[b][u][center]The Secrets of Solstheim: Reboot Chapter 1: Driven by a Dream Sponsored by bloodgod245 By Draconicon[/center][/u][/b] [i]It’s exactly the same…[/i] Sunset Scales paused on the dock, staring up at the great block of Fort Frostmoth and the snowy forests that were just beyond it. The Argonian couldn’t help comparing every detail to the ones that she saw every time she closed her eyes, and couldn’t stop the shiver running down her spine as her thoughts repeated themselves. [i]It’s exactly the same. Exactly.[/i] She’d finally found the right place. Bumped by some of the soldiers that had shared the ship with her, the young female kept walking, making her way up the dock and onto the path that led towards the fort. Her meager furs – purchased at high cost back on Vvardenfell – were barely enough to keep the worst of the chill off her, and the ground bit at her three-toed feet. She was almost used to it. The water flooding through the bottom of the ship on the journey north hadn’t exactly been warm. Tugging her bag up her shoulder, she soon fell behind the professional soldiers, the men of the legion passing by and walking through the gate to the fort. Sunset Scales paused there, looking through, taking in the sights, comparing them to her dream. The dreams hadn’t shown her what the inside of the fort would look like now, only later. After. After the…things…that had filled her nights. Then, the fort would be filled with fire and smoke, with fur and flesh. Now, it was bustling with soldiers and priests, clerics of the Imperial Cult and their initiates. Here and there, she could spot someone that didn’t belong in the same way. Merchants that had come hoping for untapped markets, wizards trading for frost-based ingredients, hunters that were trying to make ends meet: they were all there, and they were all as unfamiliar as could be. The only one that she knew, she knew from the future. An Imperial commander, and one that was just passing by to talk to the new troops. She knew she needed to talk to him, too. Trusting her dreams to be right, as they had been so far, Sunset Scales passed through the fort gate and approached the commander. She caught the tail end of his speech as he dismissed the other men. “…sure that you carry plenty of Wolfsbane if any of your patrols are assigned to the north. There are strange things in the night.” He gestured. “Dismissed.” Sunset Scales slowed her approach as the Imperial turned to her, his eyes narrowing as soon as he saw her. No surprise. She did not remember any Argonians in her dreams, and she doubted that many of her people would come this far north. She bobbed her head in greeting. “I…are you the one in charge here?” she asked, wanting to be sure. “I am. Captain Falx Carius.” Falx Carius. Another name that had been in her dream. He would be bloodied badly later, but he’d survive. She was sorry for that. “I…I need help.” “What’s happened?” “Nothing.” [i]Yet.[/i] “I…I need to get to the north side of the island. To the Skaal.” “…” He shook his head, starting to turn away. Sunset Scales darted forward before he could, grabbing him by the arm and yanking him around again. He was halfway to pulling his sword out before he stopped himself. She forced herself to remember that he was a soldier, not one of the farmers or mages that she was used to dealing with back on the island. Sunset Scales forced herself to let go, her fingers twitching as she dropped her gaze. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I just…I need to see them.” “Why?” “They…I need to speak with them. They know…they can help me…” “I don’t know what you think they know, but don’t waste your time. The Skaal are primitive people. Good people, but nothing more than a superstitious northern tribe. Whatever you think they can do –” “They [i]can[/i] help. The prophecies…” She hissed, shaking her head. No, not the prophecies. Her dreams. She had studied her dreams. The prophecies were wrong. Or…or missing things. It was hard to tell. She wasn’t in the dream, wasn’t connected the way that she should be, so it was hard to be sure of anything. “I need to talk to them. Please. Just…just a guard. Just so I can make it there. Please. Please…” Her scales itched, her jaws hurt as she forced the fears down again. The fear that she wouldn’t make it to the other side of the island in time. She’d barely made it across the big island, past Red Mountain and through the vast Ashlands. If she faltered now, if she died to a beast in the forest or a monster in the snow, then all of this… She looked up at him again, her eyes watering. “Please…please…” “…Fine. I’ll assign two men as escorts. But they will bring you back first thing in the morning. You don’t know how dangerous it is out there at night. Wait here.” “Thank you…thank you…” Sunset Scales bobbed her head in gratitude, whimpering quietly as relief spread through her. She was going to make it. She would be with [i]them[/i] in time for the dreams to come true. Everything would be okay. He was wrong about one thing, though. She knew exactly how dangerous it was at night. Exactly. # The journey north took most of the day, and the soldiers proved their worth. The men of the legion slaughtered several spriggans on the way, as well as wild boars and something worse that had crawled out from under one of the hills of snow. Their armor was bloodied by the time they reached the low hills that marked the edge of Skaal territory. Sunset Scales was near to freezing. Lacking the same form as humans and elves, her legs barely had a barrier of wrapped cloth between them and the snow, and her toes were unfortunately exposed. They had gone numb nearly an hour ago, and she couldn’t stop shivering as they climbed up the side of the hill. The Argonian forced herself to keep thinking of her goals. The Skaal would be able to point her to her final destination. Soon, she’d bring her dream into the real world. Soon…soon she would be [i]theirs.