Elder Scroll series, Fullmetal Alchemist 1. By the Skin of Our Teeth

**A/N: So a buddy of mine and I started a new RP that's a Skyrim-FMA crossover and it's an OPEN GROUP ROLEPLAY on Tumblr, if anyone is interested in joining and contributing to this story ^_^ The blog name is **_crossroad-rp_**. It's not very far into it** **yet****.  
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**Ed and Al's parts are written by me. Charvin's are written by HigekiHigure.**

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**Crossroad****  
****A Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Skyrim Fanfiction**

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Some little voice in the back of his head was urging him to get up, even before the onslaught of cold in his bones or the forlorn howling of wind between the cliffs met his senses. A groan escaped the lips of the young man as he stirred, internally wincing as the metal port on his leg viciously stung his nerves.

When he first tried to get up, his body didn't want to move, but with enough stubborn effort he managed to push himself up from beneath a pile of snow. A torrent of wind battered his skin, making him squint golden eyes with a disgruntled scowl.

Everything was a mix of offending white flakes blazing over dark sky, obviously nightfall. Ice-caked cliffs towered high above, and a tree bent under the weight of snow, creaked with strain nearby.

A draft through the folds of his hooded coat made the teen shiver involuntarily, clutching the fabric closer around himself. Just where the Hell was he? He certainly knew he wouldn't have been dumb enough to take a nap in the snow, in the middle of the mountains, of all places.

With a strenuous effort, he rose to his feet, which he could barely feel beneath him, even that of his flesh leg. Gazing around, he came to a realization and cupped his hands around his mouth, calling out, "Al! Are you around here? Alphonse!"

He paused to listen, but all he could hear was the whistling of the wind, blond bangs whipping in his face. He considered calling out louder, but the idea of possibly triggering an avalanche wasn't a possibility that was far from his mind. With an irate huff, he started to plow forward through the snow, trying not to let the possible idea that the younger might be beneath one of these snowdrifts and unable to pull himself out linger too long in his mind.

But, what if-

_No_. He shook his head slightly. Alphonse was probably just fine. His little brother was just as smart and resourceful as he was, after all. He'd just have to keep searching until they found each other, then make their way down.

He cupped his hands again as he walked.

"Alphonse! Can you hear me?"

He thought he heard something ahead, though he couldn't be entirely sure what it was, and his intense golden eyes darted about warily, trying to pinpoint where it had come from.

The instant he rounded the corner of a large boulder, instinct kicked in as an object swung for his head and he ducked away, a gleaming grey blade ringing as it collided with stone. It was soon followed by a figure clad head-to-toe in brown armor, and the blond automatically clapped his hands together to form a blade from his auto-mail, only to remember in bad habit that he no longer had either his auto-mail arm nor alchemy to produce a weapon with.

Cursing foully, he tripped onto his back into the white powder as he maneuvered his body just out of reach of the blade. Adrenaline making his blood roar in his ears, he rolled to his stomach and tried to crawl back to his feet, only for another guy to come charging up and kick him squarely in the jaw.

He blinked out for what he thought could only have been seconds, jarred back to reality by the unceremonious rolling lurch of a wood wagon and the clop of horse's hooves, but realized it had probably been quite a bit longer.

His head was still pounding from the merciless kick his jackass assailant had given him, and it took a few moments to realize both that his wrists were tied tightly by rope and that he wasn't alone. At the very least, and more importantly though, at least one of the figures around him was familiar.

"Ed, are you alright?"

"Alphonse…yeah, I'm fine. Mostly."

He paused to gave at the other occupants of the carriage, all also with their arms bound and looking grim. Of the other two, one gave him the most amount of pause, appearing to be a hybrid of human and feline; he could only guess a chimera. He took in the passing surroundings, noting that they were heading downhill, on what looked to be a rural stone road, passing snow-sprinkled fir trees and jagged rocks. A man dressed like those that had attacked him drove the carriage, while two other carriages followed.

The wind no longer screeched around them, and the snow was thinner, not covering absolutely every surface within view. Obviously they had come at least a short distance from where he'd started.

Ed lowered his voice to a near-whisper.

"Al, what's going on here? Why are we tied up, and where are they taking us?" He hoped that his younger sibling might know a little more, seeming to have been awake longer, but the sandy-blond shook his head uselessly.

"I don't know. These guys, soldiers I think, said something about an Imperial Legion and a town nearby called _Helgen_, but that's all I heard. I have no idea what any of it means though. I've never heard of any of it."

"Me neither."

"And they don't seem very eager to elaborate any of it, either. I guess we'll just have to go along for now and find out."

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Tufted ears twitched as the rhythmic sound of horses hooves was interrupted with whispering.

Hazel eyes winced open, a harsh intrusion of light compared to the darkness behind his lids as he glanced around the wagon at his 'comrades' in bondage.

He had seen most of these faces before, from the town over when he was first loaded on himself, but two were new. Even their scent was strange, foreign, with a tinge of oil.

They were not as rough as most inhabitants of this land were. Their hair was still a clean sheen of blondes, their clothes not as ragged and torn.

They stared at him as if they had never before seen a Khajiit. Or maybe it was simply because he was not as thin and ragged as most other Khajiit seemed to be in this land. He prided himself on keeping his fur cleaned, his self well-fed, and his form in shape for whatever job he may get.

Granted, none of this had kept him from being caught after that rampage against the chickens. He had been hungry, he didn't quite understand why these people got so up in arms over the small fowls, but they had, and now he was possibly off to prison or to his death. Considering the well cloaked burly man to his left, he assumed it was the latter.

He yawned. His long tongue lulling out of his mouth and showing off his sharp fangs.

He didn't feel like being whipped again by the guard behind, being that they didn't seem all too fond of Khajiit, but curiosity was always one of his strongest traits.

"What brings you strangers to these lands?" He asked in what could have been anything from a menacing tone to a sarcastic one.

There was a short awkward silence and the Khajit wondered if perhaps his accent was too thick to be understood by foreigners.

Ed's eyes shifted to the cat-like figure that spoke to them, having to pause for a moment to fully register what it had said. It was hard to tell whether the feline humanoid was male or female to him, even going by the voice, but he took an educated guess in the direction of male.

His golden hues briefly swept over the other occupants, wondering to himself what set them apart so immediately as foreigners, but he supposed that was only natural. They probably had an unusual accent for the area, and he did note that their attire wasn't even remotely within the same style as the wagon's other occupants, or the guards that escorted it. By comparison, their clothing was almost luxury.

"We'd heard a rumor about some sort of powerful object, and…" he paused, remembering the events on the mountaintop in a flash. The site where the 'ritual' had been performed by the person who they'd been seeking, some sort of alchemy, he thought. He remembered the alchemic reaction, a bright light that enveloped all three of them - himself, Al, and the other man - and then…nothing. He supposed he must have passed out or something, but that left a lot of questions unanswered. Eyes briefly sliding to Alphonse, wondering if he might've remembered it too, he continued speaking. "…and then we ended up here. Then these guys jumped me and one of them managed to knock me out. Next thing I knew, I woke up here."

Alphonse blinked at the cat-man, unable to hide the curiousness from his eyes.

"I hope I'm not being rude, but what are you, exactly? A chimera?" In Amestris, it would've been his first guess, but he couldn't be entirely sure, being that this was a foreign land to them. In principal, it could be said likely that his physical state as beast-like might have come about the same way as transmuting a human chimera, but that they had a different name for it as well.

The Khajiit smiled to himself. A powerful object could very often be sold for a great amount of Septims. He would possibly be able to buy his own town with such currency, but as it was, him in bonds and possibly awaiting death, he only sighed before responding.

"Curious. This one has heard tales of such things, never seen. Perhaps you could tell me more? What did this object look like?"

At the very least he could keep some conversation going. He was, after all, a very curious Khajit.

Speaking of curious, the younger ones curious gaze was not something he was used to. Hatred, yes. Disgust and mistrust, also a yes. Curiosity though? Never, if but rarely.

"Charvin is Khajit. Charvin has never heard of this thing called…" He paused. What was it the boy had said? "Key-mare-ra. What is a Key-mare-ra?" He tilted his head, genuinely perplexed. His braided mane fell over his shoulders on one side, eyeing the boy as if he might just be onto something.

"As far as we know, it was an ancient documentation rolled in a gold casing, but it had instructions on it for some kind of ritual. We're not completely sure on all of the details, but it sounded troublesome, so we went to investigate. That's how we ended up here in the first place."

Wherever '_here_' was.

When the _Khajiit_, whatever that was, went on to introduce himself, and ask what a chimera was, Alphonse took the liberty of explaining.

"In our country, it's the name we give to a fusion of two creatures using something we call 'alchemy'. Normally two or more animals are used," he paused a moment, looking the faintest bit troubled. "Sometimes though, someone creates chimeras by fusing an animal and a human together."

"It's considered taboo," Edward added with an undertone of bitterness to his voice. "Using humans as ingredients in alchemy, but some do it anyway. They have no regard to how it might hurt the people they turn into chimeras or ruin their lives."

Charvin's ears perked up at the description of the artifact. They couldn't possibly have found the scrolls of legend.

He thought about withholding his suspicions, the possibility of getting the location out of them and then obtaining the scroll for himself was at the forefront of his mind, but so was the fact they was getting ever closer to their destination.

"Perhaps it was the Scroll of legends," he purred. "The Elder scroll. This one does not suppose we will ever get to know for sure."

He sighed. It was a nice fantasy he had in his mind. Him. A Khajiit. Of all the races to find an elder scroll…it would have been most amusing.

"Key-mare-ra's sound much like Hagravens. Nasty bird women here in Skyrim." He shuddered at his only memory of encountering one. He had gotten nasty scars on his arms where it had pinned him down and he had pulled away. His grey and black streaked fur had done little to hide the scars.

"This alchemy… I have never heard of this school of magicks before…" He seemed to think a moment. "What was this country you say you come from? Charvin has been many places but has never heard of alchemy like that kind, only to make potion."

Three of the other prisoners had been talking amongst each other; whispers of how they blamed each other for what happened; talk of how they had planned to go to Hammerfell with a stolen horse. Stuff the Khajit was not interested in.

Guards did not tend to care who you was associated with in the end.

A shout caused the Khajiit's ears to go down as the guards demanded they keep it down.

Alchemy isn't magic, it's science," Alphonse corrected patiently. "And it's decently common back in our country of Amestris. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it, it's not a very far off country, just south of here past Drachma."

"Anyway, it sounds like you know something about that thing we were looking for," Edward piped in, noting that Charvin had called it an _Elder Scroll_. It was definitely a scroll of some sort they'd been dealing with.

He paused as the guards shouted for them all to be quiet, more towards those in the cart behind them, but he figured the same was probably meant for them.

He glanced forward and noticed an old cobblestone wall with heavy wood gates, which opened to allow the carts through.

"General Tulius, sir! The headsman is waiting," a guard on the wall called to the man leading on the back of a horse.

"Good. Let's get this over with."

_Headsman? _Ed exchanged a grim glance with his brother. _Surely they couldn't mean…?_

The man known as _'General Tulius' _stopped his horse off to the side just within the walls, watching the wagons pass. There were several old, wood houses, a few people milling about the town. Stone walls and round rock towers surrounded them, stretching up towards the sky. A woman ushered her son inside a house, his father telling him to get inside and stay there, despite the boy's protests.

All of it was making the blond male uneasy.

Charvin stared off past the two, past the few trees, in a thoughtful trance.

Khajiit lived south and as far as Charvin knew, there was no other country south. He couldn't even think of a town he had heard tell of named Drachma.

His whiskers twitched and his face twisted into one of annoyance and disgust. The town smelled foul to his keen senses. He was never fond of military towns, what with the ash and soot and smoke…

"Was nice ride while it lasted," he grunted as he was hopped out of the cart. "Least this one will not die hungry."

The guards began going through their list, calling forward various names. When Charvin's name was called, he was shoved forward harshly with a jeer.

"You'll make a nice rug, _cat_," one guard spat.

His tail lashed in frustration. Khajiit were not meant to be simple rugs. Had his hands not been bound behind him he would have attacked the guard, but as it were he could only shuffle forward with his ears back and tail lashing back and forth slowly.

He heard the guards talking amongst themselves, possibly about the strangers.

As the wagon stopped, the two brothers stood, exchanging a quick sidelong glance. A metal-clad woman with a harsh voice ordered the people forward, a man with a list calling out names.

Edwards mind was racing the entire time. If they were quick, they could probably make a break for it, but that didn't account for helping the others that were bound. The older wasn't sure what they'd been captured for, but they'd been taken for next to no reason, so not all of them were criminals, most likely. He didn't necessarily think that those who might've been criminals should go scot-free, but death seemed way too extreme. There was no way his conscience would let him live with running for his life just so others would be left to be executed. With any luck, maybe one of the commanding superiors present would listen to reason. That was his hope anyway.

"Lokir of Rorikstead," the list-man called. A bedraggled man in rags stepped forward, his frame emaciated, his hair plastered down with grease from lack of washing.

"No, I'm not a rebel! You can't do this!" he cried, making a break for it, and ignoring a harsh _Halt! _by the woman. "You're not gonna kill me!"

"Archers!" A man raised a bow and shot an arrow straight into the fleeing man's back, who cried out and crumpled to the ground, Edward gaped. "Anyone _else _feel like running?"

Ed ground his teeth together, eyes snapping like fire.

"What the Hell was all that about? You didn't have to _kill _him!"

"Shut up!" the woman snapped, approaching with an air of confidence that much reminded him of General Armstrong, though not quite as intimidating as her. "And just _who_ are you?"

"Edward Elric. I was a state alchemist in Amestris a little over a year ago, and what _I _want to know is who _you _are and why we're being treated like criminals when we haven't done anything! Much less something worthy of execution!"

The woman scoffed and crossed her arm, staring him down.

"So you're an alchemist? Am I supposed to be impressed by someone who can brew a potion? I've never heard of this _Amestris _place, and I've been all over Tamriel. Sounds like a sorry made-up story to escape execution to me."

Without waiting for another reply, she motioned to two of her subordinates.

"They go to the block as well."

"Hey, hold on a minute, damn it! I'm telling the truth!" Ed protested, one of the guards grabbing him by the upper arm and pulling him to the group that stood around a small walled-in courtyard with a head-stone and a hooded man with a large ax. He was shoved forward into the row of other prisoners, along with his brother, and cast a dirty glare at the man over his shoulder. "Well so much for that."

Charvin had watched the spectacle with disinterest.

Imperials had always done what they had pleased and most assumed anyone who wasn't with them was against them.

He hated Imperials.

The woman and the rest of her guard stepped to the front of the assembly, a confident smile on her face, unreadable expressions on the rest.

An Imperial clad in furs and red armor stepped forward to address the burly Nord with a gag in his mouth. No doubt to prevent any magic from happening.

"Ulfrick Stormcloak." The man seemed almost relieved to see him. "Some here in Helgen call you a hero. But a hero doesn't use a power like the voice to murder his king and usurp the throne." The man's voice became lower, hate-tinged. "You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos and now the Empire is going to put you down." A smile crept at the man's face, "And restore peace."

A hollow echoing roar from the mountains in the distance ended the man's sentence. As if even the mountains had heard this speech and did not accept what the man had said.

There was a moment of uncertainty. The guards, as well as most of the prisoners looking up at the sky for whatever had made that ungodly noise.

Seeing nothing, they waved it off. "It's nothing, carry on."

Charvin did not feel it was nothing. He kept his ears perked, twitching them about in hopes of hearing it again. It may have been the blood stained rock before him, but he had a sinking feeling.

The Imperial woman nodded. "Yes General Tulius!" she exclaimed, turning to the priest behind her clad in yellow linen robes. "Read them their last rights."

The priest began her ritual, using exaggerated gestures in her praying.

He, personally never gave much stock into the whole praying thing. He figured if the Gods cared about him they could come to him. But as it was they didn't seem to, and he didn't care about them either.

The priest in rags was quickly interrupted by a man all too soon to die as he waltzed up to the bloodied stone. "Oh shut it. Hurry up and get this over with."

His brave words were met with a mocking smile from behind the Imperials helms.

He was shoved to his knees and then forward none to gently.

"My ancestors are smiling upon me." He said defiantly. "Can you say the same?"

He was unceremoniously beheaded. His head rolling into the crate laid before the stone. Blood spattering the filthy cobblestone.

Charvins nose scrunched up at the sudden bitter and harsh scent of blood.

The man's body was rolled over out of the way with a kick.

There were cheers and insults alike.

"Death to the Stormcloaks!"

"Imperial Scum!"

A man nearby solemnly said "As fearless in death as he was in life."

"Next, the filthy cat!" Spat the Imperial woman harshly.

His ears went down against his skull. He did not expect he would be so soon,Although it should have been known. People were none too fond of his kind.

He wasn't sure how he should feel at this time. It was a bitter sort of irony.

He had always made his living off taking from others. Both their possessions and even their lives at times. Now here he was at the end of his line.

He had always expected to be killed during one of his binge nights on the Moon Sugar. Maybe mauled by a bear. Possibly killed by another assassin hired to kill him. But never to have been caught by the guards, especially not in the way he had been…Gorging on chickens in some random town….

Why did he have to eat so many  
chickens? He knew big meals made him tired.

He sighed, resigned. He turned to the two he had talked to but a moment before and nodded to them "May the sands be warm at your feet." the customary departing words of his people.

He stepped forward. The haughty guard sneering at him as she shoved him to his knees.

"You'll make a fine rug."

He growled. He had heard this saying too often today. It seemed it was to be the last words he'd hear too.

