LABYRINTHIAN

The pair had made their way out of Valkygg without too much difficulty, and the Dragonborn left he girl momentarily to retrieve his bag – thankfully, he still had three potions intact. Upon his return she accepted one gratefully, wincing as she allowed him to dab carefully at her wound with clean linen. He did a double-take as he saw Little Thief bounding towards them with a cluster of blue mountain flowers in its mouth.

"Woah there. Clever little guy you got there," Gilrayn laughed in astonishment.

"Picked him up as a little boy. Smartest animal I've ever met," she smiled proudly.

"Well I can't argue with that," he chuckled, crushing the petals into a paste and smearing the salve gently over her wound. She shivered as his fingers pressed gently against the tear in her flesh, assessing it. "It's deeper than it looks, lass," he said, concerned. "There may be some internal damage. You sure you don't want to sit this out?"

"Begging your pardon sir, but don't forget who got you out of that mess back there," the copper-haired girl sniffed. "I'm tougher than I look. Don't worry about me." She stood once more and swayed alarmingly, her face slightly pale. He looked on unconvinced.

"This isn't the time to let your pride get the better of you," he glared, finishing the makeshift bandage with a knot. "You've lost a lot of blood." She returned his scowl with a determined gaze, and he relented. "Fine, it's your own life to worry about, not mine. But take care of yourself. Let me do the heavy lifting later, all right? At any rate, I don't believe I've introduced myself. I'm-"

"Gilrayn, the legendary Dragonborn. Your reputation precedes you, you know?" Riza cut him short with a careless wave of her hand as they made their way towards the large temple overlooking the rest of the ruin. "So, what were you doing in Valkygg? You know that doesn't lead into Labyrinthian, right?"

"How am I supposed to know which door leads where? They all look the same!" he protested.

"Because the right door just happens to be the biggest one in this whole place? You don't have the best sense of direction, do you?" She shook her head in exasperation and amusement. "That's fine. I'll lead the way."

He scowled. "Anyway, how did you know I was going to be here?"

"The Dunmer girl in your College." She sighed. "They're having trouble dealing with the Thalmor mage. Once we're done in Labyrinthian we should head back to help as soon as we can."

"We?" he repeated flatly.

"Yes, we. You didn't expect me to just risk my life for you in Valkygg, help you in Labyrinthian and then beat feet, did you?"

"I didn't remember saying that you could tag along forever, either."

"Oh don't worry. I'll leave if I don't find what I'm looking for."

"How did you know to find me in Valkygg, specifically? Labyrinthian is big."

She rolled her eyes at that. "You didn't cover your tracks, silly. You were so easy to follow."

"And why would you follow me here?"

"Because of something I saw, and something I know. I was sent here."

Gilrayn frowned. "By whom?"

"Fate." The girl replied simply.

"Hmm."

He could not help but stare at her as they strode together, not simply out of curiosity or concern; but of admiration of her smooth skin, willowy waist, and shapely hips. Time and again he found his gaze drawn towards the visible cleft that hinted at a pair of soft, ample breasts that sat snugly beneath her robe. She was breathtaking, Gilrayn thought; Dibella herself reborn. Her lips curled into a shy smile as she caught him looking – "just making sure you are okay" he hastily reasoned. She appeared happy enough to be strutting beside him, at least. Curiosity and suspicion got the better of him, and he decided to probe further.

"You know, you did promise to elaborate why you're really here back in those caves..." he remarked innocently.

"I'm sorry, but I really can't tell you right now. You'll learn more after I'm done determining something for myself first."

"And I'm just supposed to let you follow me around without knowing your intentions?"

"Look, if I had wanted you dead, I would have just left you as spoils for the Draugr back in the ruins." Riza folded her arms. "I think I've earned the right to keep some things to myself. Please. You have no idea how much being here with you means to me. Just let me tag along for a while, okay?"

"Right," he grunted, slightly taken aback by her earnesty. "I apologize if I'm being hard on you, but one can never be too careful with the company he keeps."

"Don't be sorry. I can understand." She shrugged. "I would be, too," she added darkly, staring at the pebbles on the floor as she spoke.

Something about her eyes made him uneasy. Belying her youthful façade, he could sense within their depths that the glimmer of innocence had long been lost. The eyes of one who had seen death and loss. He could feel them watching him carefully, almost as if testing him of sorts. Was she spying on him? Trying to gain his trust before leading him on some other quest? Was this all an elaborate lie to get him to open Labyrinthian for her before scurrying off with the Staff of Magnus under his nose? Weak from her injuries, he was certain he could overpower her and coax what she had been hiding over the tip of his sword. But she did save him after all, and he was loath not to repay his debt.

