My Little Dovahkiin: Wrath of the Damned

Chapter 6

4E 202

The Rift, Skyrim. At the site of the bandit encounter.

Isen stood as still as a statue. His legs were spread to increase balance and equalize the pressure. His shield was held high so that his eyes peeked out from behind the shield. He experimentally twirled his sword around in his right hand, the iron gauntlet giving him a better grip. He could practically feel the adrenaline flow through his veins.

This was what Isen called, for a lack of better term, 'Battle sense'. At times, he seemed more aware in combat, and time would slow down when an enemy tried to land a deadly swing. He would usually blame it on his draconic soul, but until Tythis gave him a proper rundown, it was all just speculation.

The Dark Elf charged first, uttering a war cry as he raised his sword in the air. What an amateur.

Isen easily dodged the slow attack, hitting the Dunmer in-between the shoulder blades with the Relentless' hilt. The elf yelped in pain and dove straight into a tree.

Isen turned around just in time to see an arrow fly right by his face and impact a tree. The Wood Elf began knocking another arrow onto his bow. Isen capitalized on this and charged the short bandit.

The outlaw cowered in fear. Just before Isen could reach the Bosmer, the Redgaurd leader pounced upon him, knocking the Dovahkiin off his feet. He landed on the ground hard. The Redgaurd was just about to bring down his sword when Isen struck the bandit with the hilt of his sword.

While the bandit was stunned, Isen sunk his sword into the bandit's abdomen. A look of shock appeared on the Redgaurd's face. With a mighty heft, Isen kicked the dying man off of him, who hit the earth with a soft 'thud'.

Another battle cry sounded from behind Isen, and he turned in time to see that the fat Nord had decided to join the fight. Isen narrowly blocked the large axe as it came down on his head. The bandit charged Isen again, the top of the axe pointed forward. Isen tried to dodge, but he was too slow. He gasped as the blunt head of the battle axe hit his unarmored gut, his sword and shield flying out of his grip.

The Nord raised the battle axe above his head and brought it down in a chopping motion. In mid-chop, Isen grabbed the wooden shaft right below the blade of the axe. He huffed as he fought against the chubby Nord's strength. Isen reached out with his left hand and clocked the Nord in the jaw. Stunned, the fat man let go of the axe. Just as planned.

Isen took the iron-bladed battle axe in both hands, his grip firm. He then flipped the axe so that the spike opposite the blade was presented. Isen swung the blade horizontally at the stunned Nord. The bandit wailed in agony as the spike embedded itself in his left hip. Isen pulled the blade back out, flinging blood this way and that. He flipped the axe again so that the blade faced outward again. His swung again, this time hitting the bleeding man in gut. Isen didn't need to now the man was done for.

A sharp stinging pain shot up his arm. Isen turned around, finding an arrow lodged in his upper arm. Grunting, he pulled out the arrow, crimson liquid shooting up from the wound. Isen rolled to his shield and grasped the handle. In a quick motion, he not only deflected another arrow from the archer, but also an attack from the Dark Elf.

"FUS RO DAH!"

Applejack was searching all over for Rainbow Dash. The tomboyish Pegasus…wait, make that Nord, as Isen had once described, was always getting into trouble. The rest of the girls were stretched thin, also attempting to find the rainbow-headed Element of Loyalty.

Applejack had just finished another circle when a loud, thunderous 'boom' was heard, accompanied by the sound: 'FUS RO DAH.'

"Now what in the hayaaAHHHH!"

Applejack was interrupted as she was flung through the air at startling speeds. She continued screaming until her flight path took her into a tree. With a loud 'thump', she impacted the pine tree and hit the ground face first.

Applejack grunted and rubbed her head. 'Now what 'n tarnation was that?' she thought.

Concluding that Rainbow always went towards the action, she stood up went in the direction the force came from. Today was just frustrating.

The Dunmer cried in surprise as he was catapulted into the air and crashed into the Wood Elf. Isen quickly gripped the handle of his sword and charged at the dazed duo, stepping on the life-less form of the Redguard.

