Then and there, as the executioner lifted his axe.. As Toast shut his eyes… As Beptiotus turned his head towards the sky, occupied by a blood-soaked sun… A single roar of a beast so powerful that, to call it a mere beast would be a severe understatement. “What was that?” Beptiotus called out, his eyes carefully combing the skies for anything unusual. “It’s nothing. Carry on”, A guard ordered as he motioned a hand towards the executioner. Again, the roar struck rage and fury across the sky, sending the clouds fleeing as the monstrosity’s call signaled its arrival. Beptiotus’s eyes began to widen as he stared at the sky. A black figure tore its way through the cyan blue of Sovngarde, a figure writhing with deep rage. “Archers up there! What’s that?” Beptiotus ordered as he unsheathed his sword, the metal whistling as it was rid of its container. Aeson could see it vividly, even with his head on the chopping block, something descending. In mere seconds, what was once in the sky was now clear in the eyes of all bystanders on that very day. A hideous beast stood perching atop the watchtower, with horns of obsidian black, eyes of blood red carnage, teeth of glistening rage, and wings of fiery fright. Its scales shone with a deadly metallic luster, as black as the darkest midnight, and its claws curved menacingly, as if it was something otherworldly… and to the Nords and Imperials on that very day, by Talos, it was. “What in the name of Oblivion is that?!”, one of the guards yelled, and in seconds, everything went chaotic. Aeson could feel the force of a dragon shout send the executioner in front of him to the ground. Before the man could stand up, the dragon’s mouth began to burn a bright red, and in no less than a second, a fiery breath began to erupt from its throat. The sweeping motion of the dragon’s head set half the outposts on fire, and the ground in front of Aeson burned with furious flames, the executioner now nothing but ashes. His breath now a rapid burst of fear, Aeson quickly lifted himself up, the stinging smoke blocking his vision. He saw nothing, but ran into the smoke; Staying in one place would only make him an easier target. Eventually, through slitted eyes, he could spot the layout of bricks, one that could only signal a wall, and eventually, as he got closer, an opening. Stumbling on his feet, he tripped as he entered the small tower, where many injured Outlaws and Sheriff officers took refuge, tending their wounds as crimson blood painted the gray brick floor. There, Aeson found Beptiotus leaning by a set of stairs leading to the top of the tower, clearly searching for any survivors. He found Toast taking refuge inside the tower, attending to a burn wound on his left arm. “Could the legends be true?”, he let out, in a burst of air. “Legends don’t burn down buildings…,” Beptiotus replied, turning to Aeson as he walked through the doorway, “You there! You need to get out of here. This place won’t be safe for long!” “Mistake me for a fool? I’m not following the man who put me to execution…”, Aeson stated harshly as he resided at the floor of the tower. Beptiotus turned his face towards Aeson, a glint of fear in his eyes. “You can stay with the rest of the victims down here, or maybe you can gamble with death for a chance at new life. Up to you, my friend.” “Wait… I’ll reconsider…”, Aeson let out as he followed Beptiotus up the stairs, past a flaming pile of logs. As soon as they had gotten halfway up the stairs, the wall next to Aeson collapsed, and he was sent colliding into the wall hugging the stairway, dazed as the figure of a beast appeared at the hole in the tower, roaring with deafening volume. Aeson dropped down on the ground to avoid a burst of flame, which he could feel the heat of, making him sweat on his cheek as he pressed his face against the stone stairs. He was sure Beptiotus did the same in front of him, but if he lifted his head up by just a little bit, he would risk getting flamed. A few seconds passed until it was safe for the two to get up again, and swiftly they made their way out of the tower, jumping out of the hole in the wall to land inside a burnt up house, the flames stinging Aeson as it began to singe on his rags. His hands were of no use to him, as they were bound, so he stumbled through the house using his feet. What greeted him on the other side was even more flames, larger than the ones that he had seen, and mages frantically trying to repel the beast, but to no avail. They were burnt to a crisp, just like the other soldiers who fell on this day, Outlaw and Sheriff alike. Aeson turned away from their screaming forms as he followed Beptiotus into a maze of houses, flames licking the two at every opportunity they could get. A few archers greeted them as they ran through the framework of the last house, but there was no time for that. “Still alive prisoner? Stay that way… we’re going to take shelter in there!”, Beptiotus said as he pointed to a tower just beyond their current position. As they ran past the archers and endured the dragon’s shouts, a figure began to emerge from a nearby wreck of stones. Toast crawled his way out of the pile of rocks, spitting out dirt and looking at the approaching Beptiotus with distrusting eyes. “We’re escapin’ Beep…,” Toast said as he raked his knife across his chin, “And there isn’t shit that you can do about it.” “Fine! I hope that dragon takes you all to Sov’n’garde”, Beptiotus yelled aggressively, his sword grasped firmly in his left hand. “C’mon, I got the keys. We can make it out easily,” Toast uttered out as he beckoned Aeson towards his direction. “With me prisoner!”, Beptiotus yelled amongst the roars and screams of pain, heading for the main tower entrance. Aeson was torn into two different decisions, one which could change his life, drastically... [spoiler]Alright, so I thought it'd be cool if I let you guys choose which way Aeson will go in this part. You've got two options: Toast (the Outlaws) or Beptiotus (The Sheriffs). Pick wisely, this could have drastic changes on how the story plays out.[/spoiler]