He sighed. "All right, I won't ask what you're doing here. I'll trust you. But you know so much about me – where to find me, even. Yet all I have learned from you so far is your name. Surely there's no fairness in that? Tell me more about yourself."

"Sure, what do you want to know?"

"What do you do? Do you travel alone? Which side of the war are you on, and to whom do you serve?"

Riza grimaced. "One question at a time mister! Alright, in that order. I wander Skyrim alone on a personal quest, but I was once a tavern girl, a messenger, and a mercenary for hire. I am no ally of the Empire, but nary do I follow he who sits within Ysgramor's halls. I serve no mortal master, save one who barely knows of my existence."

He stared at her, pondering over her cryptic response. "This master of yours," he pressed on. "Did he send you to watch over me?"

"No. That is of my own accord. He doesn't even know that I've been helping him in the dark."

"Then why do you serve him?"

"Because that is my fate."

That was the second time she had used that word now, he thought. And then it dawned upon him. He stopped and turned towards her, looking her straight in the eyes; his blue orbs reflecting off her green ones as he spoke. "Am I that person?"

"Possibly," she said, unblinkingly.

"You're testing me, aren't you? You're trying to see if I'm really worth following."

She did not reply. He took her silence as a confirmation.

"Why? Why am I so important to you?"

For a moment the girl looked as though she was on the verge of saying something, but a shadow crossed over her face, and she desisted; merely looking at him wordlessly before continuing forward. Suddenly, it occurred to him that her emerald orbs were glistening with wetness as she turned. He must have unintentionally evoked a painful memory, he reasoned.

"I'm sorry, lady. I didn't mean to probe," he offered gently.

She nodded indifferently. "We should get going," she said quietly.

Well, that's a start at least, he thought. Her answers had only led to more questions, but he supposed he would learn more later, for something told him that she was going to stick around him for a long while. Together, the two Nords clambered up the tallest stairway of the ruin in the long sun of the evening, the dying rays of light gleaming red and gold off the vast, formidable ceremonial doorway of the ancient city. The sight gave Gilrayn pause, and he whistled in awe, looking at the girl in expectancy. With a small nod she drew his attention to the corrugations that adorned the split in the door.

He extracted the Torc of Labyrinthian from his bag and placed it into the indentation in the stone. Click! Click! He heard an ancient mechanism snapping into place, and turned to his copper-haired companion, who was closing her eyes, as if tasting the wind one last time before they descended into the murky depths of the unknown.

"You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." She opened her eyes and whispered a warning. "Keep your sword close. Whatever it is that lays within, it is going to be big." He nodded in acquiescence. The two pushed against the door and it slowly swung inwards, beckoning them towards a deep darkness in which nothing could be seen, as the first stars came up from behind them and took their places in the pale sky.

The warm, comforting light of a torch flickered in the blackness, and Gilrayn squinted, readjusting his eyes to the sudden brightness that illuminated the tunnel. The flames sputtered in the direction of the passage, indicating the presence of a draft. It surprised him. The space that lay below must be very large. Together, the pair crept in silence down the passageway, the girl taking point. From a distance, they heard a chorus of creaking bones pitter-pattering across the floor. Skeletons, Riza mouthed, placing a finger against her lips. Suddenly she stopped, causing the Dragonborn to crash headfirst into her back.

"Ow!" she hissed angrily, rubbing her spine.

"Oh, sorry. What is it?"

"There – look," she pointed. An iron gate barred their progress towards the next area – an immense subterrane faintly lit by primeval braziers suspended on an array of great stone pillars. A small throng of skeletal warriors stood in an eternal vigil over the large expanse.

"I think we might have walked past the lever. Think you can get their attention? I've got an idea."

"That won't be too difficult. I think he heard us." She pointed towards the nearest skeleton, which was ambling curiously towards their direction. She carefully trained her crossbow between the iron bars and pulled the trigger. Swish-thwuck! The skeleton collapsed in a cacophony of splintering bones; its disjointed skull conveniently landing on another undead guardian, startling it. The clamor promptly attracted the attention of the other dozen or so skeletons, and they charged angrily towards the grate. "Here they come," she warned.