Edwards eyes swept up along the walls, noting the archers that stood atop it, watching and alert to the possibility of another runner. On the ground, the guards that surrounded them had swords at their sides and armor, whereas he and Al only had basic cloth clothing and no weapons. The closest he had himself was his auto-mail leg, but that would only do him so much good against all of them, especially with his arms bound. If he'd had his alchemy, he could've easily done something, just clapped his hands together and transmuted a wall between them and the soldiers, but he'd given that up with no way to retrieve it, so that wasn't even an option now.

He was painfully aware of their current dilemma, but figured that maybe if this dragged on long enough, he could figure something out.

His thoughts were interrupted by the roar that echoed off the mountain peaks. The guards were quick to brush it off as nothing, but whatever it was, it sounded big.

_Don't get distracted, _he silently berated, shaking his head. _Whatever that was, it's not going to do anything to get you out of this situation. Think, damn it. We've gotten out of stickier situations, just think._

As the orange-robed women started to speak, as though giving some sort of perverse sermon towards their deaths, one of the men snapped at her to shut up and stepped forward, ready and willing for his fate.

When the ax came down, he couldn't help but look away, barely missing the sight of the act itself, but not the headless body moments after.

His eyes darted to Charvin as he offered a parting farewell and grit his teeth together, shaking in frustration.

_Damn it, this is wrong. I can't just sit by and let them do this._

"Stop it!" he snarled, lunging forward and ignoring a shout from his brother. One of the guards that had been standing off to the side grabbed him and held him back. Ed retaliated by stomping the heel of his metal leg on top of the guy's foot, earning a howl of pain, and yanked himself loose.

Before he even had the chance to reach it, a roar echoed off the peaks again and a huge, black shape flew over with outstretched wings, making the male stop in his tracks and gape as it came dropping down on top of a stone tower, the impact making the headsman lose his footing before he could succeed in beheading Charvin, shouts of surprise and fear rising from the people behind him.

"What in Oblivion is that?"

"Dragon!"

He stood frozen as the beast seemed to glance them over with smoldering eyes, showing little concern as its armor-plated head surveyed the small crowd below. Then its massive jaws gaped and let loose a concussive boom that sent him tumbling head over heels backwards, skidding over the dirt.

Edward lay dazed for a moment, his eyes turned skyward as dark clouds spiraled into existence and rocks seemed to fall from the heavens. He cursed foully as he realized one was falling towards him and instinctively rolled to the side, shielding his head.

He could hear the rock shatter on the earth, bits of stony shrapnel pelting his back and his arms, enough to hurt but not do any real damage.

He lifted his head and looked around, a constant rain of boulders crashing through buildings, and the dragon swooping overhead, breathing fire onto grass-thatch roofs.

After taking only a few seconds to recover, the sound wave having rattled him down to his bones, he staggered to his feet and immediately sought out his brother, running towards him.

"Al! Are you okay?"

The younger nodded, looking a little dazed and shocked, but otherwise unharmed save for a scratched cheek.

"Yeah."

"We've got to get the Hell out of here," Ed muttered, just in time for Charvin to make an appearance near them, motioning for the pair to follow. "Stick close to me, alright?" Alphonse nodded, eyes warily watching the sky for further falling boulders.

Charvin ears rung loudly as he rolled to his feet and began to run out the gate they had just entered moments ago, but stopped, seemed to remember something and ran back to the two blondes who lay sprawled on the ground where the shout had knocked them.

"Quick," he urged as they stumbled to their feet "This way"

He had reconsidered taking the open gate.

What had he been thinking? There was a dragon here. A DRAGON of all things. One did not simply run into open world with no secure hiding places with a dragon about.

Instead he ran through burning buildings, over burned corpses into one of the many guard towers that watched over this small town.

He looked back to make sure the other to had followed him. Noting the scaled creature was now using its fangs, wings and tail to crush the soldiers instead of merely blasting them away with fire, as if it were mocking their powerlessness.

Perhaps he had thought too soon. The dragons maw began to glow with flame, it's eyes meeting Charvin's for a moment as it turned its head in the direction he had last seen the pair. He hoped, even prayed a bit ,that the two strangers would make it through the thick door before the flame escaped its mouth…

The two followed close behind, though their bound arms made it a little more difficult to maneuver. Edward paused at the doorway of the tower that Charvin had led them to, glancing back to make sure Alphonse was still behind him, satisfied as his brother passed him into the doorway.

He spared a second to survey the scene of carnage just as the dragon circled around, blowing a stream of fire from its gaping jaws. The blond whirled around and all but leapt through the door, Alphonse slamming his body against the inside of one of the doors to shut it.

Edwards eyes were slightly wider than usual as he gazed up from the stones where he had landed, panting and shaking slightly with adrenaline.

"That was way too close…"

He paused as he realized his pant leg, luckily the side with his auto-mail, was smoldering with small licks of flame and quickly patted them out with his hands, cursing under his breath.

Outside he could still hear the dragon's roars, the stones of their shelter rattling, but it was otherwise quiet inside.

Charvin, despite himself, began giggling in a throaty half purr. Sliding down the side of the wall he had been leaning against.

His now puffy tail wrapping around his ankles as the other two slammed the door shut behind them.

He had spent the past few moments in a daze, as if none of it was really happening at all.

The chaos outside, the roaring, the shouts and screams. The sound of rubble falling to earth as the dragon continued on its rampage. All of this and still he doubted it had happened at all.

Had his hands not still been bound he would have doubted he had been here facing execution at all. OVER CHICKENS EVEN! He still couldn't get over the simplicity of which he had been caught in the first place.

He jumped to his feet as the building trembled.

A dragon…

Those had not been seen in Skyrim for hundreds of years.

He padded towards the two brothers, hoping they would undo his binds.

"Crazy day, my friends."


	2. Escaping Helgen

**Crossroad****  
****A Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Skyrim Fanfiction**

* * *

"Crazy day, my friends."

"You're telling me…" Ed muttered, unamused. His gaze flicked about the small space and his eyes came to the ax that had clattered across the floor, pulling it over and positioning it with blade up so he could cut through the ropes on his arms. "More importantly though, do we stick around here or find another way out? There's no telling if that thing will come after us in here or not."

His eyes lit up slightly in victory as the bindings came loose, massaging his wrists where intends of the rope still lingered.

As he stood, now with ax in hand, to undo Alphonse's ropes, the younger of the pair looked about the tower with searching eyes.

When Ed was finished with Al's bindings, he motioned for Charvin.

He turned to allow better access to his binds when he noticed one of his whiskers had begun to smolder. He twitched his face. wiggling his whiskers about to get the small, unnoticed ember off.

As the shackles fell away, Charvin flexed his claws and rotated his arms about, seemingly pleased by the cracking sounds of strained and tired bones.

His eyes flitted about the room, roving over the ragged remains of a red flag, charred debris, the two brothers, and a corpse whose armor wasn't all that badly charred.

He walked over to the corpse, briefly thought of taking the armor but reconsidered. His ragged linen shirt with matching pants would work fine for now. He pried a short sword and dagger from the belt before turning to the rusted open gate on the far wall.

"This way. Quick." He motioned, flicking his tail against the eldest brothers chest as he walked to and through the iron clad door.

The dragon would no doubt be coming for survivors if they did not hurry.

"While we walk, what is it you two call each other?" he asked, his voice shakier than he had willed it.

He didn't care one way or another in the end what their names were. But he figured it would allow them some sort of trust and him possibly a step closer to this artifact they had mentioned. Assuming they made it out alive.

His ears twitched as he listened to the far away sounds of battle from underneath the ground.

The two took their own liberties to stretch somewhat, Ed's gaze lingering on the body of what looked to be one of the original prisoners clad in armor - one of the 'rebels' he had heard about.

There didn't look to be anything he could do, regrettably, the man's life already spent. When Charvin retrieved a blade and led the way, the two were close behind, aware that this building wasn't a guaranteed safe place. With any luck, hopefully this building would lead somewhere. If not, it at least seemed to go pretty deep underground, so hopefully it would provide a safe place until that…_thing _outside left.

"Edward, or just Ed is fine," he said, briefly thumbing over his shoulder towards his sibling. "And my younger brother here is Alphonse."

"Ehdward and Alphens.." the names were strange on his tongue.

He had spoken many names, some Elven names included, but these were not of any particular language he had heard before. He had assumed them Nords because of their flaxen hair. The names, however…

"Those do not seem very Nord-like," he mused as they walked through the molding tunnels. "Charvin has been many places. Never heard such names. You mentioned this place…Amistress..? A mistress is for wedding, not a country." he shook his head as if it was something even a young child should know.

"Khajiit live south. Warm sands, hot sun, many trees for climbing and sleeping," he purred softly to himself as if remembering a fond memory.

They passed a cart that more than likely once held vegetables, ventured down stairs that led to a pile of rubble and a battered door. Beyond the door was what appeared to have been a sort of hang out for the guards. A table with meads and meats, pelts on the walls, various spices and small animals hanging from the rafters…And then there was the corpses.

Both Stormcloak and Imperial corpses lay in a bloody pile, naked on the floor. Whoever had been through here had probably taken all they could in an effort to resell all their loot for some meager coins.

Charvin shook his head. Such a waste. The poor soul would likely wind up dropping most of it before they left, assuming they didn't die.

He sniffed around, taking the rabbit from the rafters and tearing off a leg to gnaw on as they rummaged around the room for whatever supplies might have been left and he awaited answers.

"It's not 'a mistress', it's _Amestris_," Edward corrected, putting extra emphasis on the pronunciation as they followed Charvin down the steps, senses on high alert for possible danger, Ed especially. Outside was the dragon…and down here…

He had absolutely no clue what might've been waiting for them down here. A likely guess would be other people, but all the same, that didn't mean they wouldn't be hostile. The fact that he'd been minutes away from death for literally no logical reason only some time ago hadn't yet fled his memory, despite the opportune timing of that flying monstrosity above ground.

"Anyway, we can argue about that later. It doesn't matter very much exactly where we come from if we're dead, and I'm determined to avoid that outcome."

When they reached the room, he gazed around, unable to help but notice the other corpses, these ones mostly unclothed. The blond tried not to let his mind delve too deeply into that, checking to make sure they really were alone, just to be safe.

While he did that, Alphonse took the liberty of looking around the room, curiously picking up a vial of red liquid and holding it up to see. When he popped the top off and sniffed it, he could tell immediately that it wasn't alcohol, though it did smell strong, more medicinal in odor than anything.

"Hey, Charvin? Do you know what this is?" He couldn't help but ask. The _Khajiit, _as he had called himself, seemed more familiar with the area and customs after all.

"Amestris. A mistress. Never heard of the former as a country, either way." He said through the leg of rabbit he chewed on.

Charvin padded over from near the fire and meats to the pile of barrels and crates in the furthest corner, ripping off lids, tearing through empty sacks to make sure they didn't miss anything.

He managed to find two apples and a tankard of mead, which he took the opportunity to guzzle down.

"Not as good as Skooma, but it will do." he nodded to himself.

"You have your priorities straight. Charvin likes this one. Charvin hears many things. However, we are safe, for now." Or so he assumed.

His ears could detect many things, but there was so much going on he may have simply overlooked anything that was not combat related.

The dragons roars were more muffled down here, but it was clear it was still rampaging about above them.

Upon further scrounging he found a potion of Cure Disease and Magick Restoration. He pocketed them without fully looking at them, sure he would likely use one or the other at some point in time.

Charvins ears perked up at the sound of his name being called and he turned to the younger brother curiously.

"Aaaah," he said as he spotted the red vial. "It is potion of healing. Take with. May be useful later. Heals many wounds," he reached out to take it, thought against it, turned back to where he had been before and hopped atop one of the barrels, deciding he would sit and wait for them to be done with their own scrounging before moving on.

"Only thing that healing potion won't do." he warned. "Is put your insides back if they come out."

He sat and stared ahead into the darkened passageway ahead, listening intently for any sounds of someone hiding in the shadows. It was ironic, really. One who uses the shadows for safety so often, now glaring into them as if they contained hidden traps.

He knew, as one who used the shadows, to watch for others who did as well.

Alphonse nodded his head in understanding, capping the liquid and storing it away.

"Makes sense," the dirty-blond acknowledged. He looked about some more, but there wasn't much in the way of a weapon anywhere that he could find.

"We should get a move on," Edward announced after a few short minutes, shifting his weight as he stood within the doorway leading further underground. "There's no telling how long this place will remain safe."

As if to lend truth to his words, another muffled roar echoed above, flecks of dirt raining down from a crack in the stone ceiling. Dragon aside, it was quiet. Whether that was a good thing or not, he couldn't tell just yet.

Alphonse nodded his agreement and followed, descending the steps. Light reflected off stones further down, and they rounded a corner to a chamber filled with several large cages. More bodies were strewn about the floor, blood staining the stones in abundance. Ed wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"_More _of you, trying to escape from…the _'dragon'_?" A haggard voice greeted, the older brother immediately tensing and eyes seeking out an old man dressed like those Imperial soldiers. "Oh, you can relax. I'm not going to stick a blade through your gullet."

Ed only loosened up slightly, not entirely sure he trusted that promise, but not about to turn down the chance at avoiding an unnecessary fight either.

"I assume you're looking for an escape path, too, and happened to find your way here like the other rats scurrying for cover at old wives tales."

"Not so sure your _wives tales _plan on staying that way," Ed muttered sardonically. He hoped that the other people looking to escape weren't all that of the corpses lying at their feet, not dropping his guard. "Is there an escape route through here?"

The old man grunted in a contemptible manner and pointed to the far corner. "There are some old cave tunnels beyond there." When Ed held just the slightest bit of suspicion in his eyes, the man added, "The sooner you're gone, the sooner I can get back to my work without further interruption, or ludicrous talk of living myths."

Charvin took the liberty of wriggling through a bag on one of the tables, searching for anything useful. He managed to find 3 gold coins and some lock picks, both of which he took gladly. A jagged smile spreading across his face.

He saw a glimmer from within one of the many cages behind the wall. The faintest hint of shine from behind a skeletons hip.

He took one of the picks and flicked it about in the lock until the cage opened up. Ignoring the grunts from the old man he went inside and plucked up another gold coin.

Sure four gold wouldn't get them far, but it was better than nothing.

His tail twitched happily as he pondered what he was going to do with the gold. More than likely he would buy some mead and roll up in a ball in some random alley.

As they took a brief survey of the room, Ed managed to scrounge a light, round shield off one of the corpses, not really liking the idea of stealing things off the dead, but he sure as Hell needed it a lot more than they did right now, or ever would again.

"Hey Al," he called, tossing it to his younger brother. "You take this. It should come in handy."

The younger nodded, seeming to agree, and Edward felt more comfortable with handing over a shield than he did a weapon at the moment.

As flecks of dirt scattered upon Charvin, and the roar brought him back to reality, he turned and decided on something that had been bothering him since the last room.

"Take," he stated simply in passing as he slipped the sword he had picked up earlier to Edward. The scent of moss and blood looming up faintly from the caverns entrance had his fur standing on end.

The brothers faces as they had entered the room had told him they were more than likely not the type to be able to shiv him from behind. At the very least, it would help to have another blade in case dangers did make themselves apparent in the tunnels ahead.

He wanted very muchly to make it out of here alive.

His worries were not unfounded.

When Charvin handed him a blade, Ed shifted it in his grasp and gave it an experimental swing. It was somewhat heavy, about the weight he'd guess his auto-mail had been. Or at least, the model he'd had before venturing to Fort Brigs. It felt more customary, the older Elric not having quite readjusted to his real arm again.

"Thanks," he offered up. "Hopefully I won't have to use it." Even if he did though, he didn't plan on killing anyone any time soon.

The deeper into the underground room they traveled, passing by many more cage cells, the more Ed was realizing this was likely a prison, and one that didn't abstain from torture and inhumane conditions, from what he could tell. The stones of the place were old and primitive. It almost made places like Labratory 5 look like a vacation home, from what he had seen at least.

He jumped slightly at a sudden weight on his boot, a rat screeching profanely in the darkness, a mere shadow streaking across the ground and disappearing through a crack of two stones in the wall. Only a few small candles lit the pathway.

They came across skeletons and more corpses hanging in tight metal cages, dressed in little more than rags that were barely substantial to cover the bodies at all. Blood of all different ages stained the stone floor and moss growing from between cracks various shades of red and brown.

_This place better have an exit,_ Ed thought ruefully. _Because this is the last place on the planet I'd want to be stuck._

What if that old man had been lying about a way out? He could be blocking their way back right now and they'd never be the wiser, and who would come to help them down here if they really needed it?

He hoped that his fears were unfounded though, especially as they came to a break in the flat stone walls, giving way to a rough, natural-looking tunnel. The feel of just the slightest breeze against his skin gave him a little more hope. Moving air meant that there was an opening back to the outside world ahead. The only thing in question would be how accessible it would be.

Finding a stream cutting through the cave only helped improve either brothers' spirits, making it seem more likely that they were on the right track. The stream itself ended, but the path continued.

Only moments after they had begun walking through the dank tunnels they came across a clearing filled with webs and smashed eggs.

From darkened corners hissed the Frostbite Spiders. Their large mandibles rubbing together as if a hungry man's hands, poison dripping from the tip.

"Careful," he warned the two brothers as the spiders readied to spit acidic webs. "Nasty venom. Paralyzes."

He crouched low before leaping atop the nearest one and plunging his dagger into its head. He twisted the blade free and the spider fell dead.

Ed perked as they saw light ahead, the wind blowing towards them more strongly, but was quick to hear Charvin's warning as several hisses met his ears.

