Letting a huge sigh out of her mouth, Endelle hid behind the rock. The perfect shot, ruined by a man she could kill with her bare fists! Maybe she should've went alone, these folks are only making it harder. First of, she can't smell anything, the terrible smell of the arcane is making her brain melt inside her skull. Endelle swore to never make use of her powers, but maybe she had to break this promise if she wanted to stay alive. An internal conflict was raging inside her: flee or fight? Her brain said flee, heart saying fight. Whatever she chooses, not everyone would get out alive of this. That was maybe the first time in her life where she didn't knew what to do.

She stood behind the rock as the Breton ignited a circle of fire around herself and the dragon. No matter how strong she was, that was definitely something that would exhaust even the strongest mages. Quite the prowess, indeed. If Endelle were to fight her, she would have to be careful. That would've been even more impressive, if the drake didn't extinguish it in a single gust of wind, followed by a shriek. This dragon was definitely having none tonight.

Now the mage Nord also gave up on fighting. Nothing new coming from him. Alright, they were all fools. Dead fools, if they keep going on like this. At least the other hunter was a little bit sane...

What in the Oblivion was that?! Now she was joining them, this poor Imperial stood up and walked towards it. Dropping everything she had, in a sign of trust. Alright, now Endelle was out of options... Well there was always the last resort... No! Not with these folks around. One thing for sure, she wasn't exposing herself to that creature. So Eagle-Eye crouched in silence, immobile, behind the rocky debris of the watch tower. Still hidden in the shadows and in the lizard's blind spot, she was sure to not be the target of an attack. Now if only the guards or the Companions would react faster, that would be great. No sight of them, though. Taking a quick peek around, she noticed what the hunter dropped. The usual stuff... Except for that stone tablet, what could it be? That's a question for another day, if they were still alive.

Endelle also noticed that the Nord mage was holding a rune under the dragon. Maybe he was distracting it to blow up the rune when unexpected? That could turn out to be a good plan. Although, he sounded sincere when he meant peace. Agh! Nothing to do, they are scared and unpredictable. An awful mix. Might as well listen to the dragon, if there was nothing else to do. 

Bored. Endelle was bored.

Makoa rubbed his head, he saw blood splattered on the ground behind him, he lay on his back, incredible pain shot through his leg. His hand held the rune in place, now useless since the dragon took off, he was wasting his magicka. He looked down to see his leg mangled, bloody and already bruising. He knew he could heal it, but that would require him to let go of the rune.

Looking around, Makoa let the power strain for a little longer, then cease. The rune exploded in shards and spikes of ice, flying everywhere in a dome shape. None of the ice hit the ground, and the ones that hit the dragon, just bounced off the beast's scales and did absolutely no damage. 

He grabbed a potion of magicka and poured it over himself, his skin soaked in the blue liquid and he felt empowered, using 'close wounds', a spell he was very framiliar with, he healed his leg and stood up, his other leg was bruised and battered, but still useable, blood dripped down his face, his head must've cracked a bit and started to bleed. His braid became a red instead of brown, and his hands stopped shaking. His internal conflict about killing stopped, his fear disappeared and he was no longer a child. He flexed and grabbed sparks, a spell he needed to use.

He faced the dragon, along with the hunters, who had their bows ready. His arms, hands and chest started to flow with electricity. "Zu'u los nii aan sahlo!", he thought. Still injured, blood seeping from his wounds, he ignored the pain, shooting lightning forward, he stared at the dragon. As the blue power streamed through the air, he controlled it with his mind, flowing it toward the dragon.

Each shot hit its mark. They left burnt, damaged scales in their wake. Even though his injuries kept him from moving, he continued to shoot the powerful attacks, after a few moments, he used his left hand to make a powerful ward, he inspected the dragon.

"Zu'u nii sahlo, hi los aan nikriin!" Makoa took a breath, "Hi ru, zu'u krif!" Releasing another bolt of lighting. He looked around, the hunters hid behind their rubble, kneeling, their bows drawn, and the breton stood defenseless. He shook his head, he stood in the open, brave, daring, while the hunters hid from the fight, and the breton just wanted to be killed. Makoa shook his head. 

