I'm Really Not the Dragonborn.

Opening the wall gate, they follow the stream that eventually leads them to a cave system. The dark cave is illuminated by glowing luminescent mushrooms, growing around the cave. The stream continued to flow over a ledge and down to a snow cover pit. On the pit itself there is a natural bridge, connecting the caves into another passage.

"That's a long way down." Harin said, peering down.

"There's a path leading down. But you need to deal with that Frost Troll." Ibnor said, pointing to the troll sleeping near the bridge. It almost couldn't be spotted due the snow.

"I can't do it with just an arrow. Their regeneration is almost magic. And I'm not sure if we should use magic in this area. This cave doesn't look like it can take a hit. If it was like in the crypt earlier, I wouldn't worry so much."

"What if both of us rain it with arrows?" he said, holding the bow and arrows he collects from the draugrs along the way.

"We can try. But, if we fail, we'll have one pissed irritated magical monkey going for our neck."

"Wait. I just remembered. We can use this!" He slapped his forehead and took out a vial. 

"Potion of paralysis? Nice. This could work. Give me that. I'll lace my arrow with it and shoot from here. You go down there and finish it off. Think you can do it?"

"I should be. If worse comes to worst I'll use the scroll you gave me and fire it inside its mouth."

"Alright then. I'll be waiting for your signal. Good luck."

He made his way down the pit and proceeded towards the frost troll. Signalling Harin to commence the ambush, he readies his dagger. 

WROAAA!!

The forest troll lets out a roar once the first arrow hits it. Without wasting any time, Harin lets a barrage of arrows, one after another as fast as she could. With much difficulty, the frost troll raises its head and focuses its attention toward the source of the agony, Harin. Taking advantage of the distraction, Ibnor home in towards the frost troll and sink his dagger into the exposed neck. Not long, the frost troll suddenly froze, indicating that the paralysis potion started working. Ibnor pushed the frost troll down the pit with a spartan kick as the frost troll maintained its stiff posture, falling down before meeting its end on the hard, cold rock at the bottom of the pit.

Ibnor gives the 'okay' sign to Harin and waits for her to get down and catch up before continuing their exploration. They walk through the cave system until they arrive at a ruined hall. The pillars are still holding strong despite a portion of a collapsed ceiling. A draugr with a huge battle axe stood tall, guarding an arched door. 

Looking at each other, Ibnor and Harin sprang into action after a tacit understanding. The spacious hall gave them enough room to utilize spells to harass the draugr and the pillars provide a good cover. With the two of them now more familiar with draugrs, the lone draugr was made short work. 

"Alright. This should be the inner sanctum. One last push to get this all over with," Harin said while wiping a sweat from her brows.

"Be careful, if I'm not mistaken, the inner sanctum is filled with traps."

"It's alright. How bad can it be?" she replied cheekily as she pushed the door into the inner sanctum. 

Just around the corridor, they are met with a narrow passage with a series of huge blades swinging in a row in between the passage. They made it by timing their advances with the swinging blade. Just after the bladed passage, Harin almost fell into a manhole trap door. Alas the noise the trap made attracts a horde of draugr towards them, including those in the sarcophagus. 

"Not a word from you!" Harin gave a sharp glare with reddened ears while Ibnor only cackled away, amused. 

As the draugrs came for their blood, Ibnor made use of the old lantern and baited them into groups and led them into a puddle of spilled oil. Once they were within the puddle, he smashed the lantern into the puddle, burning the draugrs. It didn't kill them immediately, but enough to slow them down while Harin finished to others. 

After they cleared the draugr, Harin gave Ibnor time to collect the dropped colored balls and proceed along the sanctum until they reached a puzzle door at the end of the sanctum. 

"Great! If it isn't traps, it's another puzzle. These ancient people seem to have too much time on their hands." Harin grumbled.

"Don't speak ill of the dead." He reminds her as he drinks from his canteen.

"What? I'm polite enough as it is."

"Pffff! This is, you being polite?" He asked as he spat his water to avoid being choked.

"Well, you didn't hear me cussing them, did you?"

"Fair enough..." He shrugs. 

"How do we open this?" Harin asked, pointing to the puzzle door.

"I'll leave that to you. Hints, it's in your hand." 

"I give up!"

"You didn't even try!"

"I don't care!"

"Tsk! You're no fun."