The blond's eyes widened as he saw the giant arachnids scurry out from the shadow and drop from the ceiling, some of them bigger than he was, and couldn't entirely suppress a slight shiver from travelling up his spine, wielding his blade at the ready.

When the spiders spat their acid, Ed instinctively leapt aside, while Al ducked behind the shield his brother had scrounged for him.

Rolling back to his feet, Ed lunged forward and swung his sword in a wide arc, the giant spider scuttling back to avoid his blade. When his sword was clear, the Frostbite Spider lunged and latched onto his foot as he aimed a kick at it, sinking it's fangs down again and again.

He didn't even flinch as he pulled back slightly and slashed its eyes, the spider screeching and pulling away, pawing at its eyes in pain and tearing a gash in the pant leg over his auto-mail.

When a smaller one attacked his back, he barely maneuvered out of its way and stabbed the blade through it as the disgusting little creature landed.

Not even pausing, he rounded on the other wounded one, intent on finishing it off quickly.

"Do you always have bug problems this badly around here?" he called to Charvin dryly.

Charvin whirled around, cutting the legs off a second Frostbite Spider, that was raising up to drive its fangs into his back, before driving his blade through the spot above its eyes. He ducked low, his whiskers nearly touching webbed ground.

He was glad to glance the brothers faring well enough. He had his doubts they could fight, what with the fancy clothing they wore.

What was that strange glimmer at the eldest brothers leg? The blonds walking had sounded differently than many of the inhabitants of Tamriel and a strange smell had emanated from Edward since his meeting, but Charvin had been unable to pinpoint exactly what it was. It seemed to be metal, but that was absurd. If metal limbs were a thing the guards would not be constantly complaining about how they were once adventurers until they took an arrow to the knee.

He was getting ready to slash at another one of the beasts when it turned on him and knocked him aside, quickly advancing to stand atop him. Charvin's ears fell back and he growled low as poison dripped onto his chest.

He was determined not to die here and clawed with his hind feet into the spider's underside. The spider screeched loudly as a goopy liquid bled from its soft belly.

He had calmed much since his escape of the execution. With each passing moment he became more confident and determined to escape with his life intact. He had much to ask the brothers, many possible riches to gain from them before allowing them to depart. Whether depart meant allowing them to go their own way or to dispose of them, he wasn't yet sure.

These thoughts didn't matter much, however, as he dodged another screeching spider, nearly falling into one of the many massive egg sacks that littered the room.

"Not usually bugs. Mostly Skeever," he replied to Edward. "Skeever, nasty rat things" he explained as he ducked out of the way of nasty web spray.

"Well that's a comforting thought," Ed returned, wondering to himself exactly how big these _'Skeever' _things were, considering he was fighting a spider bigger than he was.

The spider heard him and lunged blindly forward with legs splayed upward threateningly, puffing itself up. Ed nimbly dodged around it with practiced ease, leaping atop the nasty beast and driving his blade down through its skull. It convulsed for a moment and then slumped limply to the ground.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, he turned his gaze towards Alphonse, who was doing a good job of using his shield to keep a slightly smaller spider at bay. Even without a blade of his own, the younger maneuvered so that the wall was behind it instead of him, and the next moment it lunged, he rushed forward and smashed it between the sharp rock wall and shield, the spider uttering a last horrible death screech before it fell still, save for the faintest twitch of its limbs.

Ed briefly surveyed the room, but it seemed that there were no more spiders, much to his relief. The gleaming eyes of the corpses reflecting at him were enough to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as it was.

"Well that was fun," Ed muttered sarcastically. "Alphonse, you okay?"

"Yeah," Al piped, coming to stand near either of them. "What about you, Charvin?"

He had just finished off his own spider with a twist of his dagger through its eyes when Edward had asked.

He had a minor scratch on his arm that could have came from when he fell or one of the spiders legs, but that wasn't important.

"Charvin has faced worse." he stated simply before sheathing his dagger.

His eyes roamed over the brothers and he was satisfied to see they did not seem to be injured as much either. But there still remained one curious question.

"What is this metal on your leg?" He asked as he knelt down near it and poked the auto-mail curiously. "It seems useful. Where does one get? Is it a spell of protection?"

He wondered if the whole leg was metal, or maybe it was just a spell. Maybe a form of Ironflesh. He had seen a mage once who turned his whole skin to iron…this did not seem to be the same…it even had the smell of oil seething off it.

He could simply tilt his head this way and that, sniffing at it, prodding it and essentially marveling at it as he awaited his answer.

Edward raised a brow slightly at the Khajiit, but quickly figured that something like auto-mail wasn't common here, from what he'd seen of their technology so far. To be fair, he'd never heard of a _Khajiit _before either, though he was still trying to figure out if it was simply a foreign word for what they called a Chimera. He supposed he could figure that out later though.

"It's called _Auto-mail _where we come from. It's a prosthetic limb, to replace ones you've lost." He took the liberty of lifting up his torn pant leg, showing off the metal limb. "I made a stupid mistake when we were kids and it cost me my leg. I guess in some ways I'm lucky though. A close friend of ours in the town we grew up in was an auto-mail mechanic, so thanks to her, I was able to walk again."

He figured that was enough to suffice for an explanation. He didn't really feel like going into their whole life's story, or about how he'd lost his arm too. All of the more explicit details would take way too long to explain, much less to someone like Charvin who didn't have the slightest bit of knowledge about Alchemy.

"Anyway," Ed continued, dropping his pant leg. "I've answered your question. Now I have one of my own. I couldn't help but notice up there that you weren't exactly very popular with those Imperial _friends _of yours. What exactly was that all about? Did you do something to piss them off or what?"

He didn't want to sound accusatory, but in all honesty, he knew very little about Charvin, other than his name. He'd noticed the contempt many of the other people's eyes, if their words hadn't been enough, that seemed pretty strong towards the feline humanoid. Why that was, he couldn't be sure, but he wasn't about to entirely rule out the possibility that he could be bad news. On the same token, he wasn't about to jump straight to solid conclusions, not to mention he'd been forced to team up with people who were undoubtedly worse before.

"Mechanic…" He couldn't help but think of Dwemer, or Dwarven, engineers at this word, There was much to gain indeed if this boy was one of the "Lost Race", although he couldn't help but still doubt that.

He assumed Edward has lost his limb in a hunting accident,or possibly a fire… or any number of things that tend to go wrong in these lands and nodded knowledgeably.

He had not heard much of the dwarves…Dwemer, whatever the various people called them, other than they built fantastical mechanical structures and machines. Perhaps where he was from had somehow retained this races long forgotten culture.

He could have tumbled these thoughts around in his mind all day, but they hardly mattered. No, not nearly as much as that scroll he had mentioned before. A scroll he could carry back. A person from far away foreign lands? Not so much.

He stood and smiled sheepishly "People of these lands don't like it when others eat their chickens. But what else are chicken for?"

He avoided going into any unnecessary details, even going so far as to completely leave out how Khajiit were known to sell highly addictive substances, become thieves or assassins and do generally unsavory things.

What they didn't know surely couldn't hurt. Hurt Charvin that is.

"Let us keep going until we see the sun again."

He turned, heading deeper into the caverns and towards the steady sound of a small water fall.

The blond was definitely glad when Charvin didn't press questions into hearing more about how he'd obtained his metal limb. Granted, the subject didn't cause the same pang of regret that it once had, now that he had managed to get Al's original body back, but it still wasn't a tale that he was fond of explaining.

When Charvin proposed they find their escape out of this cave, he nodded his head in agreement and followed, noting as he did so that the sounds of dragon roars and rattling stones had ceased. Hopefully that meant they were in the clear.

With any luck, the rest of the way out of this cave would be a clear-shot with no more problems rearing their ugly head.

Not so long after they had encountered the nasty frostbite spiders they came across a babbling fall and a possible hint that they just may not make it after all.

A skeleton sat atop a rock outcrop just beside the falls, a lantern at his side with an undrunk potion and a dagger that had slipped out of his hands long ago. It sat staring at them with jeering eyes, as if mocking them for being so close and yet so far from an exit.

Charvin motioned for the two brothers to be low and quiet as they surveyed the vast open cavern space.

Not too far from them laid the corpses of some unknown escapees. Their armor was torn to sunders and their blood dribbled slowly into the cool waters in which they rested by.

One of the two still held a bow in his hands, a small quiver of arrows attached to his back. His head however…seemed to have departed and found itself a new residence.

Further lay the bulk of a bear. It's heavy breathing loud and rancid Charvin's sensitive nose. Beneath the bears heavy paws laid a severed and well gnawed on head. Thee face still seemed to have a sly smile on its face, as if it had just told the best joke of all. What the possessor of the face could have possibly had to smile at, was unknown to Charvin.

Perhaps he had been told to do one thing and had simply done the opposite and look where it had got the poor sap. It had gotten him dead like the countless bones lined against the furthest wall. Was that a cabbage cart shattered against the back wall as well? Did bears eat cabbage?

"Bears of Skyrim are very nasty tempered. Let us not wake this one," Charvin whispered as he slunk forward, nearly tripping on an empty bottle of wine as he did so.

He had some slight worry the…auto-mail, as it was called, would perk up the bear. Or maybe one of the brothers would sneeze, that would turn out unfortunate. He could only hope their luck held and the bear would not wake.

Despite the skeletons and other forgotten articles, the two brothers were still holding out hope that this cave led out to the open world again. Edward supposed that, if not, maybe they could back-track and hope the dragon was gone, but he preferred not to find out the hard way that it might not have.

He grimaced as they came across a pair of mangled corpses, having seen more dead bodies in just the last day than he ever wanted to again. More pressing, though…they were fresh. He knew enough about cadavers to be aware that they had been killed recently, since the blood dripping off them had yet to congeal and dry.

The thought of whatever might have done such a thing put his senses on high alert, eyes carefully moving to see the bear that Charvin had pointed out, with piles of old bones strewn about.

With any luck, hopefully the bear's presence at least meant that there was an exit. Then again, the light pouring from a hole in the ceiling might have been one of the only ways in or out, and the thought of that was unappealing, to say the least.

The name _Skyrim _was unfamiliar to him, but he was too focused on the bear to put much more thought to it. He'd never personally encountered one, but he'd heard plenty of stories about the vicious beasts living in the Brigs mountains, and had no plans on finding out how true many tales about them were.

He nodded his head silently to show he'd heard and was careful to watch his step. The bear briefly lifted its nose, letting out a low groan that made him freeze in place, but otherwise lowered its head and went back to lounging, unaware to them.

When they'd left it a short ways behind them, rounding a corner further down the cave, he let out an audible breath of relief.

"Well that could have gone worse, at least."

"One is not supposed to say such things until we are actually clear." Charvin sighed, knowing all too well what usually came of assuming things.

Rounding a corner they suddenly became blinded by the sunlight glaring through the large crack in the cavern entrance…err…exit as it were. The roaring of wind had become louder, more defined. A nice breeze ruffled his fur. He could smell grass and flowers. He purred to himself briefly before catching on to it and simply stating "There's our way out."

As they exited the caverns a loud echoing roar was heard. Charvin grabbed the two brothers quickly and hid behind the nearest rock. Overhead flew the dragon. It's massive shadow falling upon them momentarily, it's tail wind kicking up dust and small debris as it flew on past to the mountains, its roar fading into a low moan like that of a whale.

Charvin released his firm grip on the two brothers, the older of which he had grabbed by the hair, and brushed himself off as he stood. A chuckle escaping his lips.

"No one is going to want to believe that the dragons have returned. Maybe we should keep this to ourselves." Charvin suggested.

Although keeping the knowledge to themselves could prove very disastrous in the long run. With no one informed whole cities would be evaporated in a sea of flame. Bodies wouldn't have time to be piled up as they would be devoured and seared off the face of the planet. And all the gold there was to be made would be lost.

"On second thought…You tell them about the Dragon in the town ahead." He told Ed and Al as they ventured down the cobblestone path lined with many colorful plants and herbs.

It sure was nice to feel the sun on his fur again.

Ed knew that it was probably a bad idea to count their proverbial chickens before they hatched, but so far they'd escaped being beheaded, lit on fire by a _dragon _of all the asinine things, eaten by spiders as big as horses, and avoided a fight with a bear. That had to at least count for something, but at the same time, it was true that eventually there luck would have to run out.

Hopefully though, that day wouldn't be today.

When he caught the gleam of light through a fissure in the cave path, he couldn't help but pick up his pace a little, eager to get out of this winding corridor of rock and dangerous beasts.

He heard the tell-tale flap of leather wings upon breaking out into open space, tensing, but wasn't quite prepared for a clawed hand to grab him by the hair and yank him into the shadow of a rock, having to suppress a yelp from giving them away.

When Charvin let him go and straightened up, he couldn't help but rub his scalp, giving the Khajiit a dirty look.

"Hey furball, maybe try grabbing my arm next time instead," he spat, knowing that he definitely must have lost at least a few strands from that.

When Charvin went on to talk about whether or not to tell anyone about the dragon, most notably something about them _returning_, he couldn't help but ask, "So giant spiders and militant dictators aside, I guess dragons still aren't considered much more than stories around here, huh?"

He had already guessed as much from the earlier old man's skepticism, but it didn't hurt to double-check.

Another sheepish grin from the cat as he scratched behind his head.

"Apologies. One tends to grab what is nearest them," he chuckled as he rubbed Edwards head. Although, truth was, he wasn't hardly any taller than the blond. His reasoning for grabbing the blonds hair bordered between "just because" and playfulness, as the braid had been taunting him every time he had come to be behind the brother.

"Dragons have been extinct for hundreds of years," Charvin explained. "Nothing more than tales. Or so it was thought."

A troubled look crossed the Khajiit's face for a moment as he thought "It was said when the dragons returned, the end times would come about." His grinned as he squeezed between the two brothers and placed his arms around each of their shoulders, crushing them close to his chest. But those are just fairy tales. Perhaps it was just a stray dragon that had survived."

They were approaching a cluster of stones with circular holes in the top. Strange symbols were scrawled across the front of each stone and seemed to shimmer as they got closer.

Ed wore a scowl of annoyance and swatted the feline's hand away from his hair, but otherwise didn't protest, his mind still more heavily set on other matters.

Despite that the dragon had disappeared into the distance, he was still wary that it might double back and find them out in the open. Of course, there were other potential dangers to be alert for as well, he was quickly learning. There were a lot of things in this land he was entirely unfamiliar with, and he wasn't dumb enough to assume he'd seen all of its share of surprises yet either.

The path they took, first a dirt path, then stone like that which had led them to that _Helgen _place, was peaceful at least and didn't harbor any danger. The only thing to cross their path was a fox, which quickly disappeared when it saw the trio coming down the road and was gone from sight.

"Yeah, hopefully there's only the one," Edward agreed. "Believe me, one was more than enough."

He was still having trouble processing it himself, despite that he'd almost been killed by the damn thing. Was it even possible for something that big to fly? It must've had one Hell of a wing span to be able to pull that off, but wouldn't it be too heavy? Especially with all that armor-plating over its body, and he couldn't be sure it had the same light-weight bone structure as a bird that allowed it to catch air. Then there was the fact that it literally _breathed _fire. How was it accomplishing that? Was it creating some sort of spark and producing a flammable gas, or…?

He shook his head and silently cursed his scientific curiosity. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about that and getting distracted.

He noticed a fast-moving river just off the side of the path, and the circle of stones that sat just off the side of it. They looked ancient and weathered by time, and almost seemed to glow faintly.

The two meter high stones were quite curious to Charvin. He had heard tales of these things called Standing Stones but had never seen one. They were rough in texture with a hole towards the top coated in metal.

He rubbed his hand across the stony surface of the nearest one. small indentations apparent under layers of moss that he swatted off.

It took him a few moments to realize it was in the shape of a man carrying stolen goods. Clearly the Stone of the Thief. Or the Thieves Stone. He couldn't recall their names properly. What did it matter?

"Stories tell of these stones changing the path one walks in this life." he said mostly to himself. "No one knows how they work though." He shrugged as he patted the stone a final time and turned to continue down the road.

A clacking noise could be heard coming from the nearby creek, a mud-crab protesting their stay with its claws clicking together and bubbles foaming from its mouth. It went ignored by the Khajiit as he placed a hand on his hips and swiveled his ears about listening for danger.

He heard many things. A rabbit rousing in its burrow. A mole running near the creek. A bear higher up on the mountain side rustling about for berries or a kill. Wolves, loud and near.

He wasn't worried about the wolves, he was more concerned with the slight faint sound of a water-heel laboring. He looked up, faded signals of smoke from a smithy floated away in the breeze.

He hoped they would be more friendly than the last town had been, granted he didn't plan on attacking any more chickens from now on if he could help it.

Had doubted the guards had bothered to remember him in the escaping as well. They would know when they reached the town.

Maybe he could find some knick knacks to sell further on.

Ed hummed as Charvin spoke about the stones, though they didn't particularly interest him. It sounded like some sort of superstitious, religious dribble, and personally he wasn't big on that sort of thing. His scientific mind wouldn't settle for ideas about stones being responsible for one's fate, rather than someone taking their fate into their own hands.

He started to follow the path they had been walking, heading the direction that the river flowed. He heard the wolves howl as well, but didn't see any. He supposed it didn't matter much, though.


	3. I don't think we're in Kansas anymore

**Crossroad  
A Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Skyrim Fanfiction**

* * *

Before long had passed, Ed saw the water wheel on the river, and the trails of smoke drifting up into the air. At first, he was afraid maybe the dragon had beaten them to the next town and burned it to the ground, but he was genuinely relieved to see that such wasn't the case.