[/i] The obsession burned in her hot enough to keep her moving. They approached the rough huts of the Skaal, several fur-wrapped warriors coming out to watch their approach. They didn’t pull out any weapons, though. She imagined that they could tell that they weren’t the foes that they’d been fighting for the last few months. One of the soldiers stayed with her as the other stepped forward. He shouted to them. “We bring a lizard to speak to the shaman!” “Who wishes to speak with Korst Wind-Eye?” one of the warriors called back. “She calls herself Sunset Scales.” “We do not know that name. Leave.” The Argonian’s heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t be pushed away now. She couldn’t be. She needed this. Had to have it. Had to talk to him. “Bloodmoon!” she shouted. The warriors froze in their steps, no longer moving to depart. They slowly turned back, staring at her. “Bloodmoon,” she said again. “Tell him I want to speak of Bloodmoon.” They hesitated before one of them nodded to the smallest of their number. He left, running for one of the other huts and disappearing into it. The Argonian, on the other hand, continued to shiver. She had not meant to expose her knowledge of that prophecy, not with people that actually knew what it meant. It turned her from a dreamer to something else. But if she didn’t talk to them at all… The warrior returned, coming down the hill. He gestured at her to come with him. “Korst Wind-Eye will see you. Warriors, you will lodge in one of the other tents.” Sunset Scales had already dismissed them from her mind. All that mattered now was the shaman. If she could convince him of her needs, then the rest didn’t matter. He could point her to [i]them,[/i] and she could stop dreaming and start living. She could have her world make sense again. The Nord warrior took her to the hut in question, holding the flap open for her to enter. She nodded her thanks and stepped inside. As expected, the man sitting at the far end of the tent had the wrinkles of age and the scars of a warrior. She had not met a Nord that lacked them in her limited years, and a shaman this far from civilization would have needed to grow up with a sword in his hand. He looked at her, his eyes piercing and his lips turned down in a frown. “What do you know of the Bloodmoon?” he asked. “Little except for my dreams.” “…What do you dream?” Sunset Scales shifted from one foot to another, digging her toes into the blankets and furs around her. For the first time in hours, her toes didn’t feel numb. The pins and needles were hardly an improvement, however. “Blood. Blood and fur, and howls. And…and more. Heat. A great…heat.” “Like fire?” “No, like…[i]heat.[/i]” She stressed it, pushing it as her cheeks burned at the memories of those parts of the dreams. She always woke with her heart in her throat and her bedding needing a wash after those ones. Korst seemed to get the message, clearing his throat. “There is nothing to be done with those dreams, young one. If you thought that I could take them from you, you’re wrong.” “I –” “Just be steadfast. In a few more days, the prophecy’s time will be over. The dreams will stop then.” “…I don’t want them to stop.” What compassion had been in his eyes after hearing of the dreams disappeared. He stood up, his knees cracking and his spine likewise. “What?” “I don’t want the dreams to stop. I…I want more.” “…” He said nothing as he walked past her. She turned, unable to stop herself. “I want to find them. I want to find the pack.” Korst stopped again, hesitating with his fingers on the tent flap. He sighed. “I can’t let you leave. Warriors!” His call summoned four to the tent, and a gesture sent them to her. She struggled, but they were far stronger than she. They restrained her arms behind her back, pulling out rope as they dragged her to one of the poles at the edge of the tent. “What are you doing?! I came here for help!” “I am helping you,” Korst said. “You have been fooled by the dreams. Tomorrow, the soldiers will take you back to the fort. I’ll send a message with them for their leader, telling him to keep you restrained. In a few days, it will all be over.” “No, no! You can’t do this!” She squirmed, trying and failing to get free. “I need this! They need me!” “And that’s why you can’t be allowed to leave.” He nodded at the guards. “Strip her and tie her up. Don’t let her leave.” Sunset Scales screamed at the departing shaman, shaking her head and weeping as the men dragged her back against the post. They pulled her arms around it, holding her wrists together as they tied her hands together. As soon as she was pinned, they started pulling her clothes off. They ripped her fur top, throwing the pieces to the ground, and forced her to lean back against the pull as they pulled her skirt off. The loincloth came after, exposing her slit, and they took their time in unwrapping the long lines of cotton from her legs. They didn’t even save those; they tossed the wraps into the