"Fighting draugr is fun. Hunting bandits is fun. Me and you are fun. This.. no fun." She exaggerate with her hands gestures.

"Do you hate puzzles in general or are you simply too lazy to think?"

"Pick any."

"Sigh… Fine. Do you see the marking on the palm of the Golden Claw? Turn the symbol accordingly on the door."

Harin turns the symbols according to the ones on the Golden Claw and with a click, the door lowers itself, revealing a set of stairs into a wide cave chamber. 

"This is so easy. How the hell is this supposed to keep people out?" Harin asked.

"Maybe it wasn't to keep people from going in, but to prevent something from going out?"

"If that's true, then we may have a tough challenge in front of us." she grinned.

They made their way up the stairs and saw some kind of altar in which lay a sarcophagus at the end. Behind the altar stood a large curved stone wall with dragon decorations on top of it. As they get nearer, a hushed mystical chanting whispers into their ears, filling them with a sense of trepidation. 

Contrary to the feeling the altars and the stone wall gives, the cave chamber itself is a representation of a tranquil beauty. Waterfall flows gracefully, and the water transforms into fine mist as they hit the bottom. The small creek flows steadily and calmly into underground passage behind the cave walls. The contrast between the two gives off a solemn feeling. An archaic, serene domain untouched by the chaotic bustling human world. 

They proceed cautiously towards the altar. As much as they wanted to appreciate the beauty of the place, they couldn't help but to be cautious. 

"I think we shou…" Ibnor words trailed off as Harin bumped his shoulders as she moved towards the stone wall. Her eyes went blank as if she was in a trance, mindlessly moving towards the stone wall.

The stone wall itself contains carvings on the surface, no double in foreign script, however as Ibnor looks at it, he can actually make out the word, even if he didn't understand it.

[HET NOK FaaL VahLOK, DeiNMaaR Do DOVahGOLZ, ahRK aaN FUS DO UNSLaaD, RahGOL ahRK VULOM]

Suddenly Harin began to float up and light threads from the stone wall encapsulated her before entering her body. As this progressed, Ibnor noticed that there were a few colored balls dropped from the stone wall. Without thinking much, he collected them.

[Dragon Tongue +1]

[Shout - Fus Ro Dah +1]

[Mental +0.5]

[Mental +1.2]

[Dragon Tongue +1]

Ibnor

Status

Normal / Slightly Injured

Stats 

Strength

16.7

Agility

17.8

Mental

16.3

Physique

16.5

Skills

Passive

[Close Quarter Combat - Intermediate], [Dragon's Tongue - Beginner]

Active

[Archery (28.3)], [Blacksmithing (22.5)], [One Handed (27.3)], [Sneak (22.8)], [Lockpicking (12.2)], [Pickpocket (11.2)], [Shout - FUS]

When he checked his status, it had risen considerably. His attention moved as Harin stirs. 

"Whoa.. You won't belie.." she exclaimed only to be interrupted by a flying sarcophagus's lid.

THUD!

CRASH!

A mean looking draugr rises from the sarcophagus and stares at both of them. It then jumps out of the sarcophagus and speaks out.

"Qiilan us dillon!"

Harin sprang into action and swung her sword down but easily being deflected by the draugr.

"Careful! It's the Draugr Overlord. It's tougher and stronger than the regular draugr." Ibnor reminded her.

"Bolog aaz, mal lir!" the Draugr Overlord said in its guttural voice.

"What did he say?" asked Harin.

"He just called you a little worm!"

"Argh! Fuck you!" With a renewed vigor, Harin clashed with the Draugr Overlord again. 

"FUS, RO!"

Ibnor rushed to support Harin but was sent flying when the Draugr Overlord shouted. 

He twisted mid air and managed to land on his feet. Again, he rushed towards the Draugr Overlord. Harin managed to deflect the greatsword, leaving the Draugr Overlord temporarily exposed. Ibnor capitalized on the opening and delivered a hard kick on its sternum. The Draugr Overlord was forced to take a few steps back. Glaring at Ibnor, the Draugr Overlord cursed as it charged.

"Dir volaan!!"

The battle was fierce and brutal. The draugr's strength was immense, and it seemed to tire neither from the constant attacks nor the passage of time. Harin and Ibnor fought with all their might, but the draugr's relentless assault pushed them to their limits.