Buildings were all intact, and people walked the streets as though completely blissfully unaware of the beast that had flown overhead not long ago. It had come this way, hadn't it?

As they neared, he could hear the weathered voice of an old woman, frantic.

"A _dragon!_ I saw a dragon! You _have _to believe me!"

A younger man sighed. "Really now, mother? Dragons, this time?"

"But it's true!"

Ed listened as he passed before casting a glance towards Charvin.

"Looks like we're not the only ones that saw it." Or at least not the only living ones. He wasn't sure he could speak for those left behind in that town that might've seen it, since it seemed almost guaranteed many of them likely hadn't survived.

When he didn't receive a response, Ed glanced over his shoulder to find Charvin had moved off somewhere, looking around. It didn't take long for him to spot the Khajiit over by the smithy, seemingly having lost an interest in them.

Well…it wasn't as if any of them were obligated to stick together. He supposed it didn't matter all that much, and if by chance Charvin decided to seek them out again, they wouldn't be far.

He briefly stopped one of the townsfolk to ask about if there were any shops that sold clothes. He'd much prefer pants that weren't torn, since his leg was bound to attract a lot of attention, from what he'd seen of Charvin's reaction and questioning, and thought it a good idea to find a change of attire. That and both his and Al's were dirty and singed by fire. Not that appearances mattered all _that _much, but he was looking a little on the shabby side after they day all of them had just had.

Unfortunately the local merchant didn't have anything to either sell or trade in that department, so they'd have to wait until the next town over.

At the very least, the sword they'd managed to get during their escape - though he hadn't felt entirely comfortable in parting with their shield enough to sell it - and a few vials the merchant called _Magicka _potions, had brought them a decent handful of coins to get them a meal at the tavern tonight, if nothing else. Or maybe a bed. He wasn't banking on that it would be enough for both, and those soldiers had likely taken whatever coin he had with him when they'd been captured, since he didn't have them on him anymore, much to his chagrin. They'd likely have to make due with one or the other; food or bed.

Hard choice, so far up north.

Ed heaved a sigh as the pair flopped down onto the step of the wood walkway in front of the shop, idly undoing his braid and trying to return his hair to a semi-kempt state. He didn't feel like bothering with braiding again and instead settled for a simple ponytail.

"Man, what a rough day," he groaned slightly under his breath. "Kidnappings… executions… dragons… We always manage to find our way into the worst kind of trouble, huh, Al?"

His brother chuckled, outwardly much more light-hearted than he was at the moment.

"Yeah. I don't think anyone back home will believe that one." He paused. "Well…not the dragon at least. Everything else they might, though."

Ed was silent for a moment, before laughing humorlessly under his breath.

"…Winry would probably hit me with a wrench…"

That being said, he noticed Charvin approaching again and stood, shoving his hands into his pockets. He noticed the cat looked triumphant for one reason or another. He wasn't sure he wanted to ask why.

* * *

Charvin had already slipped away among the woman's frantic cries. He had spotted some shinnies in the nearby smithy and had decided to check their worth. Just iron. Heavy and not worth the taking.

His tail twitched in annoyance as a chicken clucked past him. Mocking him.

It wasn't that he was hungry, having eaten the small rabbit back at Helgen. Chickens just rubbed him the wrong way now. It was their fault he had come to be in this part of Skyrim. It was their fault he was almost executed, eaten by a dragon, mauled by a bear and The Nine only knew what else could have happened on the way here.

His ears flattened against his head as he kicked the feathered fowl, sending it away in a fluster of feathers and squawks. Beyond the fluster of feathers he spotted a tavern, The Sleeping Giant Inn. A suitable place to probe the two brothers for any information they may have. They may be able to tell more with a bit of mead in them and some relaxation. Only one problem, which would soon be remedied.

He found a hard working Bosmer resting at the mill. His labored breaths making for easy pickings as he deftly swiped what he assumed had been the coin purse off the man.

It was instead a letter written to a woman whose name was Camilla. It was none too pleasant, the receiver of the letter would most assuredly have been insulted by the contents. It was signed simply with Sven. Sven was no Bosmer name. More than anything it seemed Nordic.

A plan formulated in his mind. Perhaps he could get the gold he needed in a much less risky way. It wouldn't do, after all, to have just arrived here and have gold missing. Such things might even scare his new 'friends' away.

He folded the paper before addressing the Bosmer. "I found this on the ground."

And with those simple words began a not so winding web of deceit. A familiar zone to him.

He did not care for the details. Some love triangle involving a Bosmer, a Nord and an Imperial. The Bosmer had made a fake letter to make his would be love assume the Nord found her disgusting so that she would love him, and only him.

Charvin had delivered the letter, and that was that. He had acquired 25 gold and a free stay at the Tavern for all three of them.

The Nord had, of course, become rather upset, a small fight had broken out but was soon broken up, the woman was none the wiser and the Bosmer seemed happy. Not that either of their happiness mattered much, but it did net him another ten gold as he took the liberty of stealing the Nord's gold pouch he had dropped in the fight. 35 gold, all in an hours work.

The sun was just beginning to set when he approached the two brothers. "Shall we head to the Tavern? There be mead and meats and rest. You seem like you could use it." He chuckled as he patted them each on the shoulder and leaned them in the direction of the tavern.

"Perhaps you could tell me more of where you come from, how you got here, and that scroll."

When Charvin proposed they make for the tavern, Ed nodded his agreement, though he couldn't help but be just the faintest bit wary.

"Sounds like a plan to me. It'd be nice to get out of this damn cold." He hadn't said anything, but his leg port stung like a continuous stream of ant bites into his nerves, one of the bigger reasons he hated the cold with a passion. He could ignore it for the most part, this being nothing compared to some of the pain he'd endured in his life before, but that didn't mean the thought of relief from it wasn't a welcomed idea.

Upon opening the door they was greeted with toasty heat and the welcome spell of varying spices and meats. Charvin took all this in with a heavy sigh inward and a soft exhale.

On their right and in front of them were tables lit with candles, breads, meats and cheeses. Many of the lumber benches were occupied with weary travelers and at least two escapees from Helgen that Charvin recognized. He decided it best to avoid them, instead sitting at the table closest to the door.

Whether the brothers decided to join him at this particular table didn't matter, if they chose differently he'd move to follow. He made it a point, however to lead with his eyes to the guards and then pat the table, indicating they should sit here.

"Sit. Relax. There is mead here for us and our beds have been reserved." he picked up a nearby tankard of the golden liqueur, swirled it around a moment before chugging it down.

Past the flaming pit in the center a weathered Breton and Nord watched him carefully. Their stares were unnerving. It would be best to leave this town soon.

He glanced a glowing table in the far corner near one of the rooms and wondered briefly if it was to make potions.

Charvin had never been one to keep up with this thing called alchemy, he barely knew anything about it despite his work with poisonous plants. Poison was all he knew how to make and that hardly counted as alchemy. Or maybe it was. He didn't know nor care. Most of his potions and vial related things had been stolen to begin with.

The warmth wafting from within the building and crackle of fire in the pit was welcoming, an orange glow within the center of the room. Even more tempting was the smell of food, making his mouth water and his gut clench. Geez, how long ago had they eaten? A full day, at least, maybe two. Enough to work up an appetite, especially after running and fighting for their lives.

Ed caught the motion of Charvin's eyes to the guard and figured it wise to follow his cues until they'd gotten a better bearing about this place. He'd already been almost executed for no reason that he could place. He wasn't about to take any more chances.

He could smell the faint tinge of alcohol from Charvin's cup and wrinkled his nose.

"I'm not much of an alcohol person," he informed, knowing his brother would feel the same. "I'm going to go see if the barkeep of this place has anything else." He turned on his heel, though something to drink and eat wasn't the only thing on his mind. He was hoping maybe he could squeeze a little information from the locals as well, since experience had taught him that places like this were good for information. Mostly rumors, but maybe one of them would be of interest.

While his older brother did that, Alphonse took a seat, deciding to wait with Charvin as a small smile sat on his lips. He chuckled slightly under his breath.

"Sure is nice here, after the day we've had," he mused conversationally. His body was definitely sore after everything they'd had to do today. Running, fighting…he wasn't about to openly complain, but it definitely took his toll. For the most part, he'd bounced back and managed to get his body back to a decent state after getting it back from beyond the Portal, but he still wasn't in the most tip-top of shape as far as athleticism went. Certainly not like his brother, who'd had a lot more time to acquire a descent set of muscle.

Charvin was taken a bit by surprise when the brothers declined alcohol. Nords never declined a good mead. He was going to ask on it but shrugged it off for later convo once the youngest spoke up.

"That it is," He exhaled loudly as he finished off his mead. "Charvin has had worse days." He admitted. "This one also does not think it wise to stay longer than a night. Was headed towards a major town in the Northwest. Whiterun, I believe it was called. But the Imperials had other plans."

He reached over the table and plucked up a piece of the steaming salmon on the nearest plate. He sniffed at it a few times before quickly devouring it. It had been a while since he had this good of seasoned and smoked salmon.

"So…" he began, barely done chewing his morsel. "Is there more you could tell me about this scroll you mentioned? Was it heavy or light? Was there wording on it and was it hard to read? Do you know if it was transported with you?" He had so many questions but seemed to be having issues thinking of much more retaining to the scroll. He felt they had likely told them what they could on it so he moved on to other matters.

"This…Mistress land you said you came from…what was it like? I believe one of you mentioned before making key-mare-ras from alchemy. We have an alchemy here as well…although I know not much of it." His ears tilted sideways and he seemed slightly embarrassed by this confession. How did one such as him not know much of alchemy? Was just silly.

"You two must come from farther than I expected. Nords who do not take to alcohol are no Nords at all. Are you a type of Bosmer? Breton maybe? I don't imagine you two would escape becoming soldiers if you were Imperials." He seemed deep in thought as he stared into his mug, one ear however was flicked in the Direction the eldest brother had gone. Keeping 'an eye' on him so to speak.

Charvin sure had a lot of questions. Alphonse, being the more mild-mannered and patient of the two brothers though, simply smiled, not bothered at all by them. There were worse traits to have than curiosity.

He decided to start with answering a little about the scroll, not seeing much harm in it. Maybe Charvin could even help them out.

"Well…we didn't get close enough to hold it or anything, but…if I had to guess, I'd say the casing it was in was probably about two feet long, and perhaps two inches thick? At the middle anyway. Beyond that, there's really not a lot more that I could tell you, because I don't know much else." Everything they'd heard was mostly rumors, and he wasn't one to jump to solid conclusions based on pure conjecture.

Alphonse smiled and corrected, "It's _Amestris_, and it's the country we were born to. Anyway, Amestris has a lot of different areas. Brother and I were born in Resembool though, a rural town in the east, with lots of rolling green hills and not many trees. We've been all over the country though; we've been to places like the desert town of Liore and the mining town of Youswell in the East, Dublith, where our alchemy teacher lives, and Rush Valley in the South; and Fort Brigs in the far north bordering Drachma, and all of the major five cities. We spent a good deal of time in the main city, Central, too."

He could tell as he spoke that none of these places sounded familiar to the Khajiit, casting a glance towards Edward.

"If I know my brother, he's probably trying to procure a map for us to figure out where we are. He might be able to point out where it is, then. And I've never heard of 'Nords' or 'Bosmer'." He paused, looking thoughtful. "I think our father was from Xerxes, across the eastern desert, if I recall correctly. I'm not entirely sure about our mother. I think she always lived in Resembool, but I could be wrong."

These two brothers were even more of a curiosity to him. Sure he had priorities and such and would likely ditch them as soon as he got a lead…or, if it came to that, he'd kill them. He didn't prefer the second option. They were simply too fascinating to be wasted in such a way.

"Charvin has traveled many places, as said before. Home was hot sands of Elsweyr. Never heard of Lee-ore. Never heard of any of these places, really." He thought Yous well sounded ridiculous for a mining town. Miners did not tend to do well, at least not here. Especially not farther up north where he had heard the poor were used as slaving minors for the rich. "Why was it called You's well? What was your deserts like?" He had so many questions yet he didn't want to completely over whelm the boy.

"Charvins parents never left the warm sands. Both met in Corinthe and stayed. Brothers and sisters all left for other places." He glanced the brothers seeming curiosity and explained. "Corinthe, main Khajiit city. Warm sands, hot sun. Buildings made of stone. It was…nice." He paused to sip at another tankard of mead that had been sitting in front of the brother. "Main trade was Skooma. It good stuff, but bit strong for non-Khajits." he chuckled a bit.

It was true Skooma was a strong drink, made from the finest Moon sugar one could find, but it was also highly addictive and tended to be destructive. "Skooma tends to have bad effect."

He remembered one of his brothers had gone mad from the Skooma, even as strong as Khajit were to it, and a brief flash of regret crossed his face.

He shook his head before smiling a wide toothy grin again. "So tell me about this Lee-ore and You's well."

"Liore was about the same as any desertous area goes. Really hot, lots of sand, stone buildings. When we first arrived there, there was a priest with authority in the town, pretending he could perform miracles, even bring back the dead. It was false, of course, and his miracles were really alchemy in disguise, but it caused us a lot of trouble. Youswell was in the mountains, some miles south of Liore."

He paused and thought a moment.

"That one was a while ago, though. I don't remember much, other than something about a corrupt military officer that owned the deed to the place, and was unjustly benefitting off the miners that lived in the town. I'm not sure why it was called Youswell though." He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not familiar with the history behind the names of most locations. I never really bothered to think about it."

Charvin's explanation on this stuff called _Skooma _made him guess it was likely some type of alcoholic drink, much like the mead Charvin drank. From the Khajiit's warning about if having bad effects, he assumed it best to avoid.

With all Alphonse had told him, he finally figured it safe to assume they had come from continent, possibly overseas, if not a different world entirely.

One would think he would have figured this out sooner, but you can never be too careful when assuming things. Wouldn't want to assume one thing and then be called out on it later. Was always embarrassing when that happens.

He was still staring into his mug, listening to the various conversations of the bar. The musician, Sven, was muttering to himself in a drunken stupor, the two guards were laughing about one thing or another and he could hear Edward talking with…well whoever he was talking with. Charvin wasn't one to make himself too obvious to eavesdropping.

"It sounds as if you two have traveled much. Did you find what it was you were traveling for?"

"Yes, we did, thankfully," Alphonse confirmed. "Though it took a long time and we faced a lot of trouble along the way. Even so, it was worth it. We accomplished what we set out to do, mostly, and we made a lot of friends along the way and learned a lot of things. I can't say it was easy, but I don't entirely regret it either."

He stopped and glanced sidelong as Ed returned, carrying with him a flask of water and a rolled piece of paper. Judging from the scowl on his face, the younger could only guess something was bothering his older sibling.

With a long-winded sigh, Edward flopped down onto the seat, looking as though he was thinking hard.

"Something the matter?" Al prompted curiously.

"Maybe." He rolled the map out onto the table, Al leaning up slightly to see as Edward pointed. "See here? This is where we are now, a town called _Riverwood, _not very far at all from that Helgen place." He pointed now to that location. "From what I gathered off the innkeeper, we started out somewhere around here, an area known as the _Pale Pass_."

"Alright," Alphonse nodded in understanding.

"Now…" Edward paused to pull another map from underneath, laying it on top, which was a full map of Tamriel. "This country - _Skyrim_, they call it - is up north, where we are, and these are all the countries surrounding it, and these borders here-" he circled the edge of all the countries in Tamriel with an index finger. "…beyond them is nothing but ocean. It's not connected by land to any other major countries we know of like Xing, Drachma, or Creta."

"But we didn't cross any oceans…" Alphonse pointed out, now looking thoughtful himself.

"Exactly."

Charvin watched the brothers poke and probe at the map with their eyes and fingers with interest. Noting they mentioned a rather dangerous place to be found.

Trolls and blizzards were common up in those mountains. He couldn't imagine these two facing a troll with no weapons. Then again, he couldn't imagine many people facing a troll with weapons. Nasty things they were

He had always been skeptical about the gods and workings of fate, but how else was there to explain this? Magic he supposed. Their form of 'Alchemy' is another way. Or perhaps it was just the scroll itself that had brought them here…but how had the scroll gotten to their lands in the first place?

His ears flattened as his mind tried to wrap around this, but failed to.

"The Gods tend to do strange things. Perhaps Alkosh, the Khajiit God of time brought you here? Does that mean you are from the future? Do you remember seeing a huge cat-dragon on the mountains?" It sounded silly even to him. He wouldn't have blamed them if they laughed at him for such a thing, but it was all he had to go by and it would also get that line of thinking away for a bit if they denied seeing such a thing.

"I'm not really a big believer in things like gods, and I'm not so sure that it's a matter of travelling through time. I'm not even sure such a thing is possible."

Ed huffed and crossed his arms, golden eyes calculating, falling silent for a few moments.

"Al, you remember the rumors about that scroll we heard?" He questioned, keeping his voice low. This wasn't exactly a line of conversation he wanted overheard, lest it bring them some kind of trouble. He'd had enough of that today already.

His brother nodded. "Yeah. Supposedly it was said to open a gateway to another world."

"Right. It's hard to say for sure, since I don't remember everything, but maybe there was more to it than simply rumors." He placed a hand to his chin in thought. "If someone were to use Alchemy, and the scroll as a medium, maybe they would be able to use the Portal to make a path from our world to this one. That's just one theory anyway."

"I thought the Portal was more a collective of knowledge though?"

