Blood of Skyrim: Part 10

Going past Nightgate Inn, they reached Korvanjund by mid-afternoon, and they found a small camp where a group of Stormcloak soldiers were hanging out.  As they neared the camp, some of the soldiers stood up from where they were sitting to stare at them.

“Are those the mages that were sent?”  one of them whispered.

“We’re here!”  Simon announced as they approached the group.

“Are you the newest recruit?”  a female soldier walked up to him and asked.

“I am,” he responded.  “Simon Bear-Skinner of Whiterun.”

“I am Ilfhild,” the soldier said.

“She’s our leader,” another soldier explained.

“You will stay close to me and follow my orders, do you understand?”  Ilfhild asked Simon.

With a grin, Simon replied, “Yes, ma’am.  I’m good at following instructions.”

Ilfhild just continued to give him a cold and hard glare, obviously unfazed by his attempt to turn on the charm.  As she turned away from him, Onmund piped up, “Uh…what about us?  What do you need us to do?”

Ilfhild turned back around to look at the mages.  “Just stay towards the back and out of our way.  If we need you to investigate something or your powers then we will tell you.  But stay in our sight.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Onmund shrugged as she turned away from them again.  Danielle and I aren’t going to get to do much at all during this expedition- not even help fight, it sounds like.  Is this really what Ulfric had in mind for his so-called “experienced mages?”

“Hey, Onmund…” Danielle piped up.  “You see that blonde man over there?”

Onmund looked at her and then followed her gaze.  She was looking at a tall soldier with long, blonde hair and a beard- the only one not wearing a helmet.  “Yeah…who is he?”

“I’ve seen him before,” she started.  “I think…I think he was the one who was captured with me and taken to Helgen.  And he helped me hide from the dragon when it attacked.”

“Are you sure?”  he asked.

“I am pretty sure,” she replied.

“We’re just waiting for Galmar,” Ilfhild said.  “He shall guide us to the location of the crown.  And advise on what we should do about those damn Imperials camping out in front of the ruin.”

Thus, everyone continued to wait around until Ulfric’s housecarl showed up.  Simon mingled with the other soldiers while Onmund and Danielle stayed on the outside, talking only to each other.  Every once in a while, one of the soldiers would give them a dirty look but they were left alone.

“What are we going to do about those Imperials in front of the ruin?”  Danielle whispered to her husband.

With a sigh, Onmund responded, “I imagine we’re going on the offensive and attacking.  Or, at least, they are anyway.”

“I can’t believe this…” Danielle sighed.

Soon, Galmar finally showed up.  He saluted the leader, saying, “Hail, Ilfhild!”

Ilfhild saluted back and Galmar asked, “What’s the situation?”

“Cold as the inside of an ice wraith,” she answered.  “That and some Imperials are camped out around the entrance.”

“Imperials?”  Galmar questioned.  “What’s the Legion doing here?  Damn Imperial spies…Well, should be fun for us, at least.  Do they know we’re here?”

“No, sir,” Ilfhild responded.  “They’re just sitting around, staying nice and warm around their fires.”

With a chuckle, Galmar said, “Well, if they’re keeping themselves comfortable, let’s slip in and send them to their graves that way.”  He then turned to the rest of the soldiers who had gathered around him and asked them, “Ready to spill some Imperial blood for Skyrim?”

“I’m ready,” one of the soldiers declared.

“Let’s go get them!”  Simon proclaimed.

As Onmund watched the others acknowledge their hunger for Imperial blood, he felt like he was going to panic.  Wait, we didn’t sign up for this- Danielle and I!  We didn’t sign up for a bloody battle with Imperial soldiers!

“That’s what I like to hear,” Galmar said proudly.  He then turned to Onmund and Danielle.  “You!  Mages!  You will stay here while we clear out those damn Imperials.  Wait for my signal.  Then come.”

“Okay…” Onmund replied.

“Let’s go,” Galmar ordered and all of the soldiers including Simon ran off with him, and soon Onmund and Danielle were alone.

There was no fire burning in the camp, probably because they didn’t want to be seen by the Imperial soldiers camping nearby, and as a cold breeze began to blow, Danielle shivered.  Onmund wrapped his arms around her and held her close.  Filled with a sense of guilt because this was mostly his fault, he said softly to her, “I’m sorry, love.  I know you wanted to go to Whiterun right away.”  She didn’t say anything but continued to cling to his robes.  “We’re going to soon, though, I promise,” he assured.  “Once we finish this expedition, we’re leaving, never to return again.”

