I, Draugr Chapter 41

I hate the darkness.

This is… Mostly new.

When I was young, I was terrified of it. I hated being unable to not see my surroundings, or to not have a clear line of sight. I just hated it so much that it became fear.

One that I kept into my late teens, where I always slept with a small light on… Then I grew out of it, but I do not remember when exactly.

And now… Now it is back. Maybe I am afraid now too, but I've grown to forget what fear feels like due to being unable to even feel pain.

Even when Alduin came to specifically kill me, I did not fear him one bit.

But now, I am afraid of the dark. Of the dark that refuses to leave, even when my eyes are open.

At a certain point, I became thankful that I couldn't close them. That I can't make everything go dark in a split second and be left alone with my imagination.

But it's there. Never leaving, and always pressing down on me, like a calling. A yearning.

Sometimes I just want to give in. To embrace it, so that I don't have to always flee from it, to rush to light a candle or hope that the Moon is brighter that night.

I sigh, wishing I could scratch my chin and feel it. Or… Well, be able to move.

In hindsight, jumping into an abyss that was likely several kilometers deep really wasn't the smartest idea, even if I have my Juggernaut armor to tank the hit.

Why?

Because I am around… Two dozen meters beneath the ground I crash-landed on?

I've always wanted to be a meteorite!

Not gonna lie, I expected to end up much deeper, but the ground is very likely incredibly hard. Funnily enough, the pit I smashed Vulthuryol dumbass into is right next to me.

Dunked his ass into the earth. That had to have hurt a lot.

Hopefully Hildr is alright… I made extra sure that her landing was going to be painless, but I still worry, and last time I checked on her through Mind's Eye, she was walking while hunched over.

The ice armor around my body crackles as I start flexing my arms, moving to get out of the hole I smashed into- But I stop the moment that I notice that everything starts… Shaking?

What the fuck?

A sound reaches my 'ears', still being insanely loud despite how deep underground I am.

Was that a fucking howl!?

A Draconian Howl instantly obliterates any rubble pinning me down, opening the hole for me to swiftly stand up- Then freeze when I notice the very hole I am in growing smaller.

Because the ground is melting and becoming a massive pool of glowing magma.

Freezing the ground and magma, I rise up to ground level as the tremors that kept shaking the ground grow distant, with roars and howls mixed in loud clashes.

Taking in my surroundings, I instantly correct a previous statement. Forget the pool… It's an ocean.

Magma everywhere I can see, the heat so high that the air is warping enough that I can barely see, but as I follow the sounds of battle and howling, I manage to catch glimpse of a gargantuan figure battling Vulthuryol.

A giant wolf cloaked in white-hot flames. The giant beast was tearing into Vulthuryol with a ferocity and ruthlessness that was mindless. Feral, even.

The giant wolf was crazed and bloodthirsty, tearing into Vulthhuryol with jaws and sharp claws to rip apart as much flesh and blood as possible.

Is that Hildr…?

She told me about it. About the Werewolf form only few had the honor of using, and one that had family had spent generations and countless years to breed the strongest one.

Hildr's parents never loved her. Neither her or Gretel. They were born just to keep this thing going, to maintain their Champion breeding streak.

The only one who changed due to old age was her grandma, who truly started to adore her and Gretel from young…

And then Hildr transformed while Gretel was but a baby, and she basically erased her parents from existence. All she knows is that her Grandma was the one to force her back to normal by taking her eye, but she doesn't remember what she did when she transformed.

All of that power forced into a small, mortal container. Hildr was effectively a Demigod.

If she could control this power of hers…

I shake away those thoughts and swiftly freeze a path forward, rushing ahead and towards the constantly moving battle.

Vulthuryol was getting absolutely decimated and humiliated. He isn't a strong Dragon, after all. He is more akin to a cockroach…

But I can see it, even from here. He is weaponizing his uselessness.

His wounds are healing with the help of Restoration Magic at an impressive rate, closing and going back to normal in the span of just a few seconds.

His jaws spewed out gargantuan arcs of lightning that gouged into the earth as he tried to hit the nimble and feral wolf that tanked each hit like it was nothing.

