"Great work!'
Galmar laughed, giving us a thumbs up as we went down and continued delving into the cramped chambers of Korvanjud.
FUS RO DAH!
A sudden ear-splitting noise rang out from beyond, the sound strong enough to even knock out the light of candles from the room we were in.
A noise that made even the most war-hardened Nord hesitate to move.
"That's what I mean..."
Ralof laughed hesitantly beside him, shield raised, his hands trembling in fear.
It was clear that the sudden use of Thuum filled everyone with hesitation; nobody was ready to hear it, nor did they even know it existed apart from stories.
But now they did, and it definitely came from a draugr no less.
"Move, don't let a long-dead warrior's voice get to you."
Galmar held his iron battleaxe, advancing first. In times like these, the leader needs to give a good example to his soldiers.
And I followed suit as well. This wasn't my first time dealing with draugr, and it wasn't exactly an experience I was proud of.
SLASH!
CLANG!
THWACK!
The sounds of fighting echoed a few rooms ahead of us, the entire way clear from imperial soldiers as even more of the Thuum was used.
It seemed the imperials were reckless enough to awaken the dead.
"Fall back!"
An imperial ahead shouted, falling back from where they came and accidentally meeting up with us.
They were now surrounded from both sides, one filled with Stormcloaks and one filled with draugr.
Both were a complete death sentence.
"Charge!"
I led the charge this time. I had more experience in fighting draugr than all of the men with me combined. It would be better to show them there was nothing to fear than to stay behind and stay in formation.
SLASH!
I decapitated the imperial that led the retreating force in one swift motion, his brief hesitation making it enough for me to find a clear opening.
"W-what!?"
The imperials who blocked the draugr from following looked behind, seeing their leader dead, and they knew they were next.
THUD!
SLASH!
SLASH!
They were also easy prey, and I couldn't say it was due to my skill, but more so to the fact that they were distracted too much by the draugr to even fight back.
As the imperials fell, the draugr came and replaced them immediately, rushing into the small doorway as they tried to push through the corpses of dead imperials.
I briefly took a step backward, giving me space to raise my shield as I prepared to fight.
"Bjorn, don't be a hero! Fight in formation!"
Galmar commanded, and I would love nothing more than to do what he said, but I needed to be an example of how non-threatening the draugr are for a single Nord.
It would help in the long term, after all.
"No need! I can handle them!"
CLANG!
My arm trembled as the ancient Nordic mace met my shield. They were stronger than I remembered, but compared to living warriors, they were nothing more than dumber bandits.
BASH!
I bashed the draugr in front of me straight in the head to disorientate it, then immediately followed up with a thrust to the head, killing it swiftly as I now retreated.
One kill would be enough to convince my fellow Stormcloaks.
"Did you see that...?"
"Yeah..."
"They're nothing more than just rotting corpses after all!"
The Stormcloaks laughed, their earlier morale returning as Galmar looked at them with a befuddled expression.
"Well, I can't complain..."
He sighed before leading the charge again to clear out the next room that was filled with draugr, albeit with more casualties than the previous encounters.
It seemed some were still hesitant, and that caused their deaths.
But we had no time to grieve; it was still a race against who could get the jagged crown first.
"Continue!"
Galmar yelled out until we arrived in a long hallway with etchings on the walls and a discarded dragon claw on the floor. It seemed the imperials had figured out how to open the final chamber.
FUS RO DAH!
"Shit...!"
"Be careful!"
The sounds of imperials in battle ahead were heard once more, the same as last time, but obviously, this time, a lot more different.
They weren't just fighting draugr, but a deathlord along with its restless counterparts.
Even I was terrified to enter, hoping the imperials would deal with it before we even needed to enter; everyone thought of it as well.
But all of us knew that wouldn't happen.
And despite that, they didn't seem to fear going in at all; they might be hesitant, but they weren't reluctant to enter.
My earlier stunt was worth it after all.
Galmar noticed it as well and approached me and gave me a pat on the shoulder, with an appreciative smile on his face.
"I'll tell Ulfric to give you a promotion after we get out of here alive!"
Galmar laughed as he once again led the charge, this time with more mania than the last. It seemed he was also trying to hype himself up to hide his fear.
"For Skyrim!"
"Follow the general!"
As a hundred Stormcloaks ran past me, Ralof seemed to fall behind, at a loss for words at the morale of his brethren.
"You really made an impression on them... huh?"
"More than I expected."
Ralof laughed at my reply before urging me to join in the final fight for the crown.
"Bjorn, right? I'll remember that."
"You as well."
We both gave our last remarks to each other as we headed into battle along with the tide of the other Stormcloaks.
None of us here knew if we would even make it out alive.
FUS... RO DAH!
As soon as we entered... that concern was immediately confirmed valid as dozens of Stormcloaks had already lost their life, a single draugr remaining, fighting everyone all at once.
It was the one who used the Thuum.
"Shit...!"
I yelled out as it prepared another shout.
DAH!
As soon as I heard the last words of the shout, multiple bodies immediately flew out and crashed onto my shield, a single shout taking out multiple Stormcloaks in one fell swoop.
"Bjorn! Help me already, dammit!"
Galmar yelled out to me, still fighting the draugr deathlord, somehow dodging the shout as he traded blow after blow using his iron greataxe.
He wasn't just Ulfric's second in command for nothing.
"Got it!"
I shouted, but it came out weaker than I thought... it seemed even a veteran like me was starting to feel afraid.
At least... until something strange happened.
The Serpent Stone had awakened