Little Italy

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

Elle had managed to find a few potions and some food, as well as some ingredients. She quickly stowed what she could in a pouch at the belt of her cuirass, but she didn't know how much more she could fit. Still, she was the pack rat type, so she kept hunting around for more stuff that could be potentially useful.

Ralof followed Nilovas down the stairs eyes scanning the scene before them.

"Trolls blood! It's a torture room!" he whispered in horror, keeping in the shadows on the stairs. A few of his fellow stormcloaks were already fighting valiantly against the imperials in the room, but they were outnumbered.

"Come on!" he said, rushing forward with sword drawn.

Elle, meanwhile, had gotten distracted and was still busy digging through this barrel but somehow she had managed to fall face first inside it and was now horribly stuck. From the sound of it, Nilovas and Ralof had left, which was good, because this the most mortifying position she had ever been in. Curse her shortness and the deepness of this confounded barrel.

She ended up rocking it back and forth until it fell over and she tumbled out, a few potatoes rolling out after her. She muttered a few curses darkly before she stood and dusted herself off, kicking one of the potatoes. Thank divines her new companions hadn't seen her. She hesitated a moment when she realized she didn't know where they had gone. Good thing there was only one door otherwise she probably would have lost them completely.

She walked out into hall atop the stairs, the sound of steel against steel echoing from below. Really? More of them? Seriously, how many imperials did it take to fill a keep?

She muttered grumpily and drew her sword, sneaking down the stairs so that she could assess the situation before getting sliced to ribbons. Apparently Nil had the same idea because he was still crouched in the shadows too. Though, she didn't know why he was still sitting there while Ralof was already in the middle of the fray. Was he being a coward, or did he have a plan? She assumed he was too proud to be a coward so he must have something in mind, which most likely didn't involve her, so she quickly jumped up and darted past him to help Ralof, who seemed to be having some trouble with the imperial he was scrimmaging.

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

Elle took a step back as Nilovas began to battle the imperial, not wanting to get in the way and risk the possibility of being stabbed or slashed. Ralof seemed to have everything under control too. Well, so much for contributing to the group. Now she was just the sassy awkward one.

Well, she felt that way until Nil started to stagger blindly. She jumped forward and used her axe to deflect a blow the soldier tried to land on his head, having a short face off of strength with the imperial but failing because she wasn't nearly as strong as he way. Frustrated, he used his free hand to roughly thrust her aside rather unceremoniously and began attacking Nil again.

Elle nearly lost her footing, but now her face was hot with indignance. Who did this guy think he was?

She was about to attack again but had to jump back when Nil fried the guy alive, the soldier yelling painfully and collapsing to the ground. The air now smelled of burnt flesh and it was not a pleasant smell. Ralof had also struck down the man he was fighting and put away his weapon.

Elle wrinkled her nose as she gingerly stepped over the carcass to search what appeared to be a storeroom, heaven knew she needed the supplies, but she had to be quick. She took some food and was happy to find a few potions. She went to join Ralof by the opposite door, but paused the imperial that he had been fighting. She discarded her axe to replace it with the fallen's sword, tucking it under her belt at her side. Hopefully if they ran into anymore trouble, she would be able to do more then land a few petty blows. She wasn't strong enough to wield an axe.

( lmao oops )

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

"Well if you're so good at this, why don't you take the lead?" Elle asked, voice simply oozing with sarcasm as the went down the stairs into a hallway, "Considering none of us have been here before, I'm sure you'll do fine," she added, earning a look from Ralof.

No sooner had she said this, the ceiling ahead of them caved in, blocking the hallway with the dragon's roar filling the space. Well, so much for that comment.

Ralof spotted a wooden door to their left and ran for it. "Through here, let's go!" he prompted, going into the next room. Elle ran after him, only to realize they were about to get in yet another fight. Two imperials were already in the room, and neither of them looked too happy to see their group. Ralof had already set about going after the first one, and the second had turned his attention toward Nilovas, as he seemed to be the bigger threat.

She pulled out her axe again and took a swing at him as he pushed past, catching him sharply in the chest and sending him staggering sideways, but not enough to knock him down or do severe damage. Man, she missed her sword.

( geez i forgot how spicy elle was XDDD )

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

Yah my inspiration is slowly returning for this thank God XD

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

Elle whipped her head around to face the wooden door before darting toward the wall, gripping the axe tightly. As soon as it swung open, Nilovas had flown at the captain with fire and sword, her head rolling to the ground before she had time to blink. She shook herself into action, hoping the loose armor and boots wouldn't trip her, and charged the imperial soldier, who had narrowly missed hitting Nil. He hadn't seen her coming, so she was able to bring the axe down hard with both hands between his shoulders blades with a yell. Her blow broke the armor, but not enough to do much damage to the skin. The imperial stumbled forward before facing her, narrowly missing a swing from Ralof.

"Is that the best you've got," he spat at Elle before rushing forward, weapon raised.

