"Are you serious?"
Ha-neul asked, her voice dripping with disapproval.
"Yeah. I'm serious."
"Why on earth would you say that?"
I know they say you shouldn't answer a question with a question, but I did it anyway.
"Technically speaking, the Stormcloaks are rebels. Why are you defending them?"
"Those people tried to execute me even though I wasn't on the list!"
Right. She was still pretty bitter about the whole 'nearly-decapitated' thing.
"That was definitely their screw-up, but—"
"And... I made a promise to Ralof. That I'd help the Stormcloaks..."
Ah. I forgot she escaped with Ralof.
After escaping Helgen, Ralof lets her stay at Gerdur's house in Riverwood and gives her supplies. To Ha-neul, Ralof was her savior. It made sense why she wouldn't want to turn against him.
"Everyone, please don't fight..."
"She's right. Let's talk about this later."
As the argument heated up, Eloise and Lydia stepped in to mediate with worried expressions.
They were right. Now wasn't the time. I decided to save the political debate for another day and gave Ha-neul one last remark.
"Wait until we visit Windhelm. You'll change your mind pretty fast."
"Hmph! No matter what we see, my mind won't change!"
I doubted that. In my experience, one walk through the Gray Quarter was usually enough to fix that attitude.
Anyway, we arrived at Kynesgrove at dusk and immediately headed for the inn to secure a room.
Just to be safe, I asked the innkeeper about the dragons.
"Innkeeper. Notice anything strange around here lately? Any omens?"
"No? Nothing out of the ordinary."
As expected. In about two days, Alduin would arrive right here.
I was much stronger than before, and I had reliable party members and plenty of preparation, but I was still on edge. Dragons are just that terrifying.
The next day, we took a day to rest and perform some maintenance to shake off the fatigue from the road. While everyone was anxiously killing time, Delphine finally arrived at the inn.
"Oh, you beat me here. You know there's a good chance a dragon appears tomorrow, right?"
She shook the snow off her clothes as she spoke. Outside, the blizzard was howling, the wind nearly deafening.
"And you, Dragonborn. Take this."
Delphine gestured to Ha-neul and handed over a peculiar-looking sword.
"A katana?"
The longswords used by the Blades members were dead ringers for Japanese katanas from Earth.
"That blade is specialized for slicing through dragon hide. It'll cut through them like butter."
"Thank you."
Ha-neul swung the sword through the air, getting a feel for its weight.
The next morning, I woke up early—nerves, I guess. When I left my room and headed toward the common room, Eloise was already awake.
"Anxious? Couldn't sleep?"
I asked while stretching, but Eloise shook her head.
"No. I always wake up at this time. But you look nervous, Mister."
Nervous? How could I not be? I gave her a detailed rundown of everything that happened with the dragon back in Whiterun.
Eloise, ever curious, listened intently with sparkling eyes.
"So I landed a perfect Lightning Bolt and jumped right onto the dragon's head."
"Oh, stop lying! How is that even possible?"
"I'm telling you, it really happened!"
Admittedly, it sounded hard to believe when described with words. But it was frustrating to have my epic tale dismissed like that.
"Anyway, Ha-neul ended it by bashing the dragon's skull in."
"What happened next?"
"Then we walked closer, and Ha-neul absorbed the dragon's soul."
She marveled at the Dragonborn's power, adding that she really wanted to see it with her own eyes.
"The Dragonborn is amazing... but honestly, it sounds easier than I thought?"
"You won't say that once you actually see one."
Winning that first fight was a literal miracle. If you saw the majesty—and terror—of a dragon in the flesh, you'd never call it easy.
While I was staring out the window, a massive shadow suddenly draped over the inn.
'That's it!'
I bolted out of my chair and sprinted out the door. Just as I thought, the shadow belonged to Alduin.
Eloise, startled by my sudden movement, shouted after me.
"Is it a dragon?!"
I nodded and screamed at the top of my lungs so the others could hear.
"DRAGON!!"
We ushered the innkeeper and the locals of Kynesgrove into the inn for safety and immediately charged toward the burial mound where the dragon was interred.
Sure enough, Alduin was right in the middle of resurrecting Sahloknir. Vibrant pillars of blue and orange aura erupted from the tomb.
"Sahloknir! Ziil gro dovah ulse!"
"Slen Tiid Vo!"
Following Alduin's Thu'um, the ancient destroyer opened its eyes. A dragon made of nothing but bone clawed its way out of the dirt and into the world.
Flesh and hide began to knit over the skeleton at an incredible speed.
"Die!"
Ha-neul and Delphine fired fireballs and arrows, but they didn't leave so much as a scratch on Alduin. Having completed the ritual, Alduin took to the sky and vanished into the clouds.
Once the transformation was complete, Sahloknir—now fully formed—roared at us.
"Fo Krah Diin!"
And so, the battle with the mid-boss Sahloknir began.
Utilizing its aerial advantage, the dragon stayed high, bathing the area in Frost Breath to maintain dominance. The old me would have been overwhelmed, but I wasn't that man anymore.
I summoned an ethereal Orcish bow and arrows through Conjuration. My options were limited while the lizard stayed in the air, so I was stuck with the bow for now.
—SHHHHHHH!