And then there were the subtle Alteration Spells here and there. A shift in the ground to make Hildr slip, a quagmire here that would that be a small hindrance before it becomes a molten pool…

Basic Spells, but overcharged with Magicka to make them powerful.

The normal Heal from the Restoration Magic, usually meant to heal small scratches, now used to heal deep gouges by being super-charged.

The weak Sparks Spell, recognizable due to its shitty accuracy. Super-charged with Magicka, it leaves deep trenches into the ground and stone it hits.

The shifting of the ground, making it move and making it soft, just at a far greater scale.

Very likely due to his Fleshcrafted body, Vulthuryol must have a gargantuan amount of Magicka… Something he weaponizes to make his uselessness more powerful.

Clever… But not enough.

Because despite all that… Four of his nine heads have already been turned to ashes by Hildr. He couldn't heal that kind of damage.

I kept running, drawing closer and closer to the battle even as I took notice of how Hildr was swiftly growing weaker and weaker. Her flames weren't glowing as brightly, nor was she creating huge pools of magma beneath her anymore.

Plus, she wasn't as nimble or as fast as before, and Vulthuryol was starting to land more and more blows on her form.

All that power obviously comes at a cost, and the mere fact that she is able to stay in that form for a couple of minutes speaks of how strong she is.

A javelin of lightning booms within my right hand, then cracks apart the sound-barrier as I hurl it forward without wasting a second.

Vulthuryol barely has time to react, a lone head turning to regard the incoming giant javelin of lightning in a mixture of fury, horror and shock before it pierces into his large side and through the other, punching a large hole through his whole snake-like body.

A furious roar of pain leaves his jaws, but that was another mistake of his. The head that turned to regard my incoming attack soon had serrated jaws clamped around it, before it is violently and brutally ripped off the neck it was attached to.

Blood sprays everywhere, and Hildr squeezes her jaws shut, pulverizing the skull and swallowing the rest, her form starting to visibly shrink with each passing second.

Still, the damage was done. Vulthuryol looked terrified – he really is as much of a coward as Kara had said – and wary of both me and Hildr, and he was trying and failing to heal the hole I left in his body.

Five heads are gone, and after a few wary glances between me and Hildr, the serpentine Dragon swiftly turns and starts scurrying away without wasting a second.

Which is very good. He'll leave a trail of blood leading us to wherever he has made his nest and conducts all of his disgusting Fleshcrafting stuff.

I watch him go for a few seconds before turning my attention towards the giant wolf that is Hildr, heavy pants leaving her jaws as she stumbles forward with a tired growl, trying and failing to give chase to Vulthuryol.

"Hildr!" I shout, instantly making her attention snap towards me, a growl flowing past her flaming jaws as she tenses up. Her lone eye is filled with a madness that clouds it, confirming that she isn't in control of herself.

And I'm not going to attack her to make her snap out or tire her out. "It's me, girl." I say, spreading my arms as I keep approaching her, letting my Juggernaut armor fall apart and disappear.

Her growl is weaker this time, a flash of clarity flying by her lone eye. She shakes her head and paws at it soon after, a low whine leaving her.

I step closer, and her flames disperse, leaving behind her gorgeous crimson fur. "It's alright. I'm here." I reassure her as gently as I can, reaching forward to place a hand on her lowered snout.

Another whine leaves her as she leans into the touch, and soon the shrinking of her form grows faster and faster until what I am touching turns into Hildr's cheek.

Luckily, her clothes are still on her, somehow. Her eye flutters open, tired and weak, and she tries to say something before she slumps forward and into my arms, completely unconscious.

I don't waste a second in picking her up in a princess carry, holding her close as I inspect my surroundings.

An enormous cave, vast and stretching in all directions all the way to the horizon. The massive hole we fell from is not far, but is very high up.

It makes me wonder how Vulthuryol had the Falmer rush up from it, but whatever. They are all dead too, for that matter, utterly vaporized by the Vasavi Shakti that slammed the serpentine Dragon back down here.

Doesn't matter. Right not the most important thing for me is making sure Hildr is alright and will be safe.

But no matter where I look, I can't find any ruins I can use for a make-shift base to rest momentarily, so I just shrug and decide to follow after Vulthuryol.