"Well, as far as we know, anyway, but think about it…why else might a doorway exist? When we first went through the Portal, we only got a glimpse of what was inside. If we were to go farther into it, maybe it would lead to another world on the other side."

"You think so?" It seemed like an interesting idea; one he hadn't considered.

"I'm not sure. Like I said, it was only a theory. I can't actually remember if the Portal was even opened this time or not, but maybe that could be explained by the fact that I gave up my alchemy as payment to get you back."

Alphonse nodded his head, though he looked skeptical. "Even so, I should be able to remember if we passed through or not, and there's a price to pay for opening the Portal. As far as I know, we're both fully intact…unless that other guy was taken as payment."

"No, I don't think so." Ed shook his head. "And assuming my theory is wrong, maybe it's another ability entirely unrelated to alchemy, sort of like May's Alkahestry, or perhaps that scroll was similar in some way to the Philosopher's Stone in that it allowed us to bipass Equivalent Exchange."

He paused, briefly fixing his eyes on Charvin.

"Of course, the idea that maybe it's a matter of a different time period could be possible too…but we must be pretty damn far back if that's the case."

All of this speculation was starting to give him a headache, the blond rubbing his temples wearily.

Charvin had lost them at the mention of a portal and mediums. So they crushed up the scroll and put it in something to make it explode into a portal and time travel all the way here? Time travel…why was he even thinking of such a thing, it couldn't be possible….

It could, he supposed, if it involved the Elder scroll.

"So you're saying you put a scroll and a bunch of flowers together to make it explode into a gate way to another time and place? Was the scroll intact?" he couldn't quite hide the annoyance and skepticism from his voice.

Maybe it was the mead getting to him as he was on his third large tankard but his head was becoming spinny and unable to comprehend what they was talking about. Maybe it was just fatigue finally kicking in. Maybe he was just confused in general.

"Flowers?" Now it was Alphonse's turn to be confused.

"I asked about that when I went and talked to the innkeeper," he explained for his brother. "They both have the same name, but alchemy in this place is different from ours. What they call alchemy here is essentially what we refer to in our country as herbalism."

"Oh. That would explain the confusion then, I guess."

Ed nodded and turned to Charvin.

"Let me see if I can explain this in a way that's easy to understand. Back in Amestris, Alchemy is a form of science. See, deep underground, the earth is extremely hot, turning stone into magma, rock that's been melted into a liquid. It's the same concept as how blacksmith's melt metal to forge into new forms. Above that, the ground is made up of massive chunks of earths called plates that grind against each other and move because of the magma underneath them, creating something we call _tektonic energy_. We alchemists are able to channel some of that energy through our bodies using a circle diagram in order to perform different tasks, that we call _transmutations_." He picked up his cup of water and held it up for Charvin to see. "Take this cup for example. By transmuting it, I could change its form from a cup into another object of the same mass, like a plate for instance."

Alphonse nodded, thinking that a simple enough explanation that hopefully Charvin would be able to understand.

"There are limits, however." Alphonse went on to clarify. "The basic law of alchemy is equivalent exchange; in order to create one thing, something of equal value must be lost. Some forms of alchemy, while not impossible to perform, are considered taboo. Alchemy which uses humans as ingredients, for example, like the human chimeras we mentioned. It also can't be used to bring back the dead or create artificial life, and those who try to do so have to pay a heavy price, as many who dared break the taboo found out the hard way." He paused a moment in thought. "It's hard to explain…but those who have broken the taboo using alchemy to perform human transmutation have all seen a sort of gateway, which contains all the knowledge of the world, too much for any person to be able to handle without likely going insane. We call that gateway the Portal of Truth."

It turned out to be all gibberish to Charvin and his face turned into one of a classical _'__Huh?'_ with one brow up and his mouth hanging slightly ajar. He wasn't a caster type. He didn't even know basic healing spells.

He assumed casters went by the same principals either way, with or without all the fancy explanations and wording. "You are telling me you can turn this cup into whatever you wish in the blink of a eye?" It seemed ridiculous to him and it showed in his skeptic tone that boarded on a light chuckle.

"There are several schools of Magicks here in Tamriel but I do not know of any of them that do something such as that." He paused a moment to think of the various schools and what they did, finding he could only remember the basic concepts of three. "The closest we have here is the ability to change ores into something they are not. For instance we can take a piece of Iron and turn it into Silver. I believe that school of magicks is called Alteration, but it does very little of what the name implies. Lets one breathe underwater or turn their skin to stone for a short period of time. Summon floating sprites to guide your way. Many more things but this one has never heard it used on other objects than stone." He seemed to have a realization of something. "If you have this ability, why did you not use it back at Helgen? It could have been very useful." He nodded to himself as he thought of other useful things this ability could do.

Endless pick-locks. A shiv whenever he needed it from whatever, right then and there on the spot. He could bind people's swords to their hands or shields. Create a wall from the ground he stood on….The possibilities were endless in his mind.

Why hadn't the mages he saw all those times before known of these things? Surely it was a basic concept to them. Did they simply lack imagination? He assumed that was it. Mages were prude old men and women who dribbled on and on about how magicka was a powerful force that needed great focus and studies. All study, no fun.

At the mention of bringing back the dead he became troubled. He didn't like undead as was. Mention of them made him nervous. Seeing one? He had seen more than enough when he had encountered a Necromancer by accident in an abandoned home he was robbing once.

"Necromancers are common practice in these lands. Many look down on them, however." he said as a shiver ran down his spine and puffed up his tail. "It is…an unfavorable and unsavory practice. The only requirement for raising the dead here is a few fancy words and a dead body." He had lost his interest in the mead he had been tending to all this time and set it on the table.

"The dead come back not the same, however. Nasty, soulless, thoughtless creatures who only bend to the will of the Necromancer. The stench is usually too much for most people, let alone the act of killing another for use of their body, but there are still those that do it."

He had heard of portals to Deadric lands but not portals of truth. Either way sounded horrible. On one hand you had insanity, on the other you had demon lords who wanted to toy with you for their own amusement before killing you horribly.

He looked into the amber eyes of the eldest brother, scrutinizing his face for how well he was taking all this in.

"How do you plan to return to your home-land? Or do you wish to return? If you want to go home again you will need to find this scroll. If it is what I think it is, the Elder scroll is the only thing with power enough to send you across this portal you speak of and back home."

When Charvin questioned the idea of instantly changing the cup to something else, he nodded his head.

"In the most basic sense, yes. However, like Al said, there are limits. Using only this cup, I can't create anything that's larger than the original object that I transmute. If I wanted something bigger, I'd have to get more material. There's also a limit to what I can turn it into. I could easily turn it into another kind of stone or metal by modifying its composition, for example, but I wouldn't be able to change it into wood or water. Like I said, it's not magic, it's a science, and it's very complex. There's a lot of things you have to learn and understand about how things are put together on a microscopic level, but it is somewhat similar to what you're talking about with the different types of ore."

When Charvin went on to ask why he hadn't used it in Helgen, the older sighed and closed his eyes.

"I don't actually possess the ability to perform alchemy anymore. It's too hard to explain all the details, especially if you don't understand even the basics very well, but in short, I gave it up my ability to do alchemy as the price to getting back something incredibly important to me. Even if I tried to do it, it'd be impossible." He paused and glanced at Alphonse now. "Al on the other hand, still has his, or at least I think so. I'm not sure if it would work here or not."

When Charvin went on to speak about Necromancers and dead people brought to life, Ed scowled, a difficult to read look in his eyes.

"People in our country have tried to bring back the dead, sometimes, but it never turns out right. The results of their attempts can't even be called human."

Al decided to be the one to speak this time when Charvin asked about getting back to their land.

"Well, it's certainly in our interest to get back home, but whether or not that'll be possible is another matter. We're not exactly sure on what happened with the scroll."

"It could have come through with us…or been swallowed up within the Portal, and assuming that even if we can find it and use alchemy here, we might not know how to open up a doorway back. First thing's first, though; we'll have to find it before we start worrying about the rest." Alphonse nodded in agreement at Ed's words.

"This one sees you dislike the undead as much as I." Charvin chuckled, mostly to break the serious and suddenly heavy vibes in the air.

He wondered how one gave up their magicka for something else. It was not like a market where you traded one for the other. He supposed if one poured all their magicka into whatever their focus was then perhaps it would be that way. He shrugged it off, preferring instead to be relieved the brothers didn't have access to that power anymore. Or so he hoped.

It would make things easier on him when he went to steal the scroll if they were unable to fling spells at him or summon golems, or call lightning down from the heavens. If the scroll proved to be unreachable in this world he would simply take whatever they got along the way with him and be gone.

With a curious glance at the younger he decided it best to figure out just how serious he should take this 'Alchemy' business.

"Show me one of your tricks? Not in here. Outside. Do not want others to see it and draw attention to ourselves."

If the younger could use alchemy, this would make things challenging for him. He could simply kill Alphonse…but that would result in the eldest brother becoming hostile towards him and he really did not feel like lugging along a dead weight he had to beat for information up mountains and over hills. On a deeper level he just didn't feel like killing the brother. He wasn't sure why. He had never been fond of kids. Most of the ones he had ever met were sassy and arrogant.

Even though Charvin did not notice it he had come to like the two brothers. Their eyes were filled with things not often seen in Tamriel. A mixture of innocence, determination, hope, resolve and, deeper in, a sorrow well hidden. They were also one of few who had not been unkind to the Khajit. It was strange, yet comforting not to be constantly spat at, cursed, and assaulted.

"There aren't really such a thing as 'undead' where we come from, but I've seen the results of attempts to make them, and it's not something I plan on seeing again." The brief memory of that…_thing _he had created when trying to bring their mother back was enough to almost make a shiver creep up his spine. It had taken him a year, at least, to stop having nightmares about it when he was younger. Even now, it occasionally haunted his sleep, though infrequently. Despite that, the memory of it never dulled in the aspect of being horrific.

When Charvin suggested they step outside for Alphonse to demonstrate, Edward couldn't help but toss a glance over his shoulder at the other occupants. He wasn't entirely sure he could trust Charvin, but he could probably do with worse company.

"I was thinking the same thing, once we eat and rest anyway. It might be better to do it in the morning. Alchemic reactions tend to produce light, so it might not go entirely unnoticed if we do it now, with how dark it's probably gotten outside."

He wasn't sure if it would even work, but he was holding out hope that it would. Having both of them without alchemy instead of only the older would just make things that much harder in the long-run, and he was still fighting his habit to fall back on using his alchemy, and remembering that his arm was no longer auto-mail to turn into a weapon. He never thought he'd actually miss it once he'd gotten his real arm back. Not as much as he'd missed his real arm, of course, but it was flesh was a lot more inconvenient in a fray.

He had forgotten how late it had gotten when they had arrived in the small town. and nodded his agreement, rubbing them on the head roughly before rising to go to his rented room to the far left.

"Perhaps, if it works, you can make us a wagon and something to pull it with." he joked as he reached across the table to retrieve his forgotten tankard.

He padded past the flaming pit of warmth, taking his tankard of mead with him.

He resisted the urge not to take the satchel of gold that was dangling from one of the patrons pockets, instead sliding a slice of bread off the table to nibble on.

He shut the creaky wooden door behind him and began instantly searching the room for anything he could possibly take and use.

He opened the dresser drawers near the door and the bed, finding molded cheese and a bundle of linens. He left the cheese lay wear it was, and laid the bundle on the bed moving onto the large wardrobe behind him.

He was left with not much to look at. Cobwebs, a small pair of boots and some women's clothing was all that remained in the musty closet. He shut it with a sigh before plopping down on the bed and unfolding the linens he had found in the drawer.

They were in no better shape than his own, filled with holes and bugs. A strong smell of manure coming off of them. Whoever had owned these clothes before had seen some rough days.

When he lifted the shirt to the candle-light to see just how ragged they were a thud startled him and he looked down to see a dusty old book at his feet.

He attempted to dust off the covered, which could have been any color from brown to red, but failed to do much more than make it harder to see the picture on the cover. Upon opening it he was confronted with an array of pictures and words. He wasn't much of a reading type and decided he would simply sell it at the next town for a good sum of gold. Surely something this ragged could pose as something valuable. He shoved it under his pillow, chugged down the rest of the mead and laid down to doze off.

* * *

Ed frowned as Charvin felt the need to ruffle his hair, swatting his hand away not for the first time as the Khajiit wandered off to his rented room.

"That cat sure is touchy-feely," he grumbled.

"I think that's just his way of approving of you," Al laughed in a voice that bordered teasing.

"Last I checked, pettings were supposed to be the other way around. Oh, how the tables have turned." He rolled his eyes at his own lame joke and went back to drinking down his water, digging in to what food they had acquired. At this point, he was hungry enough to appreciate almost anything in his stomach, not feeling the least bit picky.

Once they'd finished eating, the two retired to their own rooms for some much needed sleep.


	4. Bandits, Bears, and Bad Habits

**Fair warning...this is a really, really, REALLY long chapter ^^;**

* * *

**Crossroad****  
****A Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Skyrim Fanfiction**

* * *

Edward yawned widely even as he hunched inside the folds of his coat, not sure if he was quite awake to have warmed up enough for this, but he was just now remembering _how fucking freezing _this "Skyrim" place was. He supposed that was only natural, since they were so far up north, but _still._

"The night time certainly did nothing to help the temperature around here," he muttered in complaint as he trudged along behind Charvin. Riverwood was still barely within sight behind him and he wouldn't have been as eager to get out and test if Al's alchemy still worked in this world had he actually remembered that this was basically a land of snow and ice. True, there weren't really any snow piles, but that didn't stop the permafrost ground from crunching underfoot.

And if there was one thing the former alchemist was painfully aware of in every sense of the word, it was that cold and auto-mail didn't mix well.

"I'm not sure why you were expecting it would, brother," Al chuckled good-humoredly. "Temperatures go down after dark, not up."

"Wishful thinking on my part, I know," Ed rebuked ill-temperedly.

Charvin chuckled at the brothers. His fur kept out most of the cold, as it was designed to protect the Khajiit against harsh winds and heat of the desert. It didn't mean he still didn't feel it, though.

His hands felt tight and his muscles struggled to unwind with each step he took. It was something one got used in his lines of work and travel. He often found his muscles aching as he sat in one position for hours on end waiting for his target to come or go. For rooms to clear or crowd.

He briefly wondered how birds sung in this chilling air. Wouldn't their lungs freeze, being such small creatures?

Once they was far away enough not to see the village he turned to the brothers. " Is it far enough here?"

There was a log, some weeds, cobblestone, various rocks and stones scattered about the ground…a bug. He figured this would be as good a spot as any to test this 'alchemy'.

"Yeah, this seems good enough to me." Edward agreed with a nod. Alphonse said nothing, instead looking for a loose branch, which wasn't terribly hard to find. True, he could probably try doing so without a circle, but he felt a little out of practice, and this was a demonstration for Charvin on how it worked just as much as it was a test to see if he still had his ability in this world.

More secretly, Ed had advised it best not to reveal that a circle wasn't required to perform alchemy for those who had seen the Portal. He still wasn't certain Charvin was entirely trustworthy, and what better way to find out than make it seem like the Achilles heel to using it was taking the time to draw out a diagram first? It didn't hurt to take precautions.

"Nothing too flashy, just the basics," Ed instructed from the sidelines, crossing his arms over his chest idly. "We just need to make sure it still works for now. We can worry about the rest after."

Alphonse nodded in acknowledgement as he found a decently sized rock, lugging it over and setting it down in the center of the circle, which wasn't terribly large.

"I know."

Charvin watched with skeptic yet ever curious eyes as Al drew the circle. It seemed ridiculous to rely on a magicka for combat that required to draw in the dirt to use first. "Does it work if the circle is already drawn on something?" he asked as he squatted next to the circle, peering at it closely. "It seems impractical and useless in combat otherwise. Especially when one can simply step on it and mess up the circle."

"Unfortunately, that's the one downfall to alchemy. If a circle is broken, it can't be used anymore. Of course, there are ways to get around having to draw one. One alchemist we knew wore gloves with a circle dyed into the cloth. Another wore iron plates on each fist with the circle carved into the metal. Others had tattoos of circles on their body somewhere. We'll have to do something like that ourselves in the near future, but first we're going to have to get some material."

Taking a preparatory breath, the frosted air chilling his lungs slightly, he clapped his hands together and touched them to the circle. The lines of the diagram he'd drawn in the dirt lit up with a faint blue light, and small strings of lightning seemed to crackle and dance over the surface of the stone. It seemed to slump and melt first, then shaped itself into that of a small stone tree with a hissing crackle.

"It worked!" Al piped, sounding relieved.

As the circle lit up and the stone sparked Charvin jumped back, a bit more surprised than he had meant to be. He quickly relaxed and took on a perplexed look as the stone formed into a tree. Not just any tree, a rock tree. "Why make it into a tree and not, say, a sword or cloak or armor?"

Alphonse smiled.

"There are different levels of alchemy, and this one is a level almost anyone can do. I only really needed to make sure that I could perform it first."

"You see the circle Alphonse drew?" Edward directed. "It's a simple one. There are different types of alchemy and different levels of difficulty. The one he did is about the most basic circle you can make, even a child could perform alchemy with it, but only to make something very basic. Aesthetically, that tree looks fine for a decorative piece, but it's would never hold up to combat in the form of a sword or armor. The more complex task you want to perform, the more complex and larger the circle has to be. Think of alchemy circles almost like instructional formulas or like a recipe, each unique to the task you want to perform and some harder than others. There's a lot of educational studies and scientific calculations that go into it, and not just _any _circle can perform any task you want."