Just then, they heard a bunch of shouts erupt in the distance.  It was very much like the sounds of war.  Onmund turned his head towards the direction of the sounds and declared, “So, it’s started…”

Danielle retracted herself from his hold and asked him worriedly, “What if they are all killed out there?  I mean, Galmar and Simon and all the other Stormcloaks?  What if we never get the signal?”

“Then…then we leave,” he said.  Something in him, though, threatened to fill him with guilt, especially at the possibility of Simon getting killed.  He wasn’t exactly their friend, but he was a comrade of sorts, nonetheless.  Danielle’s right…what if everyone is killed?  What if Simon is killed?  Could we really just…leave him behind like that?  Or… He just thought of another, even worse possibility.  What if Simon were captured?  He could be taken prisoner by the Imperials and tortured, and we’d just be standing here letting it happen, or worse…walking away and abandoning him…Suddenly, he looked at Danielle and said urgently, “We can’t just stand here, Danielle.  We have to help them fight!  We can fight!  I don’t think those soldiers realize that, so that’s why they just want us to wait here.  But we have to go and help…for Simon’s sake.”

Danielle looked at him hesitantly.  “You think we can do that?”

“We’ve got to,” he insisted.  “We can’t let Simon get hurt or killed and just walk away from him.”

Danielle hesitated for a moment longer before finally saying, “Okay…let’s go.”

And with that, the two mages took off into a run towards the shouting.  As they neared the ruin, the shouts got louder, until they were right up to the edge of it.  There was a large, deep hole in the ground, with a set of steps leading down to where the ruin entrance most likely was.  And down below at the bottom was a mess of Stormcloak and Imperial soldiers engaged in a frenzied battle.  As the sounds of swords and axes hitting each other erupted from below, Onmund motioned for Danielle to follow him as they hid behind some man-made rock formations.  From his vantage point, he could make out each of the soldiers and was able to locate Galmar’s large bear head down below.  But he couldn’t distinguish any others.

“Do you see Simon down there?”  Danielle whispered frantically.

“No,” Onmund whispered back.  “I’m looking for him, though.  I hope he hasn’t already fallen!”

Just then, he heard Ilfhild shout from below, “Simon!  Stay back!”

Onmund followed the sound and just as Danielle rasped, “There he is!”  he saw him, too.  He was kneeling on the ground, as another soldier, whom he guessed was Ilfhild, dueled with an Imperial soldier.

“He looks like he’s hurt!”  Danielle declared worriedly.

“Damnit!”  Onmund cursed.  “Come on, Simon…get up.”  He then started to see some movement out of the corner of his eye.  As he shifted his gaze, he saw an Imperial soldier running up a set of stairs from the bottom which led right up to the platform where Simon was.  And since Simon’s back was turned and Ilfhild was busily engaging another Imperial in battle, he knew that neither of them could see this guy coming.  “Shit!”

Danielle looked at him curiously and Onmund watched the Imperial soldier run up onto the platform and started running towards Simon.  “Shit, shit, shit.  Simon!  Simonnn!”  His voice was barely above a whisper, but he hoped that he could somehow will Simon or Ilfhild with his mind to turn around and see the soldier coming towards them.  But as the soldier began closing in, he knew that no one could hear him.  Now, the Imperial soldier was just a sprint away from Simon’s back, and he raised his sword and readied it to be planted into his back.  At this very same moment, Onmund, in a panic, channeled lightning into his hands and let go of it, sending a bright, jagged bolt of violet lightning down below.  It struck the Imperial soldier head-on, and he screamed and crumpled to his knees, finally collapsing limply just behind Simon.

And just like that, everything went silent.  The fighting ceased, and both Imperial and Stormcloak soldiers looked up, searching for the source of the lightning bolt.  Onmund and Danielle immediately fell to the ground, taking cover, hoping that they weren’t seen.

“What was that?”  he heard several of the soldiers down below ask.

“Is there a thunderstorm?”  was another question that he heard.

“That is no thunderstorm,” he heard someone declare loudly and distinctly.  There was a long pause before the voice said again loudly, “Someone cast a lightning spell.  And it came from those rocks above.  Damnit, you filthy Stormcloak hypocrites!  Resorting to magic to do your dirty work, eh?”

“What makes you think we commissioned the use of that spell?”  another soldier, one of Ilfhild’s, no doubt, questioned.

“That spell killed one of our own!”  he heard a different Imperial soldier say.  “It was aimed right at him!”

“I didn’t see it,” a gravelly voice declared.  It was unmistakably the voice of Galmar.  “Prove it.”