Might as well see if I can find something while cutting the distance he put between us.

So, holding Hildr close, I start the long and quiet walk.

But my head doesn't remain quiet.

For it keeps replaying those last words Hildr shouted at me before we fell.

                                                                    ….

I gotta admit… Blackreach has a whole lot of nothing to offer in terms of sights.

Yes, the strange exotic plants and weird, glowing and floating thingies that are very likely living beings are indeed fascinating, but they get old very fast.

One thing that doesn't grow old instead are instead the sights of just how rich in resources this place is. There are ore veins left and right, and everywhere I look and walk.

Plus, the alchemical ingredients. I recognize some due to mostly having gone through a book about them that Ancano kindly left behind, and quite a few of these ingredients I saw in great quantities are said to be 'rare and hard to grow' in the book.

Blackreach has to have some insanely bullshit fertile grounds, because the ecosystem is just thriving. Though it lacks animals and predators, strangely enough.

Perhaps they were all killed by the Falmer and their pet Chaurus through the centuries and Eras.

Still, it took a while to finally walk into a set of ruins- Well, less ruins and more a sort of abandoned farm.

I look around the valley, old buildings like a stable and a chicken coop of sorts lay abandoned and covered in overgrown foliage and grass. The majority of the stone fences have been visibly destroyed, perhaps by the animals that used to live here and escaped when their owners just disappeared.

The home is rather large, and it's like it is frozen in time. Frozen in the very last moment the family living here experienced.

The table in the living room is furnished with plates and rusted silverware, with all three chairs moved away from the table and some of the silverware resting on the floor.

As if dropped by whoever was holding them, maybe because they ceased to exist.

I drag my gloved, clawed fingers along the dusty table, gazing at the rotten and moss covered plates. At the dinner the family of four was eating before…

I shake my head and move away from the table where a family was very likely Zero Sum'ed because the rest of their Race wanted to play God.

I move to the stairs and rise to the second floor, the wood creaking beneath my steps as I approach the room where I left Hildr to rest a while back.

I expected to find her still asleep when I opened the door, but instead I find her awake and sitting on the old bed I placed her on with a small Anodyne around her just to be safe.

A part of me wanted to use a specific joke and go 'Hey, you're finally awake!' but I held myself back. "Hey." I say instead, making her tired green eye flick towards me.

She doesn't answer instantly as I approach and take a seat beside her, but she does finally speak up after several long seconds, "Did I hurt you?" She whispers, pure fear within her voice.

I offer her my hand, and she takes it with both of hers instantly, "You recognized me." I tell her, making her jolt in surprise, "It might be because you were very tired at the moment, but you still did… So you relaxed and turned back."

I could hear her teeth gritting, so I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, "You were cool as fuck, by the way." She startles out of her worry and fear to give me a wide eyed stare, "You fucked Vulthuryol up… And melted a great deal of Blackreach too, but that's alright."

Her mouth opens and closes in shock, "I was… C-Cool?" She repeats, and I tilt my head in confusion, "Not scary? Not horrifying? Not a m-monster…?"

I sigh softly and bring her into a hug, which she happily reciprocates, "Nope, you were cool as fuck. An enormous flaming wolf beating the shit out of a giant Dragon… Gretel is gonna be so mad that she wasn't here to witness that."

Hildr laughs, her worries and fears visibly melting away as she shakes against me, her lovely laugh filling the air and also making me relax, "So yeah, you ain't a monster, Hildr. You never were, and you never will be."

Her hug grows tighter, and I discard the minor annoyance at being unable to feel it as I hold her close, giving the comfort she needs. "Are you angry?"

She sniffs and pulls back, wiping at her lone eye before sighing, "I don't know." She whispers, leaning against me as she stares at her gloved hands, "I like being one of his followers. And despite how I came to be, I take pride in basically being his strongest Champion to ever exist… I just wish I could control it."

I wrap my arm around her shoulders, "Divine power always comes at a cost, and you basically have countless generations of it shoved into you."

"Your transformation was insanely powerful, but it barely lasted even five minutes due to how much energy you were using." She told me how Werewolf transformations work the same way.