"Aanwo dir dahsul!" He shouted as loud as possible.

"laas", he thought. The word rang in his head... Without thinking, he drained his magicka, his body felt weak and vulnerable, with a last push, Makoa sent a powerful armor spell on the breton, guarding her, his last dying breath saw the dragon fly in the air, there was a moment of silence when the world froze, then... darkness.

The smell of smoke filled the air, and Arra began to choke on it.  Her hair was black and skin stony in color.  With eyes watering and burning from the ash, the breton pulled herself from the ground.  She remembered landing hard from being so close to the Dragon's wings, but she was not standing where she was before.  That Imperial was bowing before the Dragon, but they weren't that far from each other before, were they?  Meanwhile the Blonde woman kept her place behind the rock, and the mage...

She felt the tingling of magic surrounding her.  It felt like a warm fire on a rainy day, or a dip in a lake on a hot one.  Magicka enveloped her in a skin-tight bubble, a powerful protective one.

She looked to the caster of the spell just as he dropped to the ground limp. She saw a hold guard lying near him, she did not know where he came from, none of the guards were so close before. She called to him to check the mage, which he did, and then mumbled something and dragged him away.  By the Divines that man had better live.

She waited for the Dragon to make his move, he has been attacked and has one bowing before him, what he will do, or won't do, is what she's waiting for.

It was all too absurd. A chilly wind blew over the darkening field. Kat tried to keep from shaking. From the corner of her view she noticed a suspiciously large group of hold guards dragging the limp but apparently still breathing mage away, their torches high in halfhearted defense like a fleeing glowbug. Her gut twisted. What took the man down had better be his own fault. Reason to fight was not a valuable commodity right now.

Meanwhile the breton stood helplessly trying to clear away the soot of her former flame wall. As Kat moved to help, the dragon nailed her down with his icy rumble-hiss. She understood.

"Golz? Golz los hin, dii -"
What was the word again?
"- thur. Krosis fahdoni vothaarn." She managed to stabilize her voice and hoped to the nine those words meant some remotely correct thing.

The dragon's hoary head was unmoving, but Kat detected a subtle shift of pleasure in the golden depths. It did not seem calculated. The half a dozen guards left were whispering and reaching for their hilts.

"Ni krif, meyye! Rok aaz!" That came out slightly too loud. The helmets put their weapons away in a hurry as the metallic eye swept over them. All had the nerve to stay put, though. Kat wondered how long hers would last. And where was the bold hunter hiding? Even if the tablet could somehow pay for one assassination attempt, two would be pushing it.

Looking around, the Nord woman saw the mage get swung in the air and hit against a rock. Definitely going to leave some bruises and broken bones, but maybe not death. This one wasn't going to stand up for a while. The dragon's gust of wind blew everything away, including rocks, guards, swords and wood pieces. Everything could've been a lethal projectile for the folks standing before the mighty beast. The Imperial even bowed. A thought came to Endelle's mind: If the dragon wanted to kill them, why didn't he do it now? It's not like the group was opposing resistance. Maybe the dragon really wanted to talk with them. Was it lonely? Endelle laughed.

Standing up from cover, she moved the same lock of hair that keeps getting in her face. Her bright blue eyes rapidly moving around, noticing every detail on the stone. Carvings... Strange ones. Looking up, she saw the remaining eye the beast had. A beautiful golden color. Every scale had it's fair share of markings and scratches, residues of time. Everything about this creature screamed violence. Eyes, claws, mouth... Endelle could smell rage, anger, exuding from that creature. At any moment it could fly down from it's spot and butcher them all. She walked towards the other females, bow in hand, arrow in the other.

"Zu'u ni faas hi. Zu'u ov hi, fah nu."

She said, in a confident voice, not a single trace of fear inside. The lady had already seen the worst of the worst, a dragon couldn't be that worse. It's voice was really aggressive to the ears, like millions of snakes hissing together.