"Get behind me and cover your ears," Gilrayn commanded. They both watched as the bony figures horded against the bars, flailing swords and axes fruitlessly through its gaps, their targets safe out of reach. Clearing his throat purposefully, the Dragonborn strutted forward. Riza's eyes widened as she grasped what he was about to do.

"No you can't- wait!"

"FUS-RODAH!"

The ear-splitting Shout tore across the chamber, effortlessly dispatching all the skeletons and turning them into a heap of whitish rubble. "Too easy," he remarked, smirking as he rubbed his hands together absently.

"That was your plan?" Riza shrieked. "Now everything is going to know we're here!"

Ro dahhh... Ro dahhh… the echo of the Shout reverberated throughout the emptiness of the cavern. Almost on cue, the ground shuddered violently and splintered. From the ensuing chasm an enormous necrotic being emerged, its azure eyes illuminating the hall from floor to ceiling like a dazzling flash of lightning, screaming a devastating cry which shook the two humans to earth.

A Skeletal Dragon.

The smallness of the tunnel quickly filled with a flurry of frenzied whispering.

"Now look what you've done!" She shot him a disparaging glance. "At least it still hasn't noticed us yet. We might be able to sneak through."

"Not a chance if we open the gate. A hundred septims the rusty metal will sing and alert that damn thing."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"We can't just wait here, we're not going anywhere if we can't get past it. We need to fight it in the hall."

"How do you propose we take that thing down after we get the gate? Do you have another plan?" she offered rather scathingly.

"Come now. Are you forgetting who I am? I'm the Dragonborn. It'll be fine! Trust me. We'll think of something as we go. Now go get the lever."

"Not now! It's right in front of us! I think it sees us!"

The Nords stiffened, still as stone, as the hulking mass of bone lumbered towards them. Failing to notice her warning glance, Riza risked a desperate hiss of warning to the Dragonborn. "The torch! Snuff out the torch!" Gilrayn flung the aggravating piece of wood back into the tunnel. The movement did not go unnoticed by the monster, which sauntered suspiciously forward. Exit was impossible now. They waited with bated breaths, bow and crossbow in hand, as it reared its head ominously towards the grate and stared into the hollow darkness of the tunnel with eyes of fiery sapphire.

"Get down!" Gilrayn cried, throwing his body on top of the girl with reflexes as quick as a cat. An icy wave blasted through the tunnel, coating the wall behind them in a sheet of shimmering crystals. The skeletal dragon had no lungs, but clearly it could Shout like its blooded brethren.

"Thanks..." Riza mumbled, blushing slightly; feeling his warm breath over her cheeks, their faces but inches away from the other. The Frost Breath of the undead creature roared relentlessly behind the Nords, who lay atop each other like lovers, safe behind the cover of the wall. "So, what do we do now?" she asked again, more subdued this time.

The Dragonborn willed his breath to calmness, trying to assess the situation; but the supple breasts that pressed against his forearms through her robe made thinking difficult. Reflexively, he rolled over her body before she could notice his rising member and peered cautiously at the foyer, only to be greeted by a blast of frigid air. The lever to the gate lay on the other side of the wall. "We need to pull the lever on that side, but I can't believe it will just let us pass if it sees us trying to get over," he said, raising his voice over the whir of the freezing wind. "But I can block out most of its breath with my shield. Just sit tight and get ready as I pull the switch."

"I'll get the lever," she interrupted. "Be prepared to bail once the grate is down."

He replied with an expression of consternation. "I can't let you do that. You'll freeze to death crossing over there in those piteous wraps." Already he felt the hairs on his back standing from the rapidly dwindling heat, and he could sense the girl quivering beside him through her skinny garments.

"Don't worry about me. It's easy. Watch." Gilrayn gazed in wonder as the girl vanished from his sight and reappeared promptly on the other side of the tunnel, flashing him a cheeky grin. Triumphantly, she pushed against the lever; but budge it would not, even when she leant the entirety of her weight on it.

"It wouldn't move." She grimaced. "The ice must be hindering the mechanism."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I've got an idea. Keep it breathing at the gate." She gave him a quizzical frown, but nodded in affirmation. One after another they flitted in and out of the dragon's view, provoking the beast. It bellowed in fury, sending forth blast after blast of icicles that supercooled the metal grate, brittling it. The exposed walls of the tunnel were beginning to resemble the interior of a glacial cave; the floor slick with the sheen of slippery ice. The Dragonborn waited purposefully, his muscles tensed in chill and anticipation. With a battle cry to the heavens he brandished his laminated hide shield and charged straight into the biting wind.

