Not Alone (A Skyrim Fanfiction)

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

     As Brynjolf, Vex, and I walked through the double gates of Solitude, I was forcibly reminded of the very first time I had entered the city. 

     The same crowd talked among itself in low voices, the same air of expectation permeated the city, and Captain Aldis was there presiding over the execution just as he had at that of Roggvir, the guard who had allowed Ulfric to ride out of Solitude after killing the late High King Torygg.  Then, I had just looked on, since that was before I had met Ulfric or joined the Stormcloaks.  Now, I would try to save him.

     We mingled with the crowd, splitting up and drifting to different positions.  I hadn’t noticed the Breton from last night anywhere, and I figured he was still sleeping off the wine I had slipped into his drink.  Too bad.  He was going to miss the excitement. 

     Not for the first time I thanked the Divines for the rain that poured down like a waterfall.  Yes, I was soaked and freezing cold, but at least the deluge gave me an excuse to wear the hood of my wolf skin cloak low over my face.  I was probably better known in Solitude that most other cities, since I kind of helped conquer it….

     I swung around at a sudden outbreak of jeering, wiping drops of water out of my eyes.  Three guards were escorting two people through the crowd, pushing people rudely aside as they went. 

     The Breton I had interrogated the night before had said nothing about a second execution.  I watched them walk toward the steps to the platform, mind racing to calculate how this would factor into my plan.

     I positively hate it when people mess with my brilliant plans.

     The two were standing on the platform before my mind finally finished its train of thought and skidded to a halt at the conclusion that this really didn’t change the plan at all.  Still, I was a bit annoyed.  I prefer to know what’s going to happen before it does.

     I glanced across the crowd at Brynjolf, catching his eye.  He nodded and glanced at Vex.  I surreptitiously lifted my hand under my cloak and cast a ball of Magelight on the northern side of the tower where no one could see it. 

     Well, no one but Diivanah, anyway.  With a roar that rattled the stones beneath my feet and echoed off the walls, he landed with a thud on the section of wall over the gate.

     I had to admit, he knew how to make an entrance.  Wings raised, the spines on his back bristled like fur on a cat.  His jaws hung gaping open, a flicker of flame emanating from his throat.  Narrow reptilian eyes darted about as if he was singling out targets.  If I hadn’t known he was on our side I would probably be running for a building right now.

     It was a good thing I wasn’t running for a building, because everyone else was.  The crowd erupted into a mass of screaming and sprinting people, just like I had said it would.  The sounds escalated when Diivanah took off again, then died down slightly when he winged his way toward the palace.  The guards all took off running up the street after him, even the ones at the gate joining the scramble.

     It was actually a bit pathetic, really.  I had helped the captain of the guard in Solitude come up with new procedures in the event of a dragon attack upon Solitude, and mass hysteria wasn’t really in the plan.  It seemed that in the few years since Alduin the world had forgotten how dangerous dragons could be.  The city should actually thank me for giving it a long needed wakeup call.

     Unfortunately, the three guards had opted to stay with the prisoners rather than follow the rest up to the Blue Palace.  Well, unfortunately for them, anyway.