Charvin nodded, his furred hand on his chin as he thought a moment.

"So even Khajiit could use this circle? Or must a new one be drawn?" Without waiting for an answer he did picked up a small pebble and placed it into the circle before doing as Al had done and placing his hands onto the circle.

Several seconds passed, him tensing eagerly awaiting the circle to do something, anything. When nothing happened he sighed deeply.

"Charvin should have known. Life never that simple for Khajiit." He seemed genuinely put down, his eyes downcast, tail motionless behind him.

So the younger brother could use Alchemy where as he and the eldest could not. This was valuable information, but it would make things more difficult for him if the youngest got a tattoo or bodily marking with these circles. Even clothing with the markings would become troublesome. There wasn't much he could do to prevent the brother from marking his clothing, save for smudging out the circles while they slept. Still…it was a useful trick and he decided it best to be thought of later on in his journey.

"It doesn't work for you because you don't understand how alchemy actually works," Ed pointed out. "It's not as simple as just drawing a circle and making something happen. Like I said, there's a lot of education and scientific calculation that goes into it. Without understanding what materials are made of, even on a basic level, it's almost impossible. Rocks, for example, are just tightly compressed masses of various kinds of minerals, shells, bone, and plant matter formed over a long period of time, usually by intense heat and pressure, and each different type of rock has different percentages of those materials in them. You have to know what those materials are, and how you can manipulate them into other forms, as well as in what ways you _can't _manipulate them. Anyway, it'd be too hard and take too long to explain all of it in a way you can understand right now. The point is, you just don't have the kind of knowledge you'd need to pull it off. I did say it was a level of alchemy almost anyone could do, but you'd still have to have a basic grasp on how it works first."

Charvin crossed his arms, a bit insulted with how Ed had worded things. It sounded, to him, as if he was talking to a child. Someone who knew little if not anything at all.

Sure, Charvin didn't know much about this science stuff and his Alchemy attempt had failed. Maybe he didn't know all the components in a rock, what was there more to know about it? It was a rock… made of rocks… and sometimes ore which contained gems.

Al noticed the look of displeasure that crossed Charvin's face at what Edward said and smiled sheepishly.

"Don't take what my brother says too hard. In concept it sounds easy, but alchemy is really hard for most people. Ed was always sort of a genius when it comes to alchemy, not to mention we've learned about it since before we were ten, and managed to get one of the best alchemists in the country to teach us. We've had a lot of time and opportunity to master it."

Charvin had a thoughtful, serious expression, thinking on how long the brothers had dealt with Alchemy and just how easy it was for them to use. He didn't ask because he didn't want to draw suspicion to himself with those questions, instead he brightened up, patting both brothers on the shoulder as he bounded past.

"Perhaps," he suggested. "…since it is cold, you should make us some coats? Or does Charvin have to go hunting hares and chickens?" he joked.

Ed exchanged a glance with his brother.

"No, that won't be necessary. The innkeeper said that the next down over has lot more shops where we could probably obtain the materials we need. Whiterun, I think she called it?"

Alphonse nodded and turned his gaze to Charvin.

"I think you said something about trying to go there yourself anyway, didn't you?"

"Yes, this one had planned on going to Whiterun. But it is still a long ways from here. Perhaps a day or two walk, depending on pace." He paused a moment remembering an earlier comment he had made in jest the night before. "However if one were to have a wagon or horse this would go much quicker."

He had his reasons for going to Whiterun. Mainly to see the worth of this book he had picked up, but also to find better pickings. Steal some jewelry here or there. Maybe explore Dragon's Reach…

Yes he had plans indeed. The two brothers hadn't been factored into this originally, but he would find a way to work around that. Once in Whiterun, he could also, quite possibly, procure new armor as well.

"Well, unless you know where we can get a horse, that carts not going to be any use to us. Like I said, alchemy can't create living things, only inanimate objects," Ed reminded. "Either way, personally I don't mind walking, if it comes to that. Whatever gets us there in the end."

"One could always borrow a horse," he suggested. "But I see no horses here, so let us make haste."

"Borrowing a horse would probably require money anyways," Ed guessed with a shrug, having no problems with walking himself to this _Whiterun _place. "Money which we lack at the moment."

Besides, the walking would help warm him up, still painfully aware of the sting in his leg where his metal auto-mail port met flesh, thanks to this god-awful cold that seemed to permeate every crevice of Skyrim.

He was eager to reach the larger city, and the merchants that were there. Maybe he could find a way to keep his leg a little warmer, some fur lining perhaps. It probably wouldn't get rid of the pain of cold entirely, but he held out hope that it would help decrease it anyway, before he got frostbite or something.

Damn but he wished he had his Brigs auto-mail right now.

Maybe, if he was lucky, Al would be able to help him out in those regards, but neither were as adept in knowledge of auto-mail like Winry was, so there'd be no telling if they could really do a decent job. Besides, he definitely wasn't eager to have to detach and then re-attach the limb. Doing that was always painful and he never once stopped dreading it when it became necessary.

With those thoughts in mind, he turned back for the main road, since from what he knew, it was supposed to lead to their destination. The sooner they got there, the better of they'd likely be.

Charvin hadn't said anything about using their gold to 'borrow' the horse. It was hardly borrowing if you bought it. He chuckled to himself at their innocence. The thought of stealing the horse had probably not crossed their mind in any shape or form.

He shrugged stiffly. "Well then, let us hope the weather holds and no snow finds us." _'or other horrilities'_ he added under his breath.

"That's a hope I can definitely agree to share," Ed muttered like-mindedly, shoving his hands into his pockets to keep them from freezing.

For the most part, all was quiet. Birds chirped in the morning air. Water gently murmured by as it steadily chased the path of the river. A few wild fowl fluttered from the trees and away into the sky, and a deer grazing on the side of the path startled and bolted away at the sight of them, disappearing within seconds.

The lulling sounds of nature all around were almost enough to make the older Elric drop his guard. Almost, but not quite. He wasn't dumb enough to assume that it was safe just because it was quiet, and he wasn't about to assume he'd seen everything dangerous this land had to offer. Better to be alert and on his toes.

He was glad he was of a realistic enough mind to assume as much and be prepared when an arrow came whizzing out of seemingly nowhere, making him instinctively duck low as it hissed past his ear close enough to hear audibly and narrowed his eyes, which had become more focused than before. If someone wanted a fight, they were likely to sorely regret it. Hopefully such could be avoided, but he wasn't about to assume anything yet.

The Khajiit perked up instantly, crouching low to make himself a harder to hit target as he studied the rocky terrain. Field to one side with sparse fields and an outcropping of rock, perfect for an ambush just ahead.

He figured it should be painfully obvious to all where the danger was coming from but spouted it off for the brothers any way. "They are in the outcropping ahead. That was just a warning shot. They must think we have something to offer them." He growled under his breath. "But even if we did, I would not be the one to just hand it over."

He slipped his dagger into his hand and waited for the leader to show for his speech.

"Yeah, I figured as much," Ed returned.

Various races of bandits gathered upon the lower rocks. The buckles and studs on their hide armor glinting in the suns light. Bretons, Imperials, and a few Nords made up the groups composition.

It was strange seeing a Bosmer in the group. Mainly because she was so dwarfed compared to the others, but there she was. Filthy, ruddy hair barely moving in the soft cool breeze that sighed across the path.

"It is always so nice to meet travelers," came a harsh female voice from some spot behind the taller rocks.

"It is hardly a meeting if one is still in hiding," Charvin protested, his face contorted into a snarl as another warning shot whizzed past him.

"How rude of me." A lithe figure leapt atop the higher rocks. It was such a small form compared to the many bulky figures that stood just below.

Shoulder-length, ratty, rust-colored hair was tucked behind one pointed ear as the leader of this group of bandits gazed down on the three with eyes that seemed bloodshot. Such hues of red in the iris and 'whites' were vibrant in this crisp air.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Elein Blackthorn. You may call me whatever you will." She smiled down at them cockily, one hand on her hip.

Despite the many bows them at the moment. Despite fierce faces on the group of bandits, Charvin found himself laughing out loud.

"A wood-elf is leading a crew of bandits? This one has never seen such an absurd thing." His deep, throaty laughter was cut short as an arrow made its mark into his shoulder.

He gripped at the arrow tightly, watching with a face that could have been a scowl or a snarl as blood twined down the shaft of the silver arrow.

"You will speak to our leader with respect, filthy cat." One of the male Nords spat.

"Addinnen, calm your temper. It is not nice to shoot your guests." The Bosmer sighed heavily. "You will have to forgive him. He can be quick to loose an arrow. Now, what is your names and we shall get this possible robbery going."

She smiled as if this was a formal house greeting.

* * *

Ed watched with eyes trained like a hawk at the group that emerged from hiding. Most of them looked like humans of varying races, ones unfamiliar to him but obviously different from each other. Then there was the woman, with long, pointy ears and angular features. She was definitely human_oid_, but he couldn't be sure she was actually _human_.

Well…not by the standards of his world anyway. Charvin was quite different himself after all, resembling more chimera than full human to him, but he had to remind himself that this place was foreign. Odd looking humanoids were the least of his worries anyway.

The one thing that was immediately apparent though was that these guys were definitely outlaws. Likely outlying rogues to society. Highwaymen, to be more accurate.

His eyes widened slightly as Charvin took an arrow to his shoulder with the faintest gasp, tense, before he clenched his jaw and cast a glare in their direction. If this band was anything like those Imperials that had taken them prisoner not long ago, it probably wasn't outlandish to assume a few too many snapped words would do them much good. Unless one counted an arrow through the eye socket a good thing, but he wasn't personally a masochist.

Maybe playing complacent would get them somewhere. It was worth a try anyway.

"I'm Edward Elric, and my brother here is Alphonse," he motioned over his shoulder with a tilt of his head. "And if you're hoping to rob us, I think you'll be pretty disappointed. Anything of value we spent last night on food and bed at that Inn in Riverwood." All except for the leather shield Alphonse still had, anyway.

It had been an annoyance before, but he was starting to think it a good thing that they hadn't had money to spare on new clothes after theirs had been burnt and dirtied escaping Helgen, leaving them looking a bit tattered. If they'd had something nice to replace them, the notion that they'd had nothing valuable on them might have been less convincing.

Or the bandits might have wanted the clothing itself and robbed them naked, an unappealing thought to say the least. It was cold enough out here _with _clothes, never mind without.

"Anyway, we don't want any trouble with you guys."

The elf watched with a look that may have been amusement. This was just formalities to her. The real fun came when travelers begged for their lives. The Khajiit wasn't being much fun. The cat was just holding his wound, now arrow free, and glaring in her general direction, his tail twitching violently.

He did not seem to be in a talkative mood all of a sudden. Such a pity, really. He would simply have to live with a pet name, which was all fine and good for a cat.

The blond didn't seem to be lying. They barely had what could be considered rags in her opinion. Poor bastards must be cold. She felt a tad bit of sympathy for them in that regard. She knew, too well, the bitterness of Skyrim's bite.

"We will be the judge of whether you have anything of value or not." She called down from her perch atop the rocks, squatting casually on the spot, her hands crossed over the hilt of her sword and her chin resting on top.

"Check them."

Five of the thirteen bandits walked forward, replacing their bows with one handed swords and axes should the group try anything.

Charvin growled under his breathe. He had much he felt he needed to say but he knew they were not the things that needed to be said and he did not feel like receiving another arrow. One never knew when they'd find themselves crippled from an arrow to the knee.

He tried his best to keep from running away, there was a nice tree he could use for cover not far away. He also tried not to lash out at the 'search' team as they felt him up and down. He could only glare and snarl at them. His eyes narrowed to slits and his feline facial expression twisted to reveal most of his canines.

He hoped for the sake of them all not dying horribly that the brothers would comply as well, if they didn't, well he could only hope he didn't die with them. Although, he may as well, because once they were dead he did not have a lead to the scroll they spoke of. No scroll, no millions of gold, no luxury life.

It did not take the searches long to find the book he had stashed away in the confines of his linen shirt. They took it out, flipped through it with mild interest. It seemed too old and worn to be anything of value. This did not stop the bulkier of the Nords from coming up and taking it.

Charvin had been paying little attention to what the elf had scolded earlier, he thought maybe the Nords name was ablinen..? He did not know. All he knew was the Nord had greasy black locks that smelled of many unwashed things and a long painted purple stripe across his face, from cheek bone to cheek bone.

The Nord smiled a smile that said _'so you WERE hiding something' _before taking it to Elien, leaving the trio to ponder their outcome.

* * *

Ed watched the group approach, not making any moves, and making it a point to seem as unimposing as possible. The less they thought of the trio, the higher the chance they likely had of getting away alive and hopefully in one piece. He knew Al was smart enough to catch on as well and follow his lead without any verbal cues.

Even if they decided the battered shield Al had was of worth, it would be easy enough to let it go and move on, definitely not worth their lives. How hard would it be to get another one, anyway? He'd seen plenty of people lugging them around, so obviously it was a common enough object that they could find another.

He fidgeted with a low grunt of irritation as a few of the guys searched him for anything that caught their interest, but just as he'd stated, he didn't have anything worth mentioning. At one point, he might have had his silver pocket watch, but had retired it after resigning from his position as State Alchemist, since that sort of required he could actually still perform it. He was somewhat glad that he didn't have it on his persons now though. Alchemist or not, it was one of the few objects he didn't want to part with, a precious reminder of the sin he had committed, so as to never be foolish enough to try it again, even if such an attempt was beyond his grasp now.

The entire time they inspected the three, Ed was watching them with a slight look of calculation, sizing up the band. Thirteen was no small number, but he'd faced worse odds. Then again, he'd had his alchemy at the time. He could still fight without it though, in hand-to-hand combat. He'd faced plenty of tough fighters before, some many times stronger than he was; Izumi, Scar, Kimbley, Pride, Envy, 'Father'. Compared to those enemies, these vagabonds were child's play. It wouldn't be easy, but he was sure he and Alphonse could take at least some of them long enough to make a break for it to safety if a fight became inevitable.

With a huff, doing nothing to hide his annoyance, Edward crossed his arms and leveled his tawny eyes on the woman that seemed to be the ringleader of this circus.

"Satisfied?"

The bandits lifted the shield from the brothers, snorting in mild amusement at the rusted shield.

"This looks as if it's been lifted from long dead corpses. Did you raid a grave for it?" One of the Imperial bandits scoffed as she inspected the hunks of metal before turning to show them to her leader.

"We could sell this to lesser bandits for a few gold, but I don't think it's worth the trouble." She suggested.

"Worthless." Blackthorn sighed. "What about the Khajiit?"

Charvin had done the best he could to keep still during the inspection, but when their hands had begun to tug at his gold pouch he reacted out of impulse rather than thought. He rammed his elbow into the man's ribs behind him, then swept his legs from under him, leaving the bandit gasping in surprise on the ground. He would have stabbed him as well, but they had removed his dagger first thing.

The remaining four inspectors leaped into action instantly, approaching him with jeers and raised weapons.

"You'll make a fine rug, cat."

Charvin backed up, ears low, face fierce. He was determined to keep his gold, as gold as a precious commodity and he would not allow what he had 'earned' to be taken away from him.

One of the bandits charged, ax raised high, crooked teeth showing through a smile on a filthy tan face. The Khajiit managed to dodge to the right of the blow and used his left hand to slash out at the man, his sharp long claws tearing into his face. Blood flecked across the ground and onto Charvin as the man jerked away holding his face. His hands did little to hide the start of the three gashes that tore across his cheek and towards his eye.

"You're dead. Dead!" Yelled another one of the bandits and chaos broke out. Of the thirteen lower-rank bandits nine charged forward, leaving three to tend to the wounded man and the leader to watch from the rock.

Ed cursed under his breath as the bandits turned hostile towards Charvin, having hoped to avoid a conflict, but it seemed that wasn't going to happen now.

He exchanged only a half-second glance with his brother as he whirled around, his eyes saying everything that his lips refused to form out loud, not needing to when it came to his younger.

_Don't use your alchemy unless it can't be avoided._

Al only nodded to show he'd understood what Ed wanted to communicate, and the two rushed toward the fray, Alphonse taking the lead and skidding under one bandits legs, throwing off his balance. Ed took that chance to grab the same guy by the collar with one hand, the other grabbing his belt-line, and flipped him. He heard the whoosh of choked air as the breath was knocked out of the guy and he rolled a few feet away. That would at least put him out of the fight for maybe half a minute or so while he regained his breathe.

Two of the other bandits previously focused on Charvin honed in on the two brothers now, bearing their teeth in a snarl like that of dogs on the attack, each choosing a target. Ed squared off with both fists at the ready, eye watching the man's blade with acute attention. When the guy lunged with his blade ready, Ed ducked to avoid it and sprung straight up, plowing a fist into his jaw and staggering the man, making him see stars.

He glanced over his shoulder, Al maneuvering to avoid a blade as well. The bandit backed him into a rock, missing the boy's head as he dodged with a narrowness that had Ed's pulse skip a beat. He snarled and whirled around, calling out his brother's name as he lunged towards the attacker. Alphonse took the moment that the man turned to face Ed to duck out of the way, Ed delivering a hard kick to the guy's abdomen and into the rock. He'd used his auto-mail leg, Al couldn't help but notice as the man collapsed into a pained fetal position at his brother's feet. He didn't imagine the guy would be getting up for a good hour after that blow.

It was a flurry of dodged blows, cracked bones and a cacophony of noise: All of which Blackthorn watched from atop her rock with amusement and mild disappointment. She almost wanted to face-palm herself as already half of her force was winded or decommissioned. She thought she had trained them better than this. They would have to be reprimanded later.