"FUS-RODAH!" He unleashed his Thu'um once more at the grate, only this time with greater power. The brittle bars twisted and sundered in a blinding mist of shards and icy vapor, causing the skeletal dragon to recoil in astonishment. A frosty veil enveloped the opened way into the cavernous chamber. "Now! Go go go!" Gilrayn yelled as he advanced, turning momentarily to look at his companion – and quite suddenly realized that she was not there. He did not have time to ruminate that fact before he found himself staring right into the mouth of the bony colossus.

Blinded by the ensuing fog, the skeletal dragon snapped wildly at the air, trying to crush the aggravating little fly in its massive maw. Gilrayn simply rolled adroitly to the side as its jaws chomped down repeatedly, hacking away with his sword, weaving in and out of its reach. His reputation as a dragonslayer did not flatter him. Block, parry, slash; block, parry, slash; his sword and shield whirled in the familiar, deadly dance of combat. His swordplay was sharp and precise; his resolve untested by fear – for this was an opponent whose pattern of attacks he was well-acquainted with, and that knowledge eased him. Against a beast of such size he held the advantage of mobility. With the spinning leap of an acrobat he avoided an incoming blast of frost; deflected with his shield the ravenous bite that followed, and lunged directly at the creature's skull.

But steel could not penetrate bone, and the skeletal dragon had no vital organs that he could exploit as points of vulnerabilities. For all his efforts, he had only achieved riling his opponent with a series of shallow cuts and chipped bone. No, this was no adversary mere bladework could hope to defeat. With each futile stroke he grew more wary of the slickness of his grip – his exertions had made him sweat. He cursed inwardly. Even the slightest slip of his grip against an enemy like this could be fatal. He needed to think of another tactic, and quickly; for the fog that had camouflaged his attacks was also beginning to dissipate into the wind.

Suddenly, the dragon turned and withdrew, distracted by the presence of another foe. From behind it Gilrayn espied a few flaming projectiles raining down upon its back, compelling it to shrink back, plainly in distress. The creature was afraid of fire! He squinted again and saw from beyond the thinning mist a dark, feminine figure firing bolt after fiery bolt determinedly at the prehistoric being from the vantage point atop a tall pillar. Thank the Nine for Riza, he thought. How she got up there he did not know, but she must have cut behind the dragon while he was busy trading blows with it after the destruction of the grate.

Yet her bolts did little more than alarm the beast. They simply deflected harmlessly off its hardened exterior and clattered one after another onto the floor. Without the presence of a scaly membrane between its skeletal forelimbs, the dragon could not fly and engage her directly; instead, it lashed powerfully at the stone pillar that she stood upon with its massive tail, collapsing it. Skulls and bones, flagons and bowls scattered into the air as the mighty stone column fell, shattering onto the floor in a great upheaval of dust and debris.

"Riza! Riza answer me!" Gilrayn called hoarsely in trepidation, fearful of her safety. But his voice only succeeded in drawing the attention of the monster, and it lurched towards him with renewed vigor. His navy eyes stung from the great plume of dust, and he could barely make out his surroundings through the haze; but instincts that he had grown to trust over his years of battles warned him of impending danger, and he raised his shield intuitively as a prodigious white claw struck him from without, hurtling him easily into a wall. A trickle of blood ran down his face and dribbled into his right eye, obscuring his vision. Winded and shaking his head desperately to clear the innumerable stars that swam in his sight, he groped for his shield and realized that it had been dislodged from his hand. Through his stupor he glimpsed the silhouette of the massive creature rearing its jaws to finish the job – and for the first time in a long while his cockiness fled and he tasted bitter fear. Yet he was not bereft of options. Praying to the gods that his revelation was true, he summoned his courage and screamed three Words.

"YOL TOOR SHUL"

A blast of fire sprang forth from his mouth, enveloping the snout of the skeletal dragon with a pall of licking flames. Roaring in agony, it recoiled, swinging its head to and fro in its attempts to quell the conflagration. Yet for some reason the arid ancient bones failed to ignite consistently, and with a sinking feeling Gilrayn understood – the icy mist that had enshrouded them earlier had condensed and formed a protective layer of moisture over the monster. Angered by the tenacity of its foe, the dragon returned his thu'um with an icy rejoinder of its own. He held no shield, but raised his hands in defense anyway, resigning himself to fate as the first flakes of the Frost Breath began to fall.