She didn't have a lot of magicka left, but maybe just enough to catch him off guard and gain the opportunity she needed. She thrust her free hand forward and sent a quick blast of frost right at his face, blinding him momentarily as she sidestepped and slashed the axe at the side of his head, the blade cutting deep as he fell sideways. Elle was about to attack again when she realized that the imperial was dead. Satisfied and honestly rather proud of herself, she let out a small huff of victory and tucked the axe in her belt.

Ralof looked at the gate before back at their deceased enemies, "Maybe one of these imperials has the key," he said.

Elle knelt beside the captain and found the key, taking the liberty of snagging her bracers and smaller boots as well. She walked over to the gate and used the key to open it. "We'd better scram before more imperials come or that dragon decides to smash this building next," she said before turning and hurrying down the stairs.

She had to admit, out of all her adventures, this one had been the most exciting. A dragon! A real live dragon! And that didn't look like just any dragon. There was something about that one that struck her as off, or at least, as off as something could be about a creature that hadn't been seen in so long, it was deemed a legend. She remembered reading about dragons in her books and legends of the Dragonborn, a warrior with the soul of a dragon able to use the power of the Voice. They had always been her favorite stories, and now she was living the myth. Now that she was over her initial terror, she was starting to feel rather excited.

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

That's the internet is for screw it x3

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

Honestly, Elle, wasn't even aware Nilovas had followed her till the Imperial, whose name was revealed to be Hadvar, addressed them both. She glanced back at him before focusing her attention forward again, occasionally looking up to make sure the dragon wasn't about to swallow them whole or something. She was very glad when she spotted Ralof again. Their short exchange, she had to admit, made her curious. Clearly there was some history there, and not the good kind.

She hesitated when they both ran in opposite directions, each one calling for the dunmer and herself. Her instinct made the choice before her mind could, running after Nilovas and Ralof.

"Come on! Into the Keep!" he said, running for the door.

Elle followed behind Nil, rushing in doors after him, Ralof bringing up the rear. Once inside, Elle took a moment to breathe, coughing due to some of the smoke that had founds its way into her lungs as she eyed the door before turning to look at Ralof again, who had walked over and knelt beside two fallen stormcloaks.

"We'll meet again in Sovngarde, brothers," he said sadly, kneeling down next to them and closing their eyes before he turned and faced Nilovas and Eilonwy grimly, "Looks like we're the only ones who made it. That thing was a dragon. No doubt. Just like the children's stories and legends. The harbingers of the End Times." He looked at the door behind them before down at the fallen soldiers, "We better get moving," he said before beckoning to Elle, "Come here. Let me see if I can get those bindings off."

Elle walked toward him hands out, "Thanks for this," she said quietly, rubbing her wrists when he cut the ropes with a dagger.

"There you go," he said, before looking at them both, "You may as well take their gear," he gestured to the dead stormcloaks, "They won't be needing it anymore."

Elle looked down, picking the smaller of the two and taking his fur boots and cuirass, both of which were still large on her, but it was better than nothing. She picked up the axe and gave it a few swings, satisfied with the balance, even if she was more of a short sword kind of person.

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

Lmao the life of a writer XDDD

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

If Nilovas hadn't pulled her back, Elle would have been crushed under rocks and fried to a crisp. She let out an audible yelp when it happened, shielding her face from the heat, hands still tied. Then the dragon was gone again, flying off to set the next building ablaze. The stairs were now blocked because of the rubble, and the gaping hole in the wall let sunlight and smoke flood in. Ralof peered through it and squinted to see through the smoke.

"See that inn on the other side? Jump through and keep going," he said, pointing at what she presumed was the inn.

"But-" she began to protest.

"Jump! We'll follow when we can!" he shouted before running back down the stairs.

She would have to thank the dunmer later. Elle looked at the building below, the roof torn off to reveal the upper level. She took a breath and jumped as far as she could, landing on the hardwood and tripped as she landed, rolling to the floor before scrambling to her feet again. She darted to the other side of the room and dropped through a hole in the floor, rushing through the broken door to see the imperial who was reading names off the list, and another man with a boy. The dragon had landed not far from them and the imperial had gotten the boy out of the way just in time.

She stood still and watched as the dragon flew off again before the imperial's voice jerked her attention towards him. "Still alive, prisoner? Keep close to me if you want to stay that way," he said, before ordering the man to get the boy to safety and running off again.

Elle looked up at the dragon wheeling and diving over head before at the retreating imperial. On one hand, he had almost had her executed. On the other, that dragon wouldn't mind frying her to a crisp. She decided to take her chances with the imperial and ran after him. She would make her way to the inn when she could.

The imperial suddenly stopped and pressed his back against the stones at his back and yelled, "Stay close to the wall!"

She obeyed, and just in time too. The dragon hand landed right above their heads, and she had to bite back another scream as its wing almost hit her face. It didn't seem to notice them, blasting the buildings around it with fire before leaping into the sky again with another roar.

"Quickly!" the imperial barked, running forward again up a flight of stairs. Elle really wished she could find a weapon so she wasn't at anyone's mercy, but right now, she didn't have much of a choice. She ran after him once more.

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

Just releasing them into the wild to be free. It's good tho. Free them.