Sahloknir focused its aggro on Ha-neul, sensing her strength. It unleashed a savage spray of freezing mist at her. Ha-neul dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the blast. The ground where the breath hit froze solid instantly, forming jagged, terrifying icicles.
While the dragon's attention was pinned on the Dragonborn, Lydia, Delphine, and I let fly with our arrows, taking advantage of the free damage. Unlike last time, where my arrows bounced off, my reinforced Bound Weapon managed to pierce Sahloknir's hide.
Evidently finding the arrows annoying, the dragon redirected its breath at us.
"Ugh..."
I tried to roll out of the way, but I took a direct hit. Thankfully, my Nord blood's innate frost resistance kept it from being a killing blow.
"Fus Ro Dah! Hey, lizard! Over here!"
Ha-neul used her Unrelenting Force. It missed the dragon by a hair, but it succeeded in grabbing its attention. In that opening, Eloise managed to heal me, and I rejoined the fray.
Sahloknir was slightly stronger than Mirmulnir. Being a frost dragon meant the affinity was a pain, and its destructive power was undeniable.
—ROAAAAR!
Sahloknir continued to circle us, mixing Frost Breath and Shouts to keep us pinned. It felt like its Magicka was bottomless; the breath attacks wouldn't stop.
Our strategy was simple: whenever the dragon focused on one person, the others bombarded it with arrows or spells. Anyone injured was immediately rotated back for healing from Eloise.
But the dragon wasn't slowing down. If this kept up, Eloise would run out of Magicka first. I had to end this. Risking it all, I summoned a Storm Atronach.
Because the cost was so high, I couldn't summon a perfect one; its form was unstable and flickering. But I needed the Shock damage to drain the dragon's Magicka.
The unstable Atronach cast Chain Lightning. Since Shock spells are hitscan, its accuracy was impressive.
"KRAAAAAGH!"
Annoyed by my summon, Sahloknir dove straight at the Storm Atronach, smashing it into the ground with its talons.
—CRACK-BOOM!
That was a fatal mistake. As the Storm Atronach shattered, it released a massive discharge of electricity. Sahloknir was caught right in the middle of the shockwave.
'Yes! It worked!'
It wasn't an accident; I'd learned about this phenomenon while practicing my Conjuration. With its Magicka drained by the shockwave, the dragon had no choice but to land.
"Now!"
At Delphine's signal, we all swarmed the grounded beast. Ha-neul dodged a snap of Sahloknir's jaws, leaped high into the air, and slashed at its back mercilessly. The rest of us poured every ounce of strength we had into our own attacks.
Unable to shake Ha-neul off its back, the beast lashed its wing at Lydia.
"Gah—!"
She blocked with her shield, but the dragon's raw strength was enough to crack the bones in her arm. However, she knew we couldn't waste this chance to finish it while it was grounded. Ignoring the pain in her left arm, she kept hacking away.
After hitting Lydia, Sahloknir turned its attention to me. It swung its tail at me as I stood in the rear. It was aimed right at my head, but I ducked just in time.
"Khhk!"
But a second tail swipe followed immediately. The tail, thick as a mace, slammed into my ribs. I was sent flying dozens of feet before crashing into the dirt.
"Mister!"
"Mr. Bart!"
The girls shouted my name, but they didn't stop to help me. They knew—saving me would have to wait until they'd done enough damage to keep the dragon down.
Eloise sprinted to my side and cast a healing spell.
"Blegh..."
I spat out blood. The internal damage from the impact was severe. Eloise looked like she was on the verge of tears as she desperately tried to knit my wounds back together, but the injury was deep, making the healing slow.
Sahloknir, having taken a beating on the ground, flapped its massive wings to take flight again. The wind from its wings felt like a hurricane. It was opting for aerial combat once more.
Once my healing was finished, I tried to summon my bow again, but Eloise tapped my shoulder.
"I'm almost out of Magicka... I can only heal one more person before I'm tapped!"
'This is bad.'
I cancelled my bow summon and changed tactics.
"Ha-neul!"
She turned to look at me while tossing a fireball.
"Let's use that 'tactic'!"
"Are you sure? Ugh... alright!"
We had to end this quickly. We went with a maneuver we'd discussed beforehand.
"Lydia! Delphine! Keep it busy!"
The two of them looked confused, but they followed the instruction.
"Oof... make it quick."
"I'll try my best."
I summoned another unstable Storm Atronach and levitated it into the air.
"Fus Ro Dah!"
Ha-neul used her Shout to grab the dragon's attention, then leaped high, using my Atronach as a platform. In that split second, I forced the Magicka inside the Atronach to overload, deliberately causing it to explode.
The resulting shockwave acted like a propellant, launching Ha-neul even higher, right up to the dragon's altitude. She'd been hesitant because the lightning pulse would hurt her, but it was our only shot at winning.
Flying toward Sahloknir, she slammed her Blades sword deep into its side. With its Health already low, the blade bit deep. With her free hand, she conjured a Fireball and shoved it directly into the wound.
"KRRRRRAGH!"
The dragon screamed in agony as its internals cooked. It lost its balance and plummeted to the earth. Before it could even regain its senses from the crash, Ha-neul held the Blades sword vertically and plunged it through the top of the dragon's skull.
"GAHHHHHH—!"
With its brain pierced, Sahloknir slumped over, dead.