So the dragon also saw the stone, since it asked the Imperial to bring it to him. Or her? Do dragons have genders? Now was not the time for these interrogations. Upon getting closer to the others, she saw how young they were. Kids, they were kids. That finally explains their boldness. Ahhh, the sweet memories coming back to Endelle. She used to be like them, always rushing in, not thinking about consequences, flirting with everyone.

Those were good days, but Endelle wouldn't trade her past life for the one she was living right now. The hunter definitely surpasses the bandit and village woman. Endelle was a solid 10 years older than the yougest of the two.

The smell of ash was disgusting, but at least the irony, vanilla smell of magic was gone. Especially since ash was very volatile. Pyromancy tricks aren't going to work here, young one. Endelle turned around and looked at the dragon. It was hard to guess what it was thinking, lacking facial features similar to those of humans. Mysterious creature, that's for sure.

"Fos los faaniil?"

At least the dragon could tell her it's name.

She blinked hard to clear her eyes of soot. Apparently, the idea wasn't a good one.  No matter, she was still alive, wasn't she? All the bad idea she's had never gotten her killed, so how bad does that really make them?

The Breton looked down at her right hand, it was red with burns, which has not happened to her in a long time, the hand was used to fire. Alright, bad idea.

She started breathing more easily, her vision clearer. The Nord hunter walked by her, and they exchanged glances, her green eyes met bright blue eyes...

...But there was something in those eyes, she couldn't tell what it was, but there was more to this woman. And the other one-what was that in front of her?

The Breton snapped herself back to real life, her thoughts would be the death of her, thinking about things like this while a Dragon was around! the Nord asked the Dragon his name, and she cracked a smile as she turned her head to the mighty Dragon. 

Mu saraan, she thought.

Everyone was standing still, waiting for the dragon's answer. When he (or she?) finally revealed his name, a strange look covered the Nord's traits. Dragons from the legends all had names composed of 3 short, one syllable words. Although, Liis sounded strangely convenient. Fascinating name, for a beast. If his name wasn't like the others, was he exiled? Or maybe an outcast? Strange... Very strange... This is the worst and best day of Endelle's life. Where did he come from? Why does he want to talk to us? Too many questions were ringing in the huntress' mind. 

The spellsword appeared to be hurt by her own spell. New to the arcanes, girl? Returning the glance, Endelle saw the green eyes. A rare color in these lands. That reminds her of Gro'molech, her bandit tribe leader. He also had green eyes. Gromolech was a mentor to Endelle, almost like a father. Not very emotional, but he always meant what he said, never lying. "I know what we do is wrong, but we need that money to live, and no one wants us inside of their walls.", was probably the most touching sentence he ever pronounced. The Nord woman needs to stop daydreaming, it's nothing like her. This habit could become dangerous.

Endelle noticed relief in the Imperial's body when she got out of her hiding spot. Why? Scared that I was going to claim the kill for myself or attack your "friend" here? So the other hunter was named Kat. Very short name. She handed a pouch to the other kid, seemed like a waterskin. To heal the Breton's wounds? Burns like these can be really nasty, but nothing too dangerous.

Slightly shrugging, Eagle-Eye looked at the single eye of the dragon.

"Druv hi het?"

The blonde haired woman stepped forward, intensely staring at the greater serpent, trying to see any reaction inside the beast. Slight twitches from left to right. Compensating for the lack of right vision, or excitement? Endelle couldn't tell. Taking a deep breath in, the world finally opened itself to her. Calm, soothing peace. No danger here, outside of the gigantic creature above their heads. Definitely one of the most interesting beasts, anatomically. 

"Druv hi yah daar golz?"

It was time to figure out what Liis wanted, if it didnt want to kill everyone.

The Breton took the water she was given and poured a little on her hand.  Normally, she would have lathered honey on the burn, wrapped it in a cloth and poured on more water.  But besides not having any with her, there was no time for it.