Many of the bandits had small gashes in their armor, many more had suffered a scratch or two from Charvin's sharp claws. One of the bandits had attempted to pin him to find himself slammed into a rock when the Khajiit used his strong back legs to kick him off. Charvin had barely avoided his skull being bashed in at that moment and was attempting to stand again when four of the bandits, too tired to properly wield their weapons, tackled him and pinned him to the ground.

He writhed painfully, hissing as they dug their knees into his back and shoulder. All he could do was dig his claws into the dirt uselessly and spout obscenities.

The three who had dragged the man away, whom Charvin had mauled, had finished dragging the unconscious one back as well and decided to join the fray against the two brothers.

With a cue from Blackthorn they all circled the brothers before rushing at once in an attempt to dog pile and pin them.

"Are you okay, Al?" Ed tossed to his brother as he came to stand at his side again, visually searching for any signs of injury, satisfied when he didn't see any.

"No, I'm fine," Alphonse confirmed, Ed's gaze sliding to the others, watching a group dog-pile Charvin and pin him to the ground, four-on-one. He was about to rush in to help, but he caught the movement of the three others going for them. He'd have to worry about helping Charvin in a moment.

"Follow my lead, alright?" Ed muttered under his breath, Al nodding. Ed rushed forward in the lead first this time, the closest guy lunging for him. He aimed a punch in the guy's direction, but he only raised a shield to block the older Elrics' fist. Making a split second decision, he changed from a fist to grabbing it instead, spinning under and around to the guy's back, hearing a bark of pain as the position strained the socket of the older guy's shoulder.

One of the others caterwauled a battle-cry and aimed a blade towards him, Ed hastily twisting the shield to block the blade with barely any room to spare, hearing another hiss of pain by the one still clutching the shield.

_Too close!_ Ed silently yelped, eyes slightly wider. He kicked out and sent the second bandit staggering back, and then used an elbow to strike the other under the ribs, finally managing to get the shield away from him.

He tossed it like a Frisbee towards Al, more worried about his brother having a tool of defense than himself.

"Al, here!" His brother caught it and was just in time to catch it so as to block the drop of an ax blade that might have otherwise sliced him down the middle like a watermelon.

Ed was forced to spin around and face his own battle as the one he'd kicked recovered and charged for him. He tensed, ready to dodge, when the second blindsided him and he instinctively raised his arm, sharp pain blasting through the limb under impact of a blunt hammer edge, sending him onto the ground on his side.

God, he hoped the limb hadn't just _broken_.

He glanced up as the charging bandit brought down his sword, Ed twisting around with his hands on the ground as support, gritting his teeth at the pain that pierced his forearm under the weight, and brought is auto-mail leg up to stop the blade in its tracks.

Clearly the bandit had thought him a fool intent on losing his leg, completely unprepared for the sound of metal-on-metal and for it to actually stop and be knocked aside, because he paused to gape in a total stupor, giving the blond ample opportunity to spring and kick him hard in the chest, sending him toppling backwards and a few yards down the hill.

Blackthorn had grown tired of watching her fighters flail about. How did one fail so miserably against kids anyway? She spat on the ground and whistled loudly.

A loud snort followed by a groan as a large bear, easily the tallest bear even Charvin had seen, walked out from behind the rock. Iron studs and metal plates gleamed off the bears makeshift armor that consisted of both leather and iron.

"Allow me to introduce you to Arrjorn." She announced as the chaotic crowd parted to Allow the massive, jangling bear through. "Arrjorn is easily excited. It would be in your best interest to surrender before he decides you're his new toy."

The bear simply stared at them, drool dribbling down the side of his mouth.

Charvin had fallen silent, ears back in annoyed defeat as one of the bandits lifted the gold pouch from him and ran it past the bear and back to their leader. Leaving three to mock the cat, roughly petting him and calling him silly pet names.

* * *

Ed winced as his arm panged, and he couldn't help but run a hand over the limb experimentally. He didn't think it was broken…but he was going to have one Hell of a bruise pretty soon, and his arm was probably sprained. He hadn't even thought about it when he'd raised his arm to defend himself, still conditioned into using it like when he'd had his auto-mail.

He really needed to kick that habit.

At least these guys were lacking some skill. Not completely. Anyone else might've already succumb, but Ed was a pretty good fighter. His brother was even better. He couldn't help but silently thank his teacher and all of the fights he'd lived through up to this point that was making this easy enough so far.

When he saw the bear lumber out, the rogues backing away to let it through, he couldn't help but think he'd judged the situation too soon. His gold eyes narrowed and he stayed positioned into a defensive stance, but he was by no means dumb enough to actually try and take on that behemoth if it could be avoided.

"You know, you sure talk big for someone that can't even fight their own battles," Ed quipped towards Blackthorn, hoping that he could goad her into calling off the bear and taking to the fight herself. Maybe then he could wrap this up quickly.

His golden eyes flicked to the side. He could barely see the structure of what looked like a fortress, maybe even a town, some distance away through the trees. How long would it take them to run that way and escape? Not fast enough to escape a bear running full tilt, he was sure of that much.

_We're going to have to immobilize that thing and then make a break for it. That's our best bet at this point._

Of course immobilizing it was going to be the trick to pull off. He'd heard one blow from a bear's paw could splinter wood, or snap a man's spine. And that was a _damn huge bear_.

They could always surrender, too, but whether or not they'd actually survive if they did was iffy, and most pressingly, he wasn't about to risk Al's life on a shaky gamble like that if he could help it.

The leader had taken the small pouch with a triumphant smile.

"This would have gone a lot less painfully if you would have just gave us this from the start." She shot at Charvin before turning her gaze back to the brothers.

She was beginning to warn them one last time to surrender when the eldest, or so she assumed he was, brother quipped up. One red eye twitched in annoyance. How dare a person in his position insult her. Her, Blackthorn, of all people. Before her bear even!

There was an audible gasp from the remaining bandits as the leader jumped down from her perch and shoved past them. She came to rest beside Arrjorn a look of annoyance and petulance upon her face.

"You think I need these ogres to fight for me?" she spat angrily, her size possibly diminishing any of the threat behind that anger. She would have barely came up to Edwards chest.

Arrjorn, the bear, turned his head to rub against the small Bosmer, although from anyone else it may have seemed like the beast was going to bite her head off, what with how small she was in comparison. The she elf was just tall enough to reach the bears muzzle, possibly explaining the strategically placed spiky foot holds along the bears armor.

She shoved the bears face away from hers, mumbled something in a foreign language, more than likely the Alyeid language of elves, and the bear retreated sulkily before laying in the shade of the rocks a large huff coming from his powerful jaws.

Charvin, who still laid pinned, had never seen anything more than an angry or hungry bear and found himself chuckling at the beasts pouting face. Such a large behemoth turned into a watch dog by someone so small. So ridiculous. His chuckling was cut short as the bandits shifted their weight, digging their knees into the sore part of his shoulder again.

Blackthorn began removing the various weapons at her belt and back.

"I could beat ya with me bare hands," she boasted ,dropping a short sword, a dagger and a small bow to the ground. She held up her dukes and boxed around the mouthy brother.

Her anger had left her with a thicker accent, what people in modern days would call Irish and what Charvin would simply call elvish. This entire situation was ridiculous to the cat. Had he been standing he would have doubled over laughing 'til he simply laid out on the ground again. How did a group of bandits like this even get a leader so small? He wasn't even aware elves could be anything more than pacifistic tree huggers. Well, sure, he had seen some elf thieves, but none had been so short and most had chosen to work alone as Khajiit often did.

Ed felt a small rush of triumph as the woman gave in to his taunt, calling the bear off in a foreign tongue that he'd never heard before. Hopefully it would _stay _called off.

He cast an uncertain, meaningful glance back at his younger brother, locking eyes for a moment.

"Al, you just stick back, alright?" For a moment, both were silent, Alphonse's brown eyes searching, as though words silently passed between their eyes alone. It was hard to tell if it was because the younger wanted to argue, or if it was something else, but he finally nodded and made it a point to step back, sitting in the dirt and propping on arm on the lip of the shield he held.

"I won't get in the way," he said complacently, looking content to simply watch.

Satisfied, Ed turned back to the woman with the pointy ears as she freed herself of her weapons and raised her fists. That was certainly a lot more favorable than a sword-fight, and a lot less likely to turn deadly. Still…his arm still ached. Would he even be able to use it?

_Well, I've still got three other working limbs. _One being auto-mail. He'd try not to be too rough, since that limb held a lot more strength to do some real damage than the others, but that didn't mean he wouldn't use it if push came to shove.

He squared off for a moment before smirking slightly, as if a funny thought had just crossed his mind.

"Do ya find somethin' funny, boy?" she demanded harshly as she ran at him much quicker than anyone would have anticipated.

Her left hand pulled back into a fist as she jumped up at the last second just below the brother, intent on slamming her fist into the bottom of his jaw. "Ya won't be havin' that face once I break yer jaw."

Ed tensed in preparation as she lunged forward, and his cocky smile didn't waver until she ducked under him. She was definitely quick, he'd give her that much. He arched his head to the side to avoid her blow, but it still managed to catch the side of his jaw. It didn't do any damage, but it did leave him a little sore.

He was quick to retaliate, aiming a punch of his own into the side of her ribs, hoping it'd knock some wind out of her and slow her pace, even a little.

He didn't wait to find out how effective it had been, leaping back a couple of paces and sizing her up…both figuratively and literally.

"I was just thinking, it's nice to finally have a regular opponent shorter than I am for once," he snarked sarcastically.

He caught the audible sigh that Alphonse uttered from the sidelines as he rested a hand over his face and shook his head. He could almost hear the audio commentary that was probably ringing through his younger brother's head already.

"Ya shouldn' mock thee one whose gunna kick yer ass." she huffed, catching her breath quickly after the punch he'd landed and lashed out at him, quickly covering the few paces, reaching up again to give him a left hook, but it had been a feign.

Instead she leaped up and spun, her small legs colliding harshly with his side enough to make a normal person stumble before hopping away backwards like a rabbit in reverse.

Another sarcastic quip was just waiting on the tip of his tongue, but Ed decided to save it. He'd already managed to make his opponent a bit mad, and hopefully that meant she'd be a little more careless. Not be thinking as clearly. That would be a definite advantage since the blond was typically a tactical fighter.

She recovered quickly though, obviously used to taking blows, and though he was quick enough to catch the feint, he wasn't quite in time to catch the kick that she aimed at his side.

He grunted slightly in pain but resisted cradling his side, not willing to show her a moment of weakness to try taking advantage of.

_She's a lot more skilled than her band of followers,_ he noted to himself, looking more focused than he had before. _I'm going to have to take her a little more seriously._

He decided to be the one to go on the offensive this time, rushing forward and aiming a punch towards her chest. If she leapt up, he could adjust his swing slightly to land a blow to her gut. If she ducked down, he could try and aim for her head, or switch to a kick if that was more favorable.

She had been in enough situations to know the outcome of attempting to dodge the fist coming at her. There was simply too many options to give the blond if she moved out of the way.

She grabbed onto his wrist. Sliding back a step from the force before tucking his arm under hers and yanking on it, using inertia to bring him forward. As he fell she kicked out her leg and attempted to slide his foot from under him.

Murmurs had started to sprout around the circle of bandits who watched in excitement at the fight. Murmurs started to sprout into a ruckus of cheers and bets amongst each other. One of the sturdier bandits cupped Al on the shoulder. "That brother of yours sure knows how to get the captain worked up."

The fact that she moved to grab his wrist and try to use his momentum against him in a split-second decision only further confirmed that this leader of theirs had seen more than a few fights and knew what she was doing.

Of course, he was no novice either, and he rolled with the motion, readying his other arm to catch himself. He hissed as pain shot up it as he landed on his hand, but refused to let it slow him, telling himself that this was nothing compared to the kind of injuries he normally got. Instead he grit his teeth and twisted his body around, ramming his elbow hard into her, already calculating his next move from there and watching her intently from the corner of his tawny eyes.

Al jumped faintly as one of the men clapped a hand on his shoulder, wary for a few seconds, but then he smiled in exasperation, playing it off easily enough.

"Yeah…that's my brother alright. Always getting into fights," he mused in good humor, still discretely working on drawing a circle in the dirt under his shield, in case they ended up having to deal with the bear after all. If things got tight enough, he didn't really _need _a circle to transmute, but he and Edward had unanimously agreed that it would be better to refrain from that as much as possible. It didn't hurt to have a trick up their sleeve that no one else knew about, in case a situation turned sticky, and surprise was always a good thing to have on one's side.

She doubled over as his elbow made contact under her rib cage and backed off quite a few paces. Her knees trembled as she tried to catch her breath, Her armor was the same as all the other bandits of her groups in design, but truthfully it was a bit lighter to adjust for her body size.

She flipped her hair out of her face as she stood 'tall' once more. "Not bad fer a pretty boy such as yerself…" she huffed out. "But." she began circling the elder brother, like a shark before the kill. "I'll still win,." she said confidently as she broke into a run towards him aiming to make him tense from the front before veering off quickly to the side and kick out the back of his knee. He would surely crumble from there, and then she could stand atop his shoulders to keep him pinned. It was a simple enough tactic.

Ed was glad for a little space to recover, staggering back to his feet once she backed off and catching his breath a little too. She was a good fighter, certainly…but then, he'd fought worse. Granted, he didn't _win _all of his fights, but there was always a first for everything.

He'd defeated the "Father" of the hummunculi - with help - so that had to count for something.

He was watching her carefully and tensed as she rushed forward. He noticed her veer behind him and realized what she was trying to do, cursing under his breath as his leg buckled. He instinctively kicked off with the other leg, vaulting forward onto his hands and brought his free leg up behind him so that his heel connected with her jaw.

She had thought he might have tried to kick her, but had scurried those thoughts away when she rushed in. Now with his leg flying at her face she had very little time to react, flinging her hands up to protect her face, It did little to protect her.

The metal limb collided with her small hands, and then her jaw. There was an audible crack as the Bosmer fell flat on her back.

Charvin's ears pricked up as his captures released him and rushed over with the rest of the gang to check on their leader. A bustle of worrisome comments and wondering if they should avenge the small elf.

The Khajiit spotted his pouch of gold, that had become dislodged in the bustle laying on the ground along with a few other pouches the Bosmer had apparently been carrying.

"We should go before the be-." He had hardly begun to speak the word when he turned and slammed face first into the side of the bear he had worried about.

Arrjorn shoved past the Khajiit towards Edward. A strange glint in its eyes that could have been anything from anger to sadness. One did not simply read a bears expression easily.

Ed spun around as he straightened up, stepping back a few paces, especially noticing her little band of henchmen rushing forward to check their fallen leader. He took a moment to catch his breath, his side hurting dully from where she'd kicked him, and his arm not-so-dully, having progressed into a raging throb. He could already tell that the bruise on it was making a quickened appearance after the strain he'd put on it during their tussle.

He relaxed slightly as his eyes briefly watched the busy group of bandits, then shifted to his brother, glad that this had only ended in a fist-fight. Sure, he hadn't exactly been _gentle _in his kick, but he'd still not hit her hard enough to hurt her. He couldn't guarantee she wouldn't possible have a slightly cracked jaw at worst, but he considered that preferable to more potentially fatal wounds.

He heard Charvin insisting they leave, but noticed the bear lumbering up as well and immediately tensed again, holding his hands up slightly in a placating manner as he took a few tentative steps backwards.

Damn it, not the _bear _of all thing!

"Easy there, pal…I think that's close enough," he muttered with a touch of nervousness at the beast's intimidating advance.

The bear growled deeply as it approached closer and closer. Each quick paced step followed by the jangling of its armor. Was that the ground trembling at every step it took? Charvin couldn't be sure.

He thought of leaving the two brothers…but then he'd not find the scroll. What's the point of finding a scroll if your bear food? His ears trembled in annoyance. He hated making this type of decisions.

The bear was now close enough that one could feel, as well as smell, its foul heated breath. It was a mixture of fish and rotted meat, enough to make anyone cringe.

It raised its large right paw, as if to strike Edward. Charvin had decided it would be in his best interest to move on, forget the blond if he did not survive this. No scroll was worth being mauled to death for.

The bear did not strike the blond, much to Charvins relief. Instead swatting him out of the way gently, as if forcibly parting a crowd, and shoved past the other bandits, flinging them over his head and back as he neared the elf kneeling on the ground. It licked at her face like a dog and she briefly petted the side of its face before shoving the massive bears head away and standing up.

There was a bit of blood dribbling down the side of her mouth where she had bitten the inside of her cheek when she had been kicked. Her whole head ached, the jaw the most. She had a splitting head ache but refused to show how much pain she was in, instead glaring defiantly through stray strands of hair at the brother.

"You're cheap" she said under her breath. "Using magic to make your skin hard."

No normal kick would have hurt so much. He must have used magic, there was no other explanation. She had taken harder kicks with thicker boots before. She hadn't thought he was a spell-caster and that's why she had chosen to fist fight him, it was only fair to prove yourself in hand to hand combat.

She would not be embarrassed in front of her gang by…by a child. She would continue this until one of them died if she had to. He had insulted her, even if he had not meant to, he had. She disliked being small, it made people underestimate her. Made them think she was weak or a child. She was far from being a child and there as no way she was going to be upstaged by one.

She muttered some things under her breathe. Her hand shimmered and sparkled as a small fire ball took shape in her palm. "You wanna play with magic, we will play with magic." she smirked as she tossed the flaming ball at him with all her might.