They consume energy, so they need to eat while in that form to keep their mind straight, else they go feral due to hunger.

I give her shoulder a light squeeze, "We'll find a way to help you control that form. Alright?" She nods against my shoulder, and I'd smile if I could.

We fall into a comfortable silence after that, and Blackreach is also relatively quiet, with no noises or distant sounds reaching us.

Hildr shifts around beside me before speaking up, "...You got anything else to say?" I hum and tilt my head as I pull my arm back from her shoulders.

"What do you mean?"

She keeps her head lowered, letting her long hair cover her face while her hands shyly shift on her lap, "About what I said, before we fell."

Ah.

My shoulders slump slightly, those words once more ringing through my head. "I'm not… Oblivious, you know?" I sigh out and lean back, tilting my head back so to stare at the stone ceiling above us covered in webs, "I just act like it on purpose."

"I've noticed that I grow attached easily since I came to Skyrim. Perhaps it might be because I can't feel anything, or because I was alone for quite a while before I got here, or a mix of both…"

Hildr shifts more besides me, "Then, why-"

"Hildr." I cut her off, turning so to fully face her, and moving her hair out of the way. She turns her head to face me, and I cup her cheek in my hand, "I adore you."

Her eye goes wide, and her cheeks instantly darken, "You are breathtaking, and a delight to be around. Like Aurelia, you help keep me grounded and sane when I'd have probably snapped a long time ago."

"Am I attracted to you? Hell fucking yes I am. Am I attracted to Aurelia? Abso-fuckin'-lutely. Would I court the hell out of you both if I had a body? That's a stupid fucking question."

"The problem is that I can't, and I don't know if I ever will be able to." My voice grows quieter, but Hildr leans into the hand cupping her cheek, "You can't even imagine how much I long and crave to feel your and Aurelia's warmth or hugs."

Her lone eye closes, a dazzling smile on her lips as she rests a hand over the one holding her cheek, "You would never chose between the two of us, would you?"

"Like hell I would." I answer instantly, "I would never make one happy and break the heart of the other one. I'd never forgive myself for that."

"Then don't." Hildr instantly fires back, her lone eye opening with a mischievous glint in it, "I think I can get used to sharing."

Uhh… What?

"What?"

Hildr snorts, and her beautiful smile just grows bigger, her face downright glowing, "Took you by surprise with that, huh?" I nod, and she laughs, "I've honestly been putting some thought into that for a while now. Started from the moment that I realized you are the only one for me."

I lean back in surprise, "Why are you even attracted to me?"

Hildr looks at me as if I am an idiot, "For one, you save my little sister from a gruesome fate, proceed to just casually grant me my greatest wish and desire, then I kept seeing Gretel laugh and be so happy just because of you."

"You are a headache, but you always put a smile on my face. You would gladly face everything alone if it is just to keep me, Aurelia and Gretel safe and unharmed."

"For the longest time, I had to rely on myself despite being unreliable… Then you came along, and you let me rely on you, and I know that even with all the problems and issues currently plaguing you, you'll never break."

"You make me feel safe, Leo." Leaning forward, she wraps her arms around my neck and rests her forehead against my mask, "That is all I've ever wanted, for me and for Gretel."

"So how couldn't I fall for the man that gave me all of that, and keeps giving me more?"

I once more slump my shoulders, then sigh softly, "Of course a wolf is attracted to a sack of bones."

"Oh you fuckin-!"

Hildr screeches as I cackle and she uselessly tries to strangle me while shaking me back and forth.

"Tch…" With a click of her tongue but a beautiful smile on her face, Hildr pulls back and brushes her hair behind her ear, "Whatever. I know what I want, and I'll fight for it."

I blink as she stands, placing two of her fingers over her lips and giving them a kiss, before placing them on my mask, roughly where my lips should be, and throwing a wink my way. "You're not getting rid of me."

"I wouldn't dream of it…" Gods, she's so damn sexy sometimes.

With that out of the way and a blush still present on her cheeks, Hildr stretches her back with a groan, "So, where exactly are we?"

I shake my head and stand up, "Old abandoned home I found while following after Vulthuryol." I have her follow me downstairs while filling her in on her whole fight against the Dragon, how much damage she did, and anything relevant I saw while following after it.