With a side step, Ibnor manages to evade the trust and counter attack by immediately pushing the Draugr Overlord side with this shoulder and elbow. As it lost its balance, Harin continued the offense by slashing and disarming the Draugr Overlord. With a quick tap and thrust, she manages to stab the Draugr Overlord. However, with its unnatural strength, the Draugr Overlord managed to grab Harin and throw her aside. Ibnor catches her and manages to cushion her fall. 

"You've learnt the Shout right?" She nodded to his question, with her eyes never leaving the Draugr Overlord. 

"Wanna try shouting it off the altar? I bet the fall's gonna hurt.. A lot" he grinned. 

"You bet."

They watch as the Draugr Overlord walks towards them as if Harin's sword is not stuck on its body. When it is near the edge of the altar, both Harin and Ibnor simultaneously shout towards it.

"FUS!!"

Both of them Shouted and the combined Shouts manage to lift the Draugr Overlord up in the air briefly and throw it backwards, down the altar. Harin grabs the Draugr Overlord's greatsword and dives down after it to finish the job. Ibnor followed. She managed to plunge the entire greatsword into the Draugr Overlord chest using her weight and the assistance of gravity, pinning it on the ground. Magical energy escaped the Draugr Overlord as its eyes went dim.

"Sovngarde saraan." Ibnor said to the Draugr Overlord just before its eyes went totally dark. Not long after, its body turned into countless magic particles and disappeared into thin air. 

Harin and Ibnor stood panting, their bodies exhausted but their spirits victorious. They had faced the undead draugr and emerged triumphant.

"What was that?" Harin asked.

"What?"

"Since when did you speak their language?"

"Since just now?"

"How?" 

"How do you think I learned the Shout?"

"Urgh.. This is cheating, cheating I tell you!"

"Well, hello pot!"

"What is that?" she points to something under the Draugr Overlord leftover armor. It looks like an almost pentagon shaped slab of stone. She took it and examined it further. On the front side there is an engraving that seems to be some sort of a map. Behind it also has an engraving but more similar to the carving of the stone wall.

[HET NOK UN, MAHLaaN GROGGE, ERei SULeyK SE, ALDUIN VOKRii]

"Here lies our fallen lords until power of Alduin restore." he said. "Hmm.. broken sentences. My guess is this is the Dragonstone that you're supposed to find and the engraving is the map of the other dragon burial site."

"Nice. We got the claw and the stone. Let's get out of here." she said and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" 

"Huh? Out of here? To the entrance?"

"There's a secret passage up there. Just next to the Word Wall."

"How do you kn… You know what? Forget I asked. Lead the way then." 

"First, you need to check the chest," He said, pointing to a large chest near the altar. "Who knows what good things we may find inside."

"Whoa.. nice, a spell book, septims and few weapons."

"Nice, what kind of spell?"

"Wait a moment," she said as she learned the spell immediately. "It's a bound sword spell." 

"Sweet, that's one off the checklist. We are lucky to get that one. Now, let's go." 

They went along the passage and when they're finally out, they found themselves on the other side of the mountain, opposite the entrance. 

"Where is Riverwood? Ibnor asked. 

"We just need to go down and follow along the river. It's not far." 

Soon they made it to Riverwood just before the sun set. As they were walking towards the Riverwood Trader, they met Camilla. 

"Hey, it's you! What are you doing here? I thought that you went… Wait. You have the claw! Oh, you have to tell Lucan at once. Hurry!" she said while dragging Ibnor without giving him a chance to say anything. 

At the Riverwood Trader...

"You found it? Ha ha ha. There it is. Strange… It seems smaller than I remember. Funny thing huh?" Lucan said as he held the Golden Claw. "I'm going to put this back where it belongs. I'll never forget this. You've done a great thing for me and my sister."

"Don't worry about it. Our deal is you give me some supplies while I get the claw back for you. It's a fair transaction," Ibnor replied. "It's late and I think you need to lock up your store. I'll take my leave."

"Thank you so much for taking care of those thieves. The Riverwood Trader is back to the way it used to be!"

Ibnor and Harin went to spend the night at the Sleeping Giant Inn. It was decided that they will continue to Whiterun early tomorrow morning.

"Heh, I guess your sweet Camilla isn't so sweet after all." Harin said.

"Where does that come from?"

"Earlier when you were talking to Lucan, can you guess what that bitch told me?"

"Something about stopping stealing attention from her?"

"Exactly! 'The men here likes my attention, and I like theirs. Best know your place'," she said, imitating Camilla.

