I quickly scooped up all the dragon remains and put them inside my ring. Thorum didn't comment, just watching me as I took the spoils from my kill. I don't know what he was going to do with the other one, but I didn't make a move on it, it was he to do with as he pleases.
My swords hovered behind me, and I couldn't help but want to show them off to my friend who was in fact taking a good look at them. After a few moments or so, I did return them to my ring. I was distracted by a few more looks I took of my surroundings, burnt farmland all around us. The last time I was here, there were fields and fields of various crops planted all around the area, farm houses, watermills, yet....I could see nothing outside the walls of Whiterun.
Was this also my fault? The sheer breath of farmland that was nothing more than burnt earth....
Would things have turned out different if I didn't act out like I did?
I forced myself to think of other things, turning back to my friend.
"How'd the dragon souls taste this time?" I asked.
"About the same." He smiled. "But the one I got from your dragon, it sorta had this 'cooked' taste to it."
While he isn't actually eating the dragon souls in the way one would assume, I could more or less guess that was my Power of Destruction nipping it a little before I withdrew. Perhaps it was just how his mortal mind was coping with the metaphysical concepts colliding with him. It made sense to him in the simplest way he could understand.
I just let out a small chuckle. "So, what's this I hear about you learning some more advanced magic?" We started walking back towards the city, only being about as far away as the watch tower from the first time we fought.
Thorum had a prideful grin on his face. "I managed to learn the Restoration spells." A light burst out from his hand as he started to heal the minor wounds around his body. Looking at my own arms, I did something similar. I wasn't wounded in any meaningful way, but I allowed some things to affect me more than I should have.
Thankfully, that thing the dragon did wasn't a curse in the normal sense, merely parsed like one while in effect. As soon as the dragon died, the lingering effects vanished.
"Impressive, that should be an intermediate version of the basic healing spell, yes?"
"Aye, they were the most difficult for me to learn, but after I absorbed a couple Dragon souls, it started to come easier."
That makes sense, he was gaining the experience from the dragons he slayed. One of them was bound to give him a better understanding towards magic in general.
"What about you, my friend? That spell you used was mighty impressive, I doubt there was anyone inside the city who didn't witness it." He slapped my shoulder.
"You like it?" I couldn't help but beam under his praise. "It was a spell I created under the help of my teacher. One of many more I have yet to use outside of training."
"A teacher? For you to want to train under someone, they must be quite the mage or warrior."
"She was…..special." I sighed.
"Sounds like there's more of a story there than I thought." He looked at me strangely.
"Well, by the end, she wasn't 'just' my teacher." I shot him a smirk.
He bellowed out a laugh, taking a moment to regain his composure. "I envy you, my friend. As much as I revered the Grey Beards, they were no beautiful woman."
"Yeah, I could admire her beauty every day as she kicked my ass." I snorted.
"Ah, a powerful woman at that. As a Nord that just makes it even more impressive."
"Admittedly, I do like that she could beat me up. Strong women definitely fall into my 'type."
"That reminds me, what about your other….woman. Me – "
I quickly covered his mouth, shushing him. He didn't react overtly, more so just confused at what I was doing. "Careful, lots of prying eyes around here." I looked up into the sky. If I focused, I could just barely sense some invisible fluctuations of space around us where entities were peeking through higher dimensions.
I dared not poke them any.
"I understand." Thorum nodded, while I don't think he thoroughly knew what I was speaking about, he could probably guess that people were eavesdropping. Telling all those other higher entities that Meridia and I were in a relationship would probably bring her trouble, and I didn't want that for her.
Even if I did blatantly use Dawnbreaker. At the very least, I wanted all those who watched to know that I belonged to her, even if they didn't know that she was also mine.
"Tell me about this other women then, who could match up to the one you spoke of before?" He questioned, a big smile on his face.
"Scáthach is her name." I stated, a small smile forming as I reminisced about her. "A right bitch, but I wouldn't have her any other way. Kicked my ass for a couple years to get me into fighting shape. Helped me with my magic and….had the cutest laugh. A very sharp tongue, but was also very sweet when she wanted to be." I had to force myself from running a hand through my hair, my tick ever present. "She wielded a spear, doubt there will ever be a person I meet who could match her in that regard."
"She sounds like an amazing women, I would be happy to meet her one day." Thorum nodded along at my explanation. "And what do you mean years? You were gone a month, was she your teacher before?"
"Well, that's a bit hard to explain. Time is…relative." I paused for a moment considering how to explain this but decided to give up. "I'll give a better explanation later." This would be a whole other conversation to have. "Unfortunately, she's…. preoccupied for now, but in the future I'll definitely being her around here. I have no doubt you'll get along well with her. Hell, she could drink everyone at the companions under the table."
He didn't seem to at all dwell on my dismissal of his question. "Oh, those are some strong words there, my friend."
"I will put money on it."
He let out a big laugh. "We will have to see then." He clearly took it as a challenge.
"In the meantime, how about I introduce you to my other woman when she has some free time?" The corners of my lips curled up at his confused expression.
"My friend, just how many women do you have?"
"Four." I laughed.
"Four!?" He looked at me in shock. "That deserves many drinks." He shook his head in exasperation. "And they are all aware of each other?"
"Of course, do you think I would play around with them like that?"
"I did not mean to imply anything, I know you are honorable and would not take advantage of their hearts in such a way." Thorum hastily replied. "But four!? You must teach me this magic."
"The Magic of being handsome." I flashed him a cheeky smile.