"Did you find where he is hiding?" Hildr asks as we step outside, and I nod.

"Not far from here, just over that hill." I point to a tall hill far behind the farm, close to the building that should be old stables. "It's like… A large city, just mostly in ruin." And it is a city I recognized very easily. Kinda.

Why? Because it has that floating glowing sphere that is used to summon Vulthuryol in the game.

"So, what's the plan-" I tilt my head when Hildr stops talking all of a sudden, and I turn to her in confusion. Her lone eye is staring at something behind me in a mixture of curiosity and disgust, "What the fuck is that thing?"

I turn around to see what attracted her attention, and pause at the sight before me.

A small mostly black creature with a fat belly, hunched over body, and thin limbs. It's roughly the height of Gretel, with two big round eyes staring in two different directions.

"What the fuck is a Riekling doing down here?" I question aloud as I stare at the ugly creature. Its face looks like it ran full speed into a wall at Mach Fuck. Hell, it reminds me of Pugs.

"That's a Riekling?!" Hildr questions, clearly just as shocked as I am. Mostly because the creature is so ugly that it doesn't resemble one that much.

"Mreh…" The Riekling staring in two different directions joins the conversation with those very intelligent words… Before shoving a whole finger up his right nostril.

Hildr gags in disgust, while I watch in interest as one of its eyes start rolling around. Clearly the dude is scratching his peanut sized brain at this moment.

"I like him." I nod cheerfully before stepping towards the small creature a few paces away from us, and patting him on the shoulder. "You are my friend now."

"Nyueh?" Truly, such eloquent and fascinating speech. Shakespeare could never.

"Your name shall be Poopdagger." I declare, ignoring the choked laughter from Hildr behind me.

"Poopdaggah!" The Riekling exclaims, throwing both of his tiny hands in the air. He still hasn't looked at me directly, goddamn…

"Yes, Poopdaggah sounds much better." I nod and pat him on the shoulder again as the small creature cheers once more, then farts.

Then starts scratching his ass.

Thankfully he is wearing a loincloth.

I turn away from the Poopdaggah as he starts sniffing his hand and turn towards a disturbed and disgusted Hildr, "I have a wonderful plan now!" I exclaim before happily walking towards the house once more, "Help me grab anything we can use to make Scrolls. We'll make a lot of them."

Hildr blinks, but swiftly follows after me, "You want to make a bomb?" Smart girl, she swiftly caught onto my plan.

"Yep!" I remove the rotten cloth from the table, leaving everything on it to fall on the floor, "I don't want to kill Vulthuryol just yet. I'd rather make sure he has no other Flesh Pit or whatever it's called."

Hildr nods in understanding as I start tearing the table cloth to make smaller ones, "So we'll make him run away again and again, until he has nowhere left to use."

I nod, "We'll still have to approach him so to throw all the Scrolls we have prepared, but it won't really be a problem."

Hildr hums, digging through a library while Poopdaggah walks into the door. Literally. I already love this dude. "Actually, Kara taught me that we can link a Scroll to a password."

I freeze at that, and Hildr keeps going, "She says that it works similar to Chants, something about our words being strangely connected to Magic, and we can connect one or more words to a Scroll while placing the Original Rune…" Hildr stops.

Slowly, she looks towards me.

I look at her.

Then our eyes move towards Poopdaggah. He stares at us, simultaneously. "Poopdaggah!" He bellows out like a fierce warrior, while drooling everywhere.

Me and Hildr look at each other once more, and she smiles.

Oh yeah, I love this girl.

...By the way, how many Souls have I gathered so far? I presume quite a bit, since I killed all the Falmers from the hole in Winterhold all the way down here.

[Souls; 11478!]

…

WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK-

                                                                                       ~~XXX~~

Vulthuryol felt it.

He felt the change in the air. The danger drawing closer. Like a mighty beast having placed its gaze upon him.

Him, a mighty Dragon… Was now regarded as a prey.

His remaining Dragon heads turn to regard his surroundings. The broken city, lit up by the sphere hanging in the air high above him.

And below him lay a large square filled with mangled flesh, shattered bones, and pools of blood.