fire, burning them to nothingness. “Why?” she hissed. “Why…take it all…” “The shaman demands it,” was the only answer she got. Two warriors left, leaving the other two standing at her side. They had their backs to her, probably in some gesture of ‘respect’ for her situation. It didn’t matter. Sunset Scales could feel the dream sliding out of reach. If she didn’t find some way to get free tonight, then there would never be another chance. No matter what, she needed to break free of the village. Somehow. # It was nearly midnight when a shout went up outside the tent. The older of the two Nords leaped for the door. “Don’t take your eyes off her,” was the last thing he said before disappearing. Sunset Scales didn’t know what was happening outside, nor did she care. All that mattered was that she was guarded by only one person, and as bad as those odds were with her arms tied behind her back, she knew that it was the best chance she was going to get. Particularly with the way that he looked at her. She’d feigned sleep for a while, letting herself sag and hang from her restraints, but she’d been aware of eyes on her. Every so often, she’d lift one eyelid just enough to be able to see, and she’d noticed him looking at her, his eyes running up and down her body. Mostly resting between her legs, but occasionally looking over her legs, too. She was still pretending to be asleep now, and with his partner gone, he seemed emboldened to take action. The dreams prepared her for the feeling of hands on her body, but it was one thing to dream it and another to feel it. Sunset Scales barely stifled her gasp as she felt warm flesh against her thighs, the touch gentle but firm enough to push them apart. Warm air from the fire brushed against her sex, and a finger followed it. [i]Ah…he…he wants that…[/i] Sunset Scales forced herself to stay limp, letting him touch her as he wanted. It was…invasive, and a large part of her wanted to kick up a fuss and get him to stop, but she pushed it down. The dreams told her that she’d need to do this eventually. She might as well be ready for the pack. When she didn’t respond, he pulled her legs up, nearly sending her sliding down the pole. Her head tilted to the side, letting her open her eyes just that little bit to be able to see what he was doing. He had already opened his furs, allowing his cock out. It was a simple human shaft, small and pale compared to what she had seen in her dreams. It barely ground against her in the way that the knotted shafts had, would not fill her in the same way. She would not be sullied for them. He pulled her up a bit further, clumsily adjusting himself so that his cock rested against her slit in a more suitable way for rutting. The human tilted his shaft down, pointed the head towards her opening – And thrust. Sunset Scales arched her back, gasping in shock at the sudden ripping feeling inside of her. Her virginity had just been taken, and he definitely felt bigger than he looked. The dreams had never shown her what the pain could be like. But she could take it. That was the important part. She could take it, and she did, letting it go further into her body. The smooth shaft was gentler than the pointed one of the wolves, at least. That reality was nicer than the dream. There was no more pretending that she was asleep. The Argonian opened her eyes, staring at the human between her legs. He had no shame as he used her, holding her legs up so that he could get a better angle. Her ankles rested on his shoulders, and every so often he would drag a thumb between her toes, almost like he enjoyed touching her down there. It teased her a bit, and her sex twitched in response when he did. “You…are…too beautiful…to be given to the dogs,” he grunted as he fucked her. “Maybe you should stay…we’d keep you warm…” He was young, maybe younger than her by a year or two. She blushed at the offer, but turned her head to the side. She couldn’t accept it. The dream had called her, and she had to come. “Come on…you can enjoy it…why would you want animals…when you can have…proud warriors? Oh god…oh god you feel good…” He kept talking, shifting between what she should want and what they offered to how good she felt around his cock. It was…pleasant enough, she supposed, once the pain had subsided… But the dreams… He kept fucking her, kept slamming in. He leaned forward more, his head between her paws. He wasn’t even paying attention, and he was so off-balance the only thing that kept him upright was her body. And that was just what she wanted. Just as he started to speed up, she brought her legs together, hard. Her toes curled, the tips of her claws stabbing in. He froze as she speared his brain on her toe-claws, his eyes going wide as he looked down at her. There was a moment of silence, his mouth struggling to form the words of a question. Sunset Scales twisted her paws, ripping through his skull, and he went limp. She let him collapse on her, his knife falling from his waist. She grabbed it with her tail, nudging it and pulling it around until it could reach the ropes behind her. In seconds, she was free. He slid out of her as she got to her feet, and the Argonian trembled at the feeling of his blood between her toes. It was hot and thick, and sticky. She shivered, but forced herself towards the door. He was kind. Naïve, but kind. She wished he hadn’t stood in her way, but she couldn’t deny the call. She just…couldn’t… [b][u][center]The End[/center][/u][/b]