But the deluge that he had expected did not come. He watched instead in amazement as Riza leapt nimbly onto the skeletal dragon, straddled its spiny back and stuck her blade into its vertebrae, forcing the surge of frost to shoot upwards. Flecks of ice cascaded from the ceiling like soft, falling snow, draping the floor with a single, lustrous carpet of white. The dragon lurched wildly in frustration, trying to displace the aggravating human on its back. The maiden did not manage to hold this precarious position for long, and soon she too was flung onto the ground. It bore down on her with unbridled fury, trapping her under an immense claw. She struggled to free herself without avail, and stifled a cry of pain as she felt its talons digging lightly into her flesh, drawing blood. Then, for the first time in the battle, with the same booming voice that it shared among its ilk, the ageless being spoke.

"Joor. Hi krif pruzah, nuz nu hi kent dir."

Mortal. You have fought well, but now you must perish.

Riza squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself, preparing to feel the sharp claws rending her body into pieces. Yet the next thing she heard was a mysterious shattering of glass. "Shoot it! Shoot it!" the Dragonborn yelled. She opened her eyes and saw numerous bottles sailing through the air, smashing indiscriminately into various parts of the living fossil, staining the white bones with a mysterious dark fluid. Perplexed by the action, it looked about distractedly. While her valiant efforts did little to damage the beast, she had bought Gilrayn precious seconds to contrive another tactic. He had reached into his bag and found a few bottles with the label "Black-Briar Mead". That the swill was disgusting was an understatement, but here it would fulfil a nobler purpose than filling the bladder of Embry of Riverwood. Still, Riza could not move, for the dragon's oppressive weight still anchored her to the earth. But her arms were free, and she reached for her flame-enchanted crossbow and released the trigger. The fiery bolt soared gracefully into the air and landed squarely in the middle of the two gleaming eyes of deepest blue.

With a final tormented cry the skeletal dragon writhed in agony as its entirety combusted in a blazing inferno. Gilrayn made a beeline for his shield and sprinted towards the girl, pulling her to safety; throwing his cloak around her protectively and raising his shield just as the flaming mass came crashing down upon them. "FO KRAH DIIN" he Shouted above. Frost met with fire, turning into little pearls of water that pattered cold and wet onto his skin, assuaging his senses, washing away the blood that caked the right side of his face. He removed his cloak from the girl and allowed the comforting rain to fall lightly onto her, invigorating her. There she lay for a while, closing her eyes, propping up her glistening body with her elbows on the floor. Still heaving slightly from the adrenaline, Gilrayn spoke.

"Now that was something, wasn't it?"

"Yes… yes it was," Riza agreed, breathless with relief and fatigue. "Nice idea of yours, there. That Black-Briar woman is not going to be happy if she hears what you've been doing with her sluice, you know." She paused, and then added teasingly. "I'll make sure it becomes the talk of the town."

He chuckled. "Let that bitch yap. I couldn't have done it without you. Are you hurt?" he asked, steering her gently into view with firm, sword callused hands. He peered closely at the gashes in her shoulders, concerned.

"Just a little. Are you?"

"Aye. Just a little." He held out his hand and drew her to her feet, but her sandals skidded on the wet snow and she tripped, dragging the Dragonborn with her. She felt him rotate his shoulders instinctively to cushion her fall, and she landed sprawled across his chest, entangled in his arms. Bloodied and battered from the battle, they looked at each other expectantly on the bone-strewn floor, and abruptly broke into peals of mirthful laughter.

"You're very beautiful when you smile, you know," Gilrayn noted suddenly as he brushed away the girl's damp tussles of hair from his face, prompting her cheeks to flush a brilliant pink. But before she could reply, a disembodied voice howled throughout the cavern, sucking away the warmth from their bodies. The earth rumbled violently as it spoke.

"Wo meyz wah dii vul junaar?" Who dares trespass my Dark Kingdom?

"What in Shor's name was that?" Gilrayn exclaimed in awe.

"Morokei..." Riza replied quietly.

And then it spoke again, louder and more deeply, this time in the Tamrielic tongue.

"Come to me. Face your end."

A/N: Well that took substantially longer to write than I had expected. It's so difficult to translate a battle into words! This chapter was supposed to include events from the following one, but just the first half alone is longer than the preceding chapters, so I had to split it up. Things are only going to heat up from here, for sure. Due to the violent/suggestive nature of this chapter and the subsequent ones, I may upgrade the rating for this story from T to M. This is only my second time trying to write an epic fight scene so any suggestions for this novice would be highly appreciated. Thank you for the reviews so far!