She remembered clearly the last time her hand got burned, that firebomb a year ago, but that time her whole arm was burnt, it was an especially bad idea, worse than this one...

The Imperial spoke to her, and in all kindness, no matter if a dragon loomed over them or not, the Breton knew she should respond.  Give her a name.

“Arra”

It was all that came out of her mouth.  It felt unnatural to introduce herself so plainly.  The Imperial, Kat, she might have even wondered if that was even a name, or just another word in Bretonic.

The Dragon answered the Hunter, Liis...its name was Liis, a nice name for a Dragon, she thought. 

She felt she was better off listening to this game of questions and answers then asking them herself, she just hoped they would have enough time before more guards came...

The dragon's head returned to the group. The serpent ever showing no sign of acknowledgement. It senses each twitch of subtle fear-respect of the discouraged ones as the sweep is made. For a creature capable of speech, its actions ever raised awareness of its inhuman profile. "Zu'u ni yah daar golz. Zu'u yah mir, nuz hi unt dremi. Drus hi koraav vahzeni. Ni unt zey ontzos, leh hei siz lotzun." Now eyeing the stone. "Golz yah dovah. Dilon dovah. Waan sivaan naal vokul, nust fent vokrii. Fen bel kein do oblaansejorre."

The dragon spoke. The very curious stone was a tool used to revive other dragons? That thing was lonely and wanted friends? Endelle was hardly containing laughter. Hmm... A dragon that wants a stone to revive other dragons? More preys? Yes please. Maybe if Endelle pretends to be friendly with that thing, she could claim some sweet kills. What would a dragon's scales be worth? A thousand septims each? That dragon, Liis, he was a gold mine. Endelle will follow him, kill all his buddies, then kill him last! She would be the most dangerous hunter there is! Hircine would definitely have one of the best spots for her on his hunting ground.

Turning her head to the right, she could see the Breton fixing her hand. Arra. What a weird name, definitely something exotic. She looked excited about this situation. Something tells Endelle that she's been a loose canon for a while. One quick look to see the Imperial staring at her. Endelle responded by maintaining the stare for an awkwardly long time. Then she said something about us being weak. Anger. They were weak, not Endelle. 

"Zu'u ni sahlo. Zu'u pruzaan jul ah ahrk sivaas ah ko keizaal.", she said, abruptly.

Rumbling noises were coming from the city. Guards were coming. She could smell their fear, it was stinking up to here. They do not need to see this dragon, they will kill it without making sure to cash in the septims. Quickly turning around, she notched an arrow. One, two, three arrows were sent flying in the darkness. Three metallic clings could be heard. The stench of blood rushing through her nose. Kills were confirmed.

"Koraav? Nu tinvaak, dovah. Fos hi laan mii dreha?"

Endelle readied another arrow. To Oblivion with this town, they could give her a bounty for all she cares. It wouldn't be the first time anyway, but the smell of all those golden septims right under her nose made her choose her priority. Fame and gold or safety and poverty? The choice was clear. Eagle-Eye was ready to kill all of Whiterun's guards for those precious septims.

"Zu'u Endelle Okriim-Miin. Drem yol lok.", she said in a calm voice, a huge grin on her face.

“Aaz do Mara!”

What was going on? The Imperial, Kat, was pledging herself... (and the others?) to the Dragon. And the Nord, Endelle, was she possessed by Sheor? No, more like Sheogorath...

Liis spoke slowly and cryptically, as per a dragon, but guards had arrows poking out their eyes! Why did Arra come here? This land is...different then what she's used to, Nord are too blunt; speak with your weapon, kill everything you don't understand, why, Mara? Why?

More guards came running and with them a Dunmer woman in leather.

“Irileth!” Arra called, “Saraan!”

“Hi til! Munfahliil! Zu'u dahmaan hi nol usul-”

“Lost niin votivut!” she said, “Nust los voth zey, nuz tol gein los vorohah.”

The Dunmer’s eyes narrowed, “Sed do muzi los dilon!”

Things were getting worse, much worse. But what could be done?