My Random Skyrim Stories

The Mage Harbinger (Vilkas) 2

Outside Vilkas looked worriedly around, then out in the distance on the plains he saw the spectral form of Ylsa running back towards Whiterun. When she saw that he'd seen her, she gave a bark and turned to run back the direction she'd come, clearly trying to show him the way before she disappeared again.

Vilkas hurried through the Underforge and out to the plains where he could follow her. She was long gone by the time Vilkas reached the plains, but he took off at a run in the direction he'd last seen her, wondering nervously what kind of trouble Lystrid could be in.

Ylsa appeared again, running toward him, from almost the direction he'd been heading. She barked at him again, and turned back to show him where to go and Vilkas followed.

At least whatever mess the Harbinger had gotten herself into she was able to summon her familiar, apparently repeatedly.

Just at the forests' edge, northeast of the city, Vilkas began to notice large swaths of ground were scorched, and Ylsa was leading him toward a large section of downed trees the last time she disappeared, and then when she reappeared, he actually saw her summoned from beneath a large collapsed pile of trees.

Ylsa ran a circle around him, yipping happily before darting back to the awkward pile of trees and branches.

Vilkas followed quickly. "Lystrid?!" He called out, "Lystrid are you in there?"

"Oh thank Talos!" He heard her sigh in relief, "who's there? Vilkas is that you?"

"Aye, what in Oblivion 've you gotten yourself into?"

"The bastard pinned me when it died," she explained in obvious frustration, "and I can't just blast it off of me because I'm using too much magica on not dying."

Vilkas looked back at what he'd initially thought was an awkward pile of downed trees and branches, and realized it was actually not a pile of wood at all... "by Ysmir... it's a dragon," he heard himself exclaim in shock.

"It was a dragon," Lystrid corrected in mild exasperation, "now it's a very heavy, dead pile of bones. Can you hurry please? I'm under the clavicle."

Vilkas hurried around the large skeleton to where her voice was coming from. His heart dropped when he saw her whole lower half appeared to be crushed underneath the dead beast's shoulder.

"Can you climb out if I can lift this?" He asked worriedly.

In answer Lystrid flicked her wrist over her head and Ylsa appeared again, standing beside her head. "No, but here's hoping she can pull me out."

"Alright," Vilkas nodded, he squatted down and took hold of the large bone that had her pinned and made sure he had a firm grip. "On three," he warned, making sure she was ready before he began the count... when he saw Ylsa had a firm grip on whatever it was Lystrid was holding on to, he counted and then lifted with all his might.

The bones were heavy. Vilkas was afraid he'd pulled something, but he managed to lift the entire skeleton high enough long enough for Ylsa to pull Lystrid free. Once he could see she was clear he dropped what remained of the dragon with a heavy sigh, being suddenly reminded that he'd been tired before this whole thing started. Now he was absolutely exhausted.

Lystrid let out a hissed grimace of pain as she quickly began casting what Vilkas had come to recognize as her healing spell. The warm golden light wrapping around her didn't unsettle him the way the eerie purple shimmer of summoning did. She groaned in pain as the spell fizzled out and began quickly fumbling for her gear pack.

"What do you need?" Vilkas asked, crouching tiredly beside her. He noticed uncomfortably that her legs and hips weren't quite the right shape.

"Potions," she replied in a strained voice, "and... one of my robes..." she mumbled as she pulled a heavy, fur-lined dove-grey hood from her pack and threw it hurriedly over her head and shoulders. Her hands lit with the gold light of her healing spell again before she even got the hood pulled properly on. She groaned again as the spell fizzled out again several moments later.

Vilkas meanwhile busied himself opening her potion satchel to see what she had. He quickly handed her the largest healing potion she had, which she drank quickly.

"Give me a blue one," she requested after that, "I don't have that many healing ones."

Vilkas obliged, trying not to let himself feel curious as he watched her. She choked down four of the potions in blue bottles, grumbling something under her breath about hating the gloppy ones, before she began casting her healing spell once more.

Finally her legs and hips began to at least look like the right shape again and she sat up, slowly, gingerly flexing her knees and twisting carefully at the waist.

Without really thinking Vilkas reached out to support her and she leaned tiredly against him. His heart jumped at the warmth of how close she was.

"Thank you," she mumbled, "I wasn't sure anyone would come at this hour."

"I'm just glad I was still in the hall," Vilkas replied earnestly. "What in Oblivion even happened?"

Lystrid sighed heavily, "I suppose I do owe you that explanation," she mumbled as her eyes fell shut. "Healing... whole hip bones... is so exhausting though," she yawned softly. She looked like she was trying to say something else, but her eyes fluttered shut as she passed out, her head falling heavily onto Vilkas's shoulder. Ylsa let out a concerned whine before vanishing in a crackle of sparks again.

Vilkas sighed tiredly in mild frustration, but didn't bother trying to wake her. Instead he helped himself to one of the stamina potions in her satchel before gathering the Harbinger carefully into his arms to carry her home.