WarriorMage
Hey! Someone stole my sweet roll!
I guess I'll try my hand at it. A young, female Nord fresh out of Helgen. I hope you enjoy it.
I
Cautiously, Tanyra entered the crypt. It was the first one she had ever seen and she was more than a little nervous. She was terrified. But she needed the money. The merchant in Riverwood said he would pay her handsomely if she retrieved a golden claw that had been stolen from him. She had accepted, though not eagerly. The young Nord had just barely managed to escape Helgen with her life, much less any belongings other than the clothes she wore. She was just about to be executed merely for being in the wrong place at the wrong time when a dragon had attacked. She had been told tales of dragons that had once lived in Skyrim long ago but had never believed them. Until now. She never would have thought that her escape would be brought about by a dragon, of all things.
She shook herself back to the present. She couldn’t think about that now. She had to concentrate on the task at hand.
As she moved deeper into the tomb she heard a sound up ahead, like the rustling of dry leaves. She crept forward as silently as she could. Peaking around the corner she saw it. A Draugr. She had heard of them, but never thought they, like the dragon, really existed. Her brother and his friends used to use stories of them to scare her as a child. “You better watch out! The Draugrs will get you! They come in the night and eat little girls.” When she asked what Draugrs were her dad told her they were ancient Nords that had been cursed with undeath.
Summoning her courage she leapt out, raising her hands as she did so. A gout of flames shot out from her palms. She held her hands steady and the Draugr was incinerated under her onslaught until, nearly reduced to ashes, it collapsed to the ground.
Exhausted, she stood staring down at the body. She hadn’t used her magic much but the few times she did it always drained her. She needed to rest a few minutes before she continued.
She had heard that Draugrs were great hoarders of gold and jewelry. Tanyra quickly searched the room then, finding nothing, realized that she’d have to resort to searching the body itself. She bent down and, taking a deep breath, plunged her hands into the pile of debris that was once the Draugr. It was like reaching into a box of old parchments except that it was warm from her attack. This, somehow, made it worse. It was as if there was still some semblance of life left in the body. She realized she was looting something that had once been a living, breathing person. Not just a monster in a cave.
Her hand touched something that was warmer than the rest of the body. Almost hot. Realizing it was metal she pulled it out. Three gold coins. So much for the tales of Draugr treasure. But it was at least something.
Suddenly she heard a sound behind her. She turned to find a second Draugr almost upon her. She quickly raised her hands to attack. The brief burst of flame that she produced wasn’t enough to do any major damage. She hadn’t had enough time to recuperate from the first attack. She reached for her mace but was too slow. The Draugr sliced at her with its sword. Searing pain shot through her arm as the sword found its mark, slicing through flesh and nerves and grating against bone. The hand holding the mace went limp and the weapon fell from her fingers. The Draugr swung again. Another burst of pain, this time in her throat as the sword cut into her. Tanyra fell, clutching her neck. She could feel her warm blood draining out of her body, her hands sticky with the precious fluid. As her eyes fluttered closed the last thing she saw was the Draugr standing over her. Mindlessly, he turned and walked away, finished with her. As she lay there she could hear her heart pounding in her ears, the time between each beat increasing. Until she heard no more.
