User blog:The Milkman/Tamriel Tales: Big Game Hunting

The Slightly Embellished Adventures of Alflagondorf the Adventurer

Big Game Hunting

Chapter One: To Rannveig's Fast We Go
This short story chronicles a true (if slightly embellished) adventure I've had with my main PC character, Alflagondorf.

Emerging from Brittleshin Pass, the adventurer Alflagondorf, accomponied by his stalwart companion Faendal stopped to rest on a small rock outcropping. Scouting the vast field ahead of them, Al's eyes lit up as he some a pair of figures approaching on the road from the west.

"Hey Faendal, you hungry?"

He was. They hadn't eaten since early that morning, when they stopped in Oakwood for breakfast. Of course, this wasn't any breakfast. This was Alflagondorf called "a Nord breakfast", which generally consisted of a few slices of venison, washed down with a bottle of mead. Faendal decided to sit quitely by the fire, a decision he now regretted. The plan was simple: head out from Lakeview, pass Oakwood, and cut through Brittleshin Pass. He was especially grateful that a guard mentioned the cave in passing, though. Of course, the mention was affixed by a warning to stay away there, something they fully understood after narrowly defeating a necromancer and his undead minions. With this route, they were able to cut down their journey to Rannveig's Fast to a single day.

Faendal's eyes turned to the road, and his heart sank. Oh, there was food, all right. A cow, guarded by a single giant. Before he could even begin to attempt to reason with his Nord comrade, he had already fired a poison-tipped arrow at the beast. The two fired as many possible, but before long, the giant was upon them, and showed no signs of slowing down. Thinking fast, Alflagondorf dashed out the way, jumping off the outcropping. Faendal was too slow however, and was hit by grazed by the club of the giant, wounding him. Luckily, the enemy lost interest, charging toward Alflagondorf. He fired a few more shots, but the juggernaut could not be halted. Turning heel and sprinting away again, he assessed the situation. When facing a giant, distance is your best weapon. When he felt he had enough distance, he commenced to walk backwards, firing arrows as he did so. After firing a few more frost-enchanted arrows in rapid succession, he came to a grim conclusion: firing the arrows at the pace he was going wasn't going to be enough; the giant was going to close the gap, and soon too. Al had realised this just in time; just as he turned to jump off the rock from which he was firing, the giant came down with his mighty club, narrowly missing our hero, and sending an earth-shattering rubble that shook his very bones. He continued to sprint, to the point where Faendal had begun to fear he was being abandoned.

But a true Nord of Skyrim doesn't run from a fight. Alflagondorf was one such person, and his sprinting was merely a tactical repositioning. Planting his feet firm into the ground, he was determined to fell the giant right in that spot.



"Watch closely Faendal! Future generations will talk of this battle, and of me, Alflagondorf, Slayer of Giants!" Al shouted.

And so he did. Alflagondorf fired a volley of no more than five arrows, the last of which brought the foul beast down to its knees. With that, he did not hesitate. One more arrow, and it died. Faendal gathered the strength to walk, and reunited with his companion. Looking around the field, he looked at Al with a puzzled glance.

"Where did the cow go?"

Alflagondorf looked left and right, but there was no sign of the succulent farm animal. He hadn't considered that the cow would run away during the fight.

"I uhh... don't suppose you're hungry for some giant's toe?"

Chapter Two: Out of the Cooking Pot, Into the Fire
The remainder of their journey to Rannveig's Fast was fairly uneventful, save for one close brush with a bandit at Swindler's Den, which they made sure to give a wide berth. Arriving at the large Nordic ruin, they heard some odd sounds. It was a plea to stay away, but this wasn't like the regular bandits of Skyrim. They genuinely didn't want to fight. Unable to resist a challenge, Alflagondorf charged in, ready to slay them all. Upon getting close, he realised they were in fact ghosts. They were being forced to do the bidding of some evil Necromancer, he guessed. Showing a bit of his merciful side, he slew the two ghosts at the gate and searched the area for anything useful... or valuable. However, his lingering presence turned out to be a sorry gamble, as a passing dragon happened to notice them. Hearing its mighty roar, the two brandished their weapons and prepared for the fight of their lives. They had only fought two dragons in their adventure, one outside of Whiterun, and another in Riverwood. This time however, they were on their own. Could they really beat the best of legend, all on their own?

They glanced at each other for a single moment, then split up, with Faendal taking the narrower higher ground, where the dragon was less likely to land. Alflagondorf went lower, to face the dragon head-on. As it hovered close to the ground, the two began to pierce its scaly skin with their arrows. Downing a phial of fire resistance, Alflagondorf prepared to brave the blazing onslaught of conflagration. The dragon finally touched down to earth with a loud boom. Alflagondorf readied his axe and shield, and charged into the fray, with Faendal supporting him from above. Moving in with intense speed, the dragon callously spewed a fiery discharge, which Al quickly blocked. The heat was intense, but he managed to duck into an alcove for cover. Fumbling through his pack, he pulled out and imbibed a couple of healing potions. This wasn't going to be easy. He didn't even get close to scratch the thing!