It was at this time that the Dark Elf decided to abandon his comrade, who shouted back at his fleeing friend. The Bosmer turned back to see the Dragonborn walking towards him. Reacting quickly, the elf pulled two iron daggers from the back of his belt. An un-foreseen obstacle.

While Wood Elves were known for their amazing archery skills, they also had unremarkable speed and agility. If the elf got too close to Isen with the daggers, he could be cut to ribbons.

Of course, that's just what happened…mostly.

Before Isen could raise his sword, the bandit was already upon him. The outlaw kicked at the bulkier man with ease and threw attacks that could barely be parried. Slowly but surely, Isen was forced back into a tree, giving him a small area in which to maneuver. The elf got below the Nord's guard and got a slice at the man's sword arm, leaving a long crimson trail up the forearm and close to the armpit, ignoring his opponent's heavily armored shoulder.

Isen yelped in pain and dropped Relentless onto the forest floor. The short adversary tried to capitalize on this, but found himself in a vice-like grip. The Bosmer dropped his daggers and clutched at his throat as Isen held the man with his bleeding arm. He reared back and sent the bandit into a tree, leaving the elf dazed.

Charging at break-neck speed, Isen slipped his hand out of the shields grip, and held it firmly by the iron rims. The Bosmer shook his head and looked up just in time to see a very angry Nord bring down his shield over the elf's head. Blood sprayed everywhere, coating dirt, rock, and wood alike in dark liquid.

Isen continued to bring his shield down on the unfortunate man. Blood spayed onto Isen's armor and helm, even temporarily blocking out his left eye. The short height of the elf kept the Bosmer from attacking Isen. Either that or the unbearable pain the elf was feeling. Soon enough, Isen heard the satisfying 'crack' of the bandit's skull caving in. Said man weakly clutched at Isen's boots until he stopped moving completely.

"Dear Celestia…"

Isen spun around to face the 6 un-deniably scared faces of his companions. Twilight stared blankly at Isen, tears running down her face. Rarity was sobbing into Applejack's neck, who was holding her odd hat loosely in her grip as she, too, cried softly; Pinkie Pie seemed darker and less…'bright', for lack of a better term as she stared at the Redgaurd's corpse. Her hair was no longer curled and fluffed up, and was instead completely straight, as if someone had deflated her. Rainbow Dash was trying, and failing, desperately to stop herself from crying.

But it was Fluttershy's look that broke Isen's heart. She was shaking violently as she surveyed the scene before her. She was gripping her upper arms so tightly that her knuckles were a bony white. She, unlike Dash, was crying openly, making Isen's heart almost stop.

Then, she bolted.

'I'll say it again: Damn.'

Fluttershy didn't stop running. She didn't stop when they called her name, and she didn't stop at the sound of twigs cracking behind her. All she knew was that she had to escape from him.

Fluttershy blinked away the tears clouding her vision. One false step and he would get her. She continued running through bush and bramble alike, tearing miniscule cuts through her brown pants and pricking her skin. She couldn't stop, so she could only wince.

Isen had seemed so nice at first. He gave Fluttershy and her friends food, clothes and even a place to sleep, and he had asked for nothing in return! He had stayed behind to protect them from those mean strangers, possibly risking his life in doing so.

But now Fluttershy had seen him differently. No longer was he a 'knight in shining armor' as she had heard Rarity had once quote. Now he was a monster.

He showed no sympathy for those strangers. He did not try to reason with them. He didn't even try to talk to them! Instead he…b-bu-butchered those nasty men like a lumberjack would fell a tree. He was brutal and efficient, killing them all like he had done it many times before. It seemed so easy for him to end those lives, lives that could have been reformed into good people.

Now Fluttershy saw him as a monster; a monster that killed like a machine, showing little to no emotion as he ended the lives of those who could be turned back to good, and Fluttershy knew exactly what to do when confronted with monsters:

RUN!