Sheila shook her head, "Not always. Best case, yes, but we really should bring enough food for three months. Or at least enough that the rest can be conjured."

I would must rather stay right where I was.

But she was right.

Like usual.

Damn it.

Sighing, I nodded, "…Yeah, you're right. We should go over our supplies and see what we need to get before tomorrow."



AN// Unbetaed due to lack of time. Posted early because of early morning tomorrow.

 

[Hiver]

Resting on my wings, I peered down towards the mountain and ice below, slowly banking to the left to circle. Towers reached up from the ice, some sticking up some thirty meters above.

The fact that they were still standing while contained inside a fricking glacier said something about Dwemer construction abilities. Okay, the Flight would be able to do the same, but it was still impressive.

But that didn't draw my attention, that was normal when it came to Dwemer stuff. It just kept on ticking even when half broken down.

The wooden sheds and structures, bridges along the edge of the glacier. People had been here… but all of it was snowed over. The tents were blown over, snow piled up.

"Where is everyone?" Sheila asked from my saddle, bundled up in heavy clothes and a heating sphere held hugged close.

"No idea," I answered and banked around for another pass, beating my wings against the snow and wind, "But they have been gone for a while. Whatever happened here, it was a while ago. Weeks if not months."

"Go in for a landing," Sheila said, "Won't be able to tell anything more from up here."

I nodded and started to slowly sink lower, Rengosa following me down.

"Think it may have been those beings we found in one of these once?" I asked as I pulled up hard, beating my wings against the wind as I settled down in the snow. It reached almost to my stomach.

"Wouldn't surprise me," Sheila agreed and climbed of my saddle into the snow, reaching almost to her waist, "…Oh great."

I just chuckled and started to clear out a space for her.

"Any idea what happened here?" Cael asked and blasted some snow away with a wave of force as he made his way over.

I sat down and folded my wings, shaking my head, "No. But I suspect Falmer… some sort of beings that tend to infest these ruins. Them or maybe Frost Trolls… or could be Dwemer automatons. Basically, anything to be honest, Dwemer ruins isn't exactly safe…. Which kind of explain why they tend to be mostly unexplored beyond the first level or two even with the treasures inside."

Cael nodded and looked around, "We should set up the portal inside."

"Might be safer outside," Ren warned and padded up behind him, "Like Atregos said, these ruins are infested."

Cael looked thoughtful before he shook his head, "Better to set up in a defensible position. We're out in the open here."

He had a good point there.

I nodded, "There should be an entrance somewhere. If nothing else, those wooden bridges along the glacier edge is there for a reason. They likely found a way in."

Cael nodded thoughtfully, "Atregos, take a flight along the edge of the ice, see what you can find. We'll make our way to the bridges."

Nodding, I took to the skies.

It didn't take long to find an entrance, a wide crack in the ice with boards leaning against it, forming a bridge into the ice.

Returning to the group, I landed and folded my wings, "Found a possible way inside. Along the southern way… I should be able to fit through but I don't think Rengosa will."

It did look kind of tight.

Cael nodded, "Stay in your real form if possible in case we need it," he said before he hesitated for a second, "…You are in charge, you know this world better than I do."

I nodded, "I'll stay like this if I fit," I agreed before I looked at Ren, "Turn back, back Sheila up. Cael, you take the front and watch your step. These places are filled with traps."

Sheila hmmed and looked at me, "You take up the rear."

"As long as possible," I agreed and deployed my armour fully. It looked like I would be able to fit.

As it turned out, I was wrong. Some ten steps inside, I needed to turn back or I wouldn't be able to fit.

The passage in the ice was narrow, the bottom covered with frost and snow. The light from the outside was barely enough to make it visible.

Sheila raised her hand and created a ball of green fire, lightning the way for us as we slowly moved deeper thought the ice.

It didn't take long until we ran into the first remains. A human male laying on the ice, frosted over and frozen solid.

Cael went down on one knee and rolled him over, there was a ripping sound as the frost pealed off him from the ice. There was an arrow in his chest, a primitive looking one. He reached to pull it out before he frowned at it, "Falmer?" he asked.

Sheila nodded, "Looks like. Be vigilant, they hunt by sound."

Cael nodded in turn and got back up, pulling a sword from his belt before leading the way further into the tunnel, leaving me to take up the rear. Pulling a dagger from my belt, I glanced behind us as we moved further in.

I don't like Falmer. They were creepy as fuck and scarily good at shooting things with arrows.

Illusions did fuck all to them. At least my best oines.






AN// Unbetaed due to lack of time. Sorry.