He needed a new plan. The dragon circled overhead, finally coming in for another attack. He quickly rushed for cover, and watched in horror as the combustion flew around and past him, narrowly missing him. The dragon circled the skies once more, finally landing below Faendal. This time, he was ready. Jumping from the ledge on which Faendal had been firing, he flanked the dragon, striking its wings. Now the dragon was forced to fight him face-to-face. Or in this case, face-to-wing. He tried his best to deflect or dodge the blows from its tail, but this dragon was no fool. He quickly turned to face the Nord, and was ready to breathe fire once again. Alflagondorf prepared himself. He saved his strength for when he needed it most: when the dragon was getting ready to breath fire. Just as it prepared to do so, he bashed its ugly face with his banded iron shield, staving off its attacks. After a few more blows to the face, the dragon took flight. This time, the dragon was the one making a tactical retreat.



With a few more well-placed shots, Faendal managed to ground the wyrm. By this time, Al was right beside him on the highest level of the ruin. He jumped down again, but the dragon had learnt his trick. He was much farther away now, far enough to rain fire down on him. Shielding himself as best as he could from the attack, he jumped down one level and healed himself using all of his magicka. By the time all of his wounds were healed, the dragon was closing in on the narrow stairway in front of him. He was cornered, but did not fear death. If a Nord must die, it should be a fighting a legendary dragon! He readied his axe once again, and prepared for death. Just as he rounded the corner and climbed the stairs, Faendal fired one final arrow into the beast's back, killing it, causing Al's axe to miss and hit the air as the dragon recoiled. He stood there confused for a moment, but snapped out of it in an instant and looked up to his stalwart companion triumphantly.

"Excellent shooting there, chum!" Al exclaimed. "As is the ancient Nord custom, you get to carry its bones with you, since you killed the dragon."

Faendal rolled his eyes as he shouldered the burden. He was already carrying his weapons anyway, what was another dozen pounds or so?

"You don't suppose they'll have steak in there, do you?" Alfagondorf asked, as the two prepared to enter the dungeon.

Chapter Three: In the Depths of the Dead
The two snuck through the initial corridor of the dungeon carefully. They were hoping for an easy kill. In truth, they were wondering if this was worth the coin the The Companions were paying. He swallowed his fear as his pride swelled up again. ''I'm the great Alflagondorf, slayer of dragons and giants. I can handle one rogue wizard.'' he thought to himself. Approaching the main chamber, they stood up and gazed at the sight before them.

"Would you look at that." Faendal said, staring at the awesome sight.



Alflagondorf motioned for his elven companion to get down when he spotted a ghostly sentinel wandering the halls. Switching his axe for the bow, he took aim.

"He's probably like the others. Best we put him down quick." Al said.

"Maybe we should-

The arrow was already halfway to its target. It didn't take him down right away, though. This one was tough. Preparing for a true fight, he picked up his axe and shield and jumped down to fight him head-on. He wasn't prepared for the devastating force of his iron battle axe, though, which caused him to recoil. He stepped backwards a bit, taking careful note of his footing. Just as the ghost went in for another lunge, Al went in for a mighty swing of his war axe, followed up by two more strikes to finish off the begrudgingly hostile warrior. The two then turned to see a chest just ahead of them. Alflagondorf could hear another word wall calling to him.



Eager to claim his prize, he rushed ahead. Just as he was about to loot the chest, he felt his feet fall, as he descended to levels through a trap door into a bit of shallow water. He looked up to find the very warlock he'd been hunting mocking him as he lay trapped in a cell. The warlock continued to speak, but Alflagondorf didn't care for the rambling of a mage.

"Faendal be careful not to-"

Before he could finish, Faendal had fallen in behind him. The necromancer ignored them, rummaging through his things to find something suitable with which to finish them off. Alflagonforf, Slayer of Both Giants and Dragons, wasn't about to die in a cage. He motioned to the lock in front of the cell. Normally the notion would have insulted him, insinuating that just because he was a Bosmer, he knew how to pick locks. He did, but that's beside the point. He was in no position to be offended. As he moved over to the lock, Al's heart dropped.

"Ah! Here it is! Oh, and I was lying earlier, when I said it wouldn't hurt. It's going to hurt a lot."

Plunging his pick deep into the lock, he conquered the door, and just in time too. The mage begun his assault just as the door swung open.

"Faendal, stay there!" Alflagondorf shouted, as he rushed out of the cell to face the wizard head on with his axe.

His attacks nicked the mage, but his two spells were dealing damage, and fast. The continuous stream of frost was draining his energy, preventing him from bashing his shield. He was low on options. Just then, he remembered the Thu'um he had absorbed three dragon fights ago, at the Whitrerun Watchtower. It was his only shot. Taking a deep breath, he shouted.

"FUS!"

It didn't do much, but it knocked the mage back, giving him just enough time to close in for the kill. With a ferocious cry, he dug his axe deep into the warlock's skull, putting an end to his cruel schemes. They made sure to comb through the dungeon. Perhaps in death they could be of aid to this adventurer. The climb to the top was much less eventful, save for a couple of quick skirmishes. Once at the top, Al carfuly circumvented the trap, to claim his prize. He opened the chest with high anticipation, but ended up with disappointment.

"Empty. Of course it is. Vilkas better be paying top-coin for this job."

The two headed outside, greeted by the unrelenting darkness, contrasted against the beautiful night sky.

"It's been quite a day, hasn't it?" Al said.

"Yeah, and we never did get any steak." Faendal retorted, with a growling stomach.

"Don't worry friend. We'll stop by for a warm meal inRiverwood on the way back. You'll be able to tell that imperial girl about the time you slew a giant, a dragon, and a warlock, all in one day!" Al said, wtih a hearty laugh.

The two smiled as they looked out at the vast expanse of Skyrim, unsure of exactly what lay in store of them, but confident they'd be able to take it down together.