"I do hope that is not enough to warrant her death?"

"Death, no. Missing teeth, maybe."

Ibnor stares at her, dumbfounded.

"Fine. I just wanted you to know her real self."

"I'm aware of it and I don't care a bit, as in she is not worth it for me to care."

"Good."

"She is way beneath you. Don't worry."

"As long as you know."

"Hahaha, cute."

"I'll show you cute!" She snarled and went to wrestle him.

"I surrender! I surrender!" 

After a few moments of fooling around and tousling, both of them fell asleep due to exhaustion. 

The next day, in Whiterun…

"Harin, I think that I shou..."

"You are coming with me." She interrupts him. 

"There are som.."

"You are coming with me, period!"

"Sigh.. Fine. May I know why, tho?"

"Just because.." 

"Would it be better if…" his words trailed off due to her sharp glare.

With that, both of them entered the Dragonsreach and directly met the court wizard, Farengar. Upon entering his work station, he can be heard conversing with a hooded figure.

"Isn't that Delphine?" Ibnor thought to himself.

"You see? The terminology is clearly First Era or Even Earlier. I'm convinced this is a copy of a much older text. Perhaps dating to just after the Dragon War. If so, I could use this to cross reference the names with other later text." Farangar said.

"Good. I'm glad you're making progress. My employers are anxious to have some tangible answer." Delphine, the hooded figure said.

"Oh, have no fear. The Jarl himself has finally taken an interest, so I'm now able to devote most of my time to this research."

"Time is running, Farengar, don't forget. This isn't some theoretical question. Dragons have come back."

"Yes, yes. Don't worry. Although the chance to see a living dragon up close would be tremendously valuable… Now, let me show you something else I found… Very intriguing… I think your employer may be interested as well."

At this point, Delphine notices the approaching Ibnor and Harin.

"You have a visitor." she said, cutting the topic on hand.

"Hmm? Ah, yes, the Jarl protege! Back from Bleak Falls Barrow? You didn't die, it seems."

"Sorry to disappoint but as you can see, I'm still among the living. I got your stone. Here." Harin said while handing over the Dragonstone.

"Ah! The Dragonstone of Bleak Falls Barrow! Seems you are a cut above the usual brutes the Jarl sends my way. My… associate here will be pleased to see your handiwork. She discovered its location, by means she has so far declined to share with me." Farengar happily took the Dragonstone from Harin. He then turned to Delphine whom he said was his associate. "So, your information was correct after all. And we have our friend here to thank for recovering it for us."

"You went into Bleak Falls Barrow and got that? Nice work," Delphine said to Harin. Shen then turned towards Farengar. "Just send me the copy when you've deciphered it."

With that, she walks away and disappears out of the door. 

"I got you the Dragonstone, what's next?" Harin asked. 

"This is where your job ends and mine begins. The work of the mind, sadly undervalued in Skyrim." the court wizard replied. 

"Regarding the matter of dragons, have you encountered any dragon?" Harin asked.

"Sadly, no. My work affords me few opportunities for such an adventure. Perhaps some here will bring one to Dragonsreach, like Olaf One-Eye once did. What a fascinating conversation that would be."

"I heard you were talking about the Dragon War earlier, could you tell me more about it?" Ibnor interject. Despite being curious of who he is, the court wizard replies to him nonetheless. 

"I'm not surprised you've never heard of it. Even I used to think it was just a myth. But not anymore. The Dragon War was a real event, although only the barest glimmer of the actual events has come down to us. Far back in the Mythical Era, the dragons were worshipped as gods in Skyrim. Many of the monumental ruins that still dots the landscape were, in fact, built as temples to the dragons. The details are lost, but at some point the Nords rebelled. After a long and terrible war, The Nords overthrew their dragon overlords."

"Does that mean that all the dragons were killed in the Dragon Wars?"

"Oh, no. Many were killed, of course. But many survived into historical times. Why, this very place was built by one of Balgruuf's ancestors…"

"Jarl Balgruuf?" 

"Yes, if it is that important to you." The court wizard rolled his eyes. "This place was built by one of Jarl Balgruuf's ancestors to hold a captive dragon. Hence its name, Dragonsreach."

Suddenly a shout can be heard.

"Farengar! Farengar, you need to come at once. A dragon's been sighted nearby." A female dark elf said. Then she turned toward Harin. "You should come, too."