“I’ll prove that you are the most dishonorable, lying, filthy animal that has ever walked in Skyrim, you worthless piece of-“

“Rikke!  Rikke!”  another man cut in sharply.  “Enough!  Can’t you see we’re outnumbered here?”

Rikke, whom Onmund guessed was the woman speaking this whole time, fell silent as the man who cut in began speaking.  “We will no longer continue to spill blood here.  There is something…unholy about this place.  I have already felt it.  We were already preparing to clear out, anyway.  Let the Stormcloaks experience the evilness of this place on their own and die of their own foolishness.”  There was a pause before he spoke again, as if he were addressing someone.  “Listen, and listen well.  There is no treasure or crown to be found here.  Only abomination and death.”

“We will see about that, Imperial spy,” he heard Galmar declare.

At this, all fell quiet again, and the only sounds Onmund could hear were footsteps.  He peered around the rock and could make out the forms of Imperial soldiers climbing up the steps out of the hole.  There were few of them left.  He peered over at Danielle who was also watching the procession of Imperials retreating from Korvanjund and she gave him an uncertain look.  They finally disappeared into the trees, heading east.  It was then that a shrill whistle pierced the air, and it came from below.  Onmund took it as the signal that he and Danielle were supposed to have been waiting for all along.

They quickly emerged from the rocks that they were hiding behind and hurried down the steps into the hole below.  All eyes were on the two mages as they approached the group of Stormcloak soldiers.  Onmund saw Ilfhild make her way to the front of the group, and she had a strong scowl on her face.  Looking first at Onmund and then at Danielle, she demanded, “All right.  Which one of you shot that bolt of lightning?”

Not liking the way that she was glaring at his wife, he slowly raised his hand and stammered, “Um, m-me…”

Ilfhild turned her glare back at him and at that moment, Onmund could’ve sworn that he could feel the daggers shooting out of her eyes at him.  She then walked right up to his face and pointed a finger on his chest, hissing, “Listen you…didn’t I tell you that you were to only use your powers when I told you?”  He felt her press her finger harder and he took a step back, only to be backed up against a wall.  She then repeated more firmly, “Didn’t I?”

Onmund gulped, wishing at this moment that the wall could swallow him up and hide him from the glowering eyes of the Stormcloak commander.  “Y-y-yes, ma’am,” he stammered.  “Y-you did.”

“I didn’t become leader of a troop through the use of magic or speaking some meaningless gibberish to make fire come out of my hands,” she spoke angrily, still glaring at him from mere inches away.  “I had honor!  And I and the rest of my soldiers are not going to sacrifice that honor just because we want to show off!  Is that clear?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied, a little more calmly.  She’s just the typical Nord, he knew.  There was nothing he could do about that.

“Good,” she responded, and took her finger off his chest.

Onmund breathed a sigh of relief and took his weight off the wall as Danielle piped up, “He was not showing off.”

“What was that?”  Ilfhild questioned.

“He wasn’t just showing off,” she repeated.  “He saved Simon’s life.  He killed the Imperial just as he was about to kill Simon.”

Now it was her turn to receive the daggers from Ilfhild’s eyes, but she kept her composure and stood her ground.  How does she do that?  Onmund wondered with awe.  It was one of the many things about his wife that he admired from the day they met, but he guessed that her experience as Arch-Mage only served to strengthen her ability to keep cool in these types of situations.  Ilfhild turned her eyes back at Onmund and asked him, “Is that so?  What bond do you have with the Unblooded?”

“We…we went to the College, together,” he answered.  “He is my friend.”  Wow, I can’t believe I just said that.  I never would’ve said that before.  He looked over at Simon, standing with the rest of the soldiers, but the man just averted his eyes away from him.

“Hmph,” Ilfhild huffed.  “Precious.  But you listen, mage…his College days are over, and you are not his shield-brother anymore.  I am.  Do you understand?  And what I said before about using your powers still stands.”

Onmund suppressed a sigh and acknowledged, “I understand.”

She gave him one final glare before turning to Galmar and saying, “There are probably more Imperials inside the ruin.”

With a chuckle, Galmar said, “They’ll never know what hit them, then.”

Everyone then proceeded to follow Galmar and Ilfhild to the door of the ruin.  And just as Onmund and Danielle were commanded, they stayed at the back of the group.

Just before they went inside, Galmar addressed the troops, “Do not make the mistake of underestimating the Legion.  Plenty of them are Nords same as us.  We had the advantage of surprise this time, but things won’t be so easy from here on out.  Enough talk.  Let’s go kill some Imperials.”  He then opened the door and led the way inside the ruin.