It was actually far bigger, as this used to be a large pit he had his puppets dig out throughout the years, then had them breed each other and throw the crippled or useless ones down there.

Their population kept swelling, they kept breeding, they kept tossing more and more into the pit. Then the Chaurus were added to the mix and became his thralls too.

His army swelled in massive numbers. A very weak and useless army that never trained and mostly just kept breeding for more puppets, but an army nonetheless.

He had several, in fact… Or used to, at least. His planned invasion for the surface was thwarted due to the presence of that damnable Deinmaar.

Now, the Falmers he had under him were perhaps in the hundred. He had thousands of them, mainly because he butchered many more to prepare a few more Flesh Pits just to be safe.

The Chaurus… It was a waste to use them for battle just yet. If only he had Hevnoraak, he could create Falmer Chaurus Hybrids. Make an army of them in just a few decades or centuries.

Then they'd use it to sweep the surface.

Alas, he could at most use Fleshcrafting to repair his grievous wounds and organs, or modify his body with simple changes. But far more complicated modifications? No, that was Hevnoraak's specialty.

The blood and flesh of the pit churned as he kept repairing the damage to his body. Those fools let him escape, and while the loss of five of his heads was a lot, the damage to his body was negligible.

He could remake his whole body seven times with this pit alone, after all!

Once more, a chill goes down his spine.

Then winds carry a ferocious cry, "Poopdaggah!" Vulthuryol bares his jaws with his remaining heads, and turns in the direction of that mighty cry.

And there, standing upon the remaining arch that leads to the square of flesh and blood… Stood a small, overweight Riekling wearing a loincloth flapping in the wind, and revealing the horrors beneath.

The Riekling refused to even stare at him, both eyes looking to his left and right, as if mocking him! As if saying he wasn't even worth entering his gaze!

The gaze of a pathetic worm-like creature!

The fearsome Riekling grabs the large bundle of cloth resting beside him and shrugs his powerful shoulders.

Vulthuryol roars and stomps forward.

The Riekling charges and jumps, swinging the bundle of cloth through the air.

Four Dragon heads open, sharp jaws reaching forward to tear apart the little pest that still refused to even lay his gaze upon his beautiful form!

And the fearless Riekling, with eyes staring in two different directions, long tongue flapping through the air and spraying drool everywhere, speaks the words that have been granted upon him by Him!

"MI BOMBOCLAT-!"

The large bundle of cloth lights up.

Vulthuryol swiftly realizes that he had fucked up.

The magical equivalent of a Nuclear Bomb goes off right in his face.

And far in the distance, standing atop a tall hill, Leonidas and Hildr watch as the immense explosion of flames and the devastating shock-wave effectively evaporate the ruins of the city near-instantly.

And Leonidas, distraught, falls to his knees and throws punches at the ground, "Poopdaggah! No!" He cries out in pure sorrow while Hildr smiles in satisfaction- In sadness yet with pride at the accomplishment of that mighty, handsome Riekling.

Then something smashes into the farm house behind them, causing it to collapse.

They turn, and watch as a small little hand rises out from the rubble… And gives a thumbs-up.

"Poopdaggah…"

Even the magical equivalent of a Nuke taken to the face couldn't put a fearsome fighter like Poopdaggah down.

"How the fuck did he survive that!?"

Hildr was left devastated- Elated that Poopdaggah survived, of course.

While Leonidas nodded in understanding.

"Every Dungeons and Dragons party has their Goblin companion. Guess we found ours!"

And so, Poopdaggah joins the team that shall save the world.

A.N. I've been wanting to write Poopdaggah for a while now.

As Leo said, all DnD parties have a funny Goblin companion that dies tragically. Or in hilarious ways.

Also yes, Bomboclat makes a comeback. Had to use it twice, especially since it kinda fits Poopdaggah, if y'all know the meaning of the word.

Also, sorry for the wait on the update! The 1st was my birthday, and somebody had to die during it cuz I can't enjoy shit, but I've struggled with writing sum for a while now.

Either way, this month I'ma try and update I, Draugr a fuckton, so look forward to it!

Thank you for your patience!

Lots of love!

Toodles!