"Being handsome is it?" He grabbed me and got me into a headlock. "Are you saying I am not handsome? Shall we go ask the fair maidens in the local tavern who is better looking?"
"No way, my girl would have my hide if I did something like that." I squirmed under his grip. Meridia would definitely be upset if I did something as provocative as that.
"I will take this as you admitting defeat then." Thorum said triumphantly. "But tell me of these others, who else had managed to catch your eye?"
"Artoria is wonderful." I couldn't help but smile. "Strong, honorable, a knight. If Scathach could drink us all under the able, Artoria could do the same with food." I let out a chuckle. "She's also very kind and gentle, always willing to help people in need. Jinn is, difficult to describe. But I wouldn't trade her for the world. She's the mage type, likes to keep her head buried in books. She's a bit mischievous, likes to tease or generally just have conversations. She's adventurous, willing to try almost any new thing. But you'll be able to see that for yourself soon."
"Aye, they sound like good women as well, I continue envy you." He slapped my shoulder again. "You say they here as well?"
"Yeah, they're currently at the college. My grandfather's student is here too, Rin. She's like a sister to me and I wanted her to get some experience outside of her 'workshop'."
"Another mage type? I can't wait to meet them." Thorum gave his big goofy smile.
"What about you, how many women did the Dragonborn manage to woo? I raised an eyebrow.
He coughed awkwardly, and I couldn't help but laugh at the way he got flustered. "I may have spent a night or two with a women, but nothing beyond that."
"There's no way I'm just leaving it at that, give me more details."
"Oh, we're back." Thorum changed the subject.
"You're not getting out of this that easily." I pursed my lips, but I would allow him his respite. He was clearly embarrassed in some capacity, so I wouldn't bring it up in public.
"Dragonborn!" Several voices shouted out as we approached the gates, but one carried a bit more. A guard walked forward, greeting us. "Thank you again for dealing with the dragons." He turned to me. "And welcome back to Whiterun, Red Dragon Emperor."
"What?" I couldn't help but blurt out.
"Did I say something wrong?" The guard looked at me in confusion.
"….Why did you call me Red Dragon Emperor?"
"Did you not know, my friend? That's the name everyone has taken to calling you." Thorum laughed.
I just blinked at his words. "How….why?" I mean, it was technically correct, but how did even the people here start calling me that?
"Ever since the dragons started showing up and calling for the Dragonborn and the Red Dragon Emperor…." The Guard replied. "Folks have just started calling you that since most don't know your name."
"That's fair I suppose." Rin is going to make fun of me for this.
[I have decided, Skyrim is a beautiful land and you will cherish it.]
Thanks for your input, Ddraig.
"The Jarl called for the Dragonborn once the fight finished, I believe he would wish to speak with you as well." The armored man stated, giving me a look that basically told me to follow Thorum.
"That's fine, I was here to drop off supplies from the College anyways." Bleh, didn't want to deal with the Jarl any more than I had to. I could probably use the College as a shield if he tried to rope me into anything though.
I took a look around the fortifications. There were many armed guards manning the walls, bows and arrows ready for an emergency, but it looked like they were placing quite a bit of trust on Thorum to have handled the dragons.
Well, from what I've been told so far, he's been doing a great job of it.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I think I spotted a few mages walking around with the guards as well. They stood out due to their different preferences in clothing and defensive wear.
"Where did the mages come form." I asked Thorum as we continued on our way.
"I thought you came from the college?" He looked at me. "We had some mages from there come aid us, most cities received support from the College."
"The Archmage did mention something about that." I rubbed my chin. "I guess just seeing them not being so blatantly despised threw me off."
"Aye, these dragons have forced many people to come together in these troubling times. Even the stormcloaks have been working along side other races in their defense of Skyrim."
"Stormcloaks, haven't thought of them since our first meeting." I sighed, remembering how I first came to Skyrim.
"How odd it is to think of being bound and headed for the block as simpler times." Thorum snorted. "Not just dragons, there had been whispers of vampires making more appearances in the east. Mostly just talk in the taverns, but the Jarl hasn't denied them even after they're on everyone's lips, so most people are taking them as fact."
"Vampires, huh." I briefly thought about what I knew of the Vampires here. "Nasty bunch."
"Right they are. Never heard nothin good said about a vampire, but I hope they're just rumors people don't need to be worry about their neighbor's being monsters." Thorum sighed.
That would just add more onto this already depressing situation. I decided to shift the subject away from them for now. "Feels like a lifetime ago when we first met on that cart.." I muttered. "How have things been, Thorum?" I only asked him a question or two, but I still don't know how exactly he's been holding up.
"Surviving." He had a calm smile on his face. "The companions are still going, a few more members have been lost here or there, but they've picked up on recruitment though."
We approached the Jarl's hall, Guards respectfully ushering us forward.
"I guess we can talk about the big stuff later." I mused, admiring the familiar building. I still had a lot of questions, how his training went, what he's been up to in more detail, his previous fights, what magics he's learned. But those would be best left for when we can talk over some drinks.
"Big stuff? Should I be prepared for more women you haven't told me about?" He gave a good natured laugh.
I cleared my throat awkwardly. "About that…."
His laughing stopped and he stared at me. "You, my friend, are an admirable man." He clasped my shoulders. "Atleast I shan't be surprised anymore at this point."
"Did I mention I have a daughter now?"
His reaction did give me a genuine smile.
****
Best buddies are reunited at last as they catch up on what's been going on. On a side note, i'm going to try and get the second part of the Wilhelm Schweinorg, Attorney at Law Omake up tomorow, but no promises.
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