* * *

Ed staggered to the side as the bear swatted him, having been dreadedly anticipating the thing to smash his skull down into his ribcage like loading a jack-in-the-box, and surprised when it didn't. He realized after a moment that it had been because of being concerned with checking that its _master _was alright.

She seemed to have recovered well enough already, though it was likely she'd still be hurting for a while after his kick, even if he'd pulled his punch…or…kick, a little.

He raised his brow slightly as she called him cheap, basically insinuating that he was a cheater using magic. He still wasn't buying this whole stuff about magic though. Likely, just as had been true in historical texts he had researched, "magic" was used as a code for things that they couldn't yet explain. That was what he was leaning towards anyway.

He was about to say something, but stopped as his eyes widened when fire danced to life in her palm. It's not like he'd never seen a person produce fire, after having worked under and with that bastard Colonel for years, but there wasn't' any sort of process. Mustang had to snap his fingers and use alchemy to create fire from his hands, but this women…they literally just _appeared_.

He was almost - _almost _- too caught off guard to dodge, but barely managed to leap to the side and roll back to his feet as he felt the heat of a fireball barely whiz by him, holding up his hands in placating manner.

"Hey, hold on a minute! I didn't use this _magic _stuff or whatever you're calling it!" He protested, not liking the idea of getting lit on fire. "How did I cheat, exactly? I'm not the one throwing flames at people!"

"Ya used a form of Oak skin to harden yer skin into a shield. I could tell when ya kicked me. Dirty cheat." She spat as she whispered some more words and threw another hissing fire ball at him.

Charvin took this opportunity to hide behind the large rock the bandits had been using as a sort of prop earlier. He disliked spellcasters, but he despised flame casters most. He had always feared fire, but fire that could morph and shift was stuff made for his nightmares. He hoped the brother would be OK on his own. He should be, what with that Alchemy business on his side and all.

"Bettin' that's why ya took out mah men so easy as well. You hit them with skin of stone."

Ed hissed another curse under his breath and darted behind a tree for cover, having to pat out the arm of one sleeve that had managed to catch embers. First the dragon, now this crazy chick with fireballs…

He was definitely going to need a new shirt after this.

"Yeah, well sorry to break it to you, but my leg has nothing to do with being a better fighter than your goonies over there," Ed spat back, considering his options.

Should he explain about his leg? It could help his case. Then again…it could hurt it too. He had guessed already from Charvin's reaction that auto-mail, or any fake limbs for that matter, weren't common around here, and she had started out trying to rob them when all this began. What was to say she wouldn't want to just take his leg and run off with it? He definitely would be in trouble if that was the case, since he couldn't just get another.

That and Winry would _kill _him, if the bandits didn't do it first before he could get back to their world…or continent…or whatever they needed to do just to get back home.

Running was looking like a good option right now.

"And anyway, I don't think you have any room to be calling '_unfair'_ when you were out to rob us to begin with. Pretty dirty yourself, if you ask me."

It was true that her group was hardly more than regular thugs but they were her thugs and this brat had no right to call them goonies…whatever a goony was. He was lucky she hadn't killed them on the spot before they'd even spoke one word.

She tossed another fireball his direction, the tree he was hiding behind smoldering and crackling as the flames ate their way through it to reach the alchemist.

Charvin motioned from behind his hiding spot for the two brothers to join him, to get out. It was a wonder she hadn't sic'd the bear on them yet. The lumbering beast was padding back and fourth behind his master just waiting for the command to tear them to shreds…or pound their skeletons into bone dust. Neither was a pleasant thought.

The blonds last statement gave her pause. It was true this hadn't been a fair fight to begin with. She had been quite ready to allow her thirteen 'goonies' to fire arrows at will til they were nothing but corpses pinned to the ground if they hadn't complied. He had, however, insulted her. He had made this personal. She had been determined to beat him in a fair fight to show she was more than a bossy little girl who couldn't fight her own battles.

She could have sic'd Arrjorn on them. He enjoyed playing with new people. She hadn't because she had made this her fight.

"ya runnin away now?" she jeered. "Runnin' from a 'lil' girl."

She flung another searing hot fireball at the blonde it passed mere inches from his face, searing the tips of his hair.

Ed winced as fire exploded on the other side of the tree, wood crackling and splintering. He had no doubts the whole thing would come tumbling down soon enough, trying to predict when that'd be. She had decent aim, but he silently thanked the Powers That Be that it wasn't quite as precise as Mustang's flames. _That _was a scary thought.

He noticed Charvin's motion and glanced ahead. That fortress or town was just down the hill. It wasn't exactly right next to them, but it was close enough that they could probably reach within a few minutes of they really sprinted.

Her jeering taunt about running away made him pause, but between fireballs, a dozen rogues armed with weapons, and a _bear _for fuck's sakes, he wasn't willing to take the unnecessary risks. It wasn't like he _enjoyed _running from a fight, but he had more important things to do than give into stupid taunts and lose his wits. Pride be damned, self-preservation came first.

"Yeah, actually, that's exactly what I'm doing," Ed announced shamelessly, ducking out from the tree and behind a large rock as the wood started to split more loudly and came falling down. "Al!" Ed barked, his younger brother perking. "It's time we got the Hell out of here!"

The younger Elric nodded his head as he hopped up, clapping his hands together and bringing them down onto the circle he'd been drawing in the dirt. It lit up, small streams of light dancing across the ground harmlessly, before it morphed the stone path to shackle the legs of not only Blackthorn, but all of her men and the bear named Arrjorn.

_That should hold them for a few minutes,_ Al thought, satisfied with his handiwork as he turned and sprinted after his brother, who tore down the hill as soon as he was sure that his younger was right behind him.

There was commotion and curses as the group initially panicked about their shackles. The bear grunting and roaring, the lesser bandits falling on their asses as the roots took hold and Blackthorn cursing and flinging about fire in a fury at the ground that held her.

Once Ed and Al had joined Charvin behind the rock he took off at an angle towards the river not far ahead, zig-zagged down a short set of rocks and jumped down onto a set of slippery rocks inside the rushing waters. "Careful" He warned the brothers. "Unless you enjoy taking a swim in freezing waters." he shrugged as he hopped to a larger rock and stepped out onto the crunchy grass on the other side.

They heard a last threat from Blackthorn before they were drowned out once and for all by the rushing stream. "Dun think ya can git away from me."

Charvin looked at the bleeding hole in his upper shoulder it ached numbly in the cold air that blew into it. "Either of you still have the potion from our earlier stroll?" Any he may have had himself was either now shattered on the road back with the bandits or taken away, which wasn't surprising. He had few pockets to begin with and little objects on himself to distract the bandits with. He had the boo- The book…He face-palmed as he remembered they had taken the book. He wondered how much it would have fetched in the market or what it even held within its pages.

He sighed as scanned ahead. A small house lay just past a cobblestone road, the smell of lettuce and chickens reaching his nostrils in the crisp the right of that was windmill and a larger plantation, two women toiling in the fields. Had they bothered to look down the river they would have saw a meadery. Not just any meadery : the famous Honningbrew meadry.

Just ahead of them was the city of Whiterun. Dragons reach looming ominously like some castle only ever seen in fairy tales. Its spiked towers piercing the sky like lances. As if they could reach out and spear any dragon that dared get near it.

They was almost there. It was a good thing too because it had been a long walk and Charvin's stomach let out an audible growl.

Ed was close behind Charvin, making it a point to move quickly. He didn't really want to deal with another fight, but most worrisome was the bear. He really didn't want to lose any more limbs, it had been hard enough just to get the _one _back.

The blond slipped slightly landing on one of the wet rocks even as Charvin warned him to be careful, feeling a sudden pull on the collar of his shirt as Al managed to grab him and pull him back from the edge.

"I'll keep that in mind," he sighed in relief, not wanting to be swept underwater. That would be decidedly bad. Once they reached the bottom of the hill, he paused to catch his breath and looked around, noting the farm houses and other scattered buildings. Hopefully this would be too deep into civilization for those rogues to follow them.

He noted the large structure of Dragon's Reach rising high on the hill from within the fortress, pausing to raise a hand over his eyes and look at it with a slight whistle.

"That's an impressive castle," he noted aloud. Granted, he'd seen far bigger and more impressive. Sure, it was a big building compared to the others he'd seen in this land so far, but it'd be hard to top the sight of Fort Briggs when he'd first laid eyes on it.

"If the thieves did not make away with the potions, drink some and hand me what's left in the glass. It should heal our wounds." Charvin explained when he received no answer from the brothers, probably due to the rushing stream.

He noticed their gaze, following it with small smile "I hear tales of Dragons reach. They say there is a dragon imprisoned in the prisons of it. I do not see how such a beast could be contained to walls. Perhaps we shall see when we get there." He patted Ed on the back as they finally stood side by side. "Who knows. Maybe they'll give us a tour." he joked.

He had his intentions to see for himself if such rumors were true. If they were perhaps he could steal away with one of the dragons scales, just one could sell for hundreds. He nodded to himself as rampant thoughts rushed through his mind. Castles tended to have lots of shiny, expensive objects. Even if he failed to find a dragon inside Dragons reach he could simply take some of the more fancy foods or cups and pawn them off.

"Well I know I don't have it," Ed stated, glancing over at his brother. "Al?"

The younger briefly searched himself before producing the vial he'd pocketed in Helgen, satisfied that the bandits seemed to either have overlooked it or just not cared much. He smiled as he handed it over to Charvin.

"Here."

Ed watched with disinterest before gazing over at the place that Charvin called _Dragon's Reach_. A wry, humorless smile crossed his lips.

"Well maybe that's where our fire-breathing _friend _initially came from, then," he mused. He wasn't sure whether to be regretful or thankful for that…considering it _had _helped them all survive their trip to that Helgen place, even if such hadn't been intentional.

Charvin gulped down half of the bitter red potion, hissing as the hole in his shoulder regrew muscle and flesh, sealing it off as if nothing had happened in the first place.

"Perhaps," Charvin stated absently, handing the vial to Edward. "Drink it. I know your arm is hurting you."

"Thanks," Ed returned. He drank down the liquid down and coughed slightly, making a face. "Someone really ought to learn how to make medicine that doesn't just make you want to throw it back up."

Despite his complaints, it definitely helped his arm to feel better, almost like it had never been injured, as well as his sore side.

"Well there's always the alternative to that that's less unpleasant," Al said with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, and what would that be?"

He wasn't really entirely expecting an answer, thinking that maybe it was a rhetorical statement, and couldn't help but shudder with a faint whine of discomfort as his brother stated with a shrug. " 'could always get a shot."

"Don't even joke about at, Al. I'd rather choke down a hundred of these before I'd _ever _let even one damn needle anywhere near me." As if to further emphasis his statement, he childishly shook the now-empty bottle in his brother's face with a scowl. Much to his displeasure, Alphonse only laughed faintly as he started to walk.

"They're not really _that _bad."

"Like Hell they're not."

Charvin blinked at the brothers curiously. What was this thing they called a shot and why did the eldest one find it so unpleasant? Was it like being shot with an arrow? He decided to voice his question once Al had mentioned needles.

"Is a shot a small arrow with a needle tip filled with poisons and antidotes?" He spoke while walking down the cobblestone path towards a bridge. He had much to do in Whiterun. New armor would be a first priority, having no desire to take another arrow without it.

"You could say that…" Ed grumbled, shoving his hands into his pocket in a sulky manner.

Ed obviously wasn't going to explain, so Alphonse took the liberty to do so.

"A shot is a medical tool used to give certain types of medicines or drugs straight into the blood stream for various purposes. It's composed of a small, cylindrical vial called a _syringe_ that you fill with liquid, and on the tip is a small needle with the smallest hole through the center to deliver the liquid medicine, or sometimes to draw blood out as well," he explained. "Most of them have a tiny needle. You can barely feel it at all," he said, pausing as he was interrupted by Ed hissing _"Bullshit"_ under his breath.

"Well…so long as you don't squirm and actually have it done right, it doesn't hurt, but Ed can never hold still."

Sounded more like a convenient way to poison someone to the Khajiit. Perhaps one day he would try making one of these things himself one day. Maybe when he wasn't so busy. You know, being a thief can be tiring and stressing, very busy.

They were approaching a bridge now, in front of it sat the meadery they had missed before. A sickening aroma of honey wafted in the air causing Charvin to purr slightly.

"This place is famous for making the best mead in Skyrim, or so I have heard. Let us go in for a drink." Charvin more demanded than suggested, leading the brothers through the front doors. There was always time for Honningbrew.

The sweet scent of cinnamon, honey, and spices was overwhelming, enough to make one's head spin. A soft round sweet roll sat on the various plates around the room, cinnamon and glazed sugars glistening on them.

"Ah, welcome," a cheery man from behind the counter greeted.

In a darkened corner a man sat grouchily drinking a mug of ale,a broom discarded on the floor next to him. Grumbling of this and thats. How he deserved better employment and something about a Blackbriar.

The Khajiit left a couple pieces of gold on the counter top for the brothers to order what they wished, which would amount to maybe a glass of water and a sweet roll or two.

"I will return shortly. It is not generally a good thing to hold it in." With that he skipped out the door, secretly sneaking to the building next door to 'test' the wine in the storage.

The two stepped inside and the rancid smell of alcohol, mixed with the sweet aroma of baked goods, made him wrinkle his nose. Stronger was the scent of the alcohol, though it had a sweeter tang than that of the mead Charvin had tried introducing them to unsuccessfully the night before.

He watched curiously as Charvin left a few coins and excused himself for a moment. He could only assume from the cat's words that he needed to do a little personal business. At least that's what it sounded like.

"So, what can I get you boys?" The barkeeper questioned distractingly, Ed going to join his brother on one of the chairs.

"You got anything to drink that _isn't _alcoholic?" The blond questioned, earning himself a raised brow from the man.

"Well, this _is _a brewery, you know. I figured you must have come here for our famous Honningbrew Mead. It's quite good. 'sure you don't want some?"

"No thanks, I don't drink," Ed passed up customarily. "Maybe just some juice or something, or water if you don't have that."

"O-kay…" the man hummed in an elongated drawl, as if thinking maybe the young man would change his mind. He went about pouring them something - juice, Ed guessed - all the while deciding to strike up idle conversation. "I see the two of you had a traveling companion. It's not every day people travel with a Khajiit at their side."

"You don't say," Ed hummed in acknowledgement. "Although I'm still not really sure what a _Khajiit _even is. We're sort of new to these lands." He noticed the look of question and decided to elaborate further. "We're from a place across the seas, _really _far away."

The man nodded in skeptical understanding and came to the two bearing a pair of cups of drink.

"They're a race from way down south, from the deserts of Elswyer, way beyond the borders of Cyrodiil and the capital city. Their kind are…" he paused as if trying to find a suitable description. "…shady. Not to be trusted. Thieves and Skooma dealers, mostly, some murderers. You should watch your back around them, otherwise they might snatch everything of value you have on you while you sleep and be all the way back to their homeland by the time you realize."

"Thanks for the warning," Ed said insincerely, taking a sip of some sort of berry juice, though he couldn't quite identify what sort of fruit it was, guessing along the lines of Cranberry.

The barkeep's words had made him a bit uneasy though. It wasn't so much the accusations of Charvin's _'kind' _being labeled as thieves and dealers of…_Skooma_…whatever that was. It reminded him a little too much of the attitude most Amestrians had towards the people of Ishvall. How unjust such prejudice was, he couldn't say, not being familiar with this lands' history, but he figured he'd find out in time. There was a certain quality about Charvin he wasn't sure he _quite _trusted, but he wasn't going to be one to judge harshly, and they'd all helped each other out so far, so that had to count for something.

* * *

The door to the meadery storage was not an easy one to pick and by the time Charvin had finally gotten it open he was down to three lock picks. He shoved the still working lock picks into the leather around his ankles as he slowly opened the door, pausing when it creaked to make sure the bored guards wandering outside hadn't heard. He smiled as he slipped inside, shutting the door behind him.

The storage facility was fairly large. Housing four large metal containers,much like miniature water towers, over bright flames which seeped through grates in the floor. The smell of alcohol was strongest in here, mixed with the tinge of water-logged, or should we say alcohol logged, wood and burning coals. Barrels sat in very corner to be seen, all of them graying and smelling of the sweet famous mead.

To his left as a set of stairs that led to the balcony overlooking the barrels and operations. To his right was a wardrobe, for whatever reason, filled with fine clothes. He would have changed into them, but bar tenders had a way of remembering faces and clothing, it would be too risky. Instead he spotted a key just beside the door on a rack and snatched it, shoving it into the leather pouch at his ankles with the lock picks.

He walked over to the nearest barrel, savoring the smell of the mead mixing with the wood as he pried the lid off. He peered down inside at the thick golden liquid, smelling of honey, spices, and best of all, alcohol. He inhaled deeply, purring loudly when he exhaled. He spotted a table near the wardrobe with ceramic goblets and a jug atop it. He took the jug and dipped it into the warm sweet liquid, not right caring how sticky his fur was going to be after this.

Once the jug had been filled fully he took it over to the table and sat in one of the hard chairs, propping his feet on the other. He poured himself a glass, toasted himself and indulged in the sweet liquor, enjoying the sweet burning on his insides as the mead flowed down his throat. He gulped the first goblet down, a honey flavored after taste as the flavor settled on his tongue. Honningbrew was indeed worthy of their fame. It was rare to find such a sweet alcoholic beverage that still contained its sting.

He burped silently, tossing the goblet away and deciding to simply guzzle from the jug he had initially started with. He would return to the brothers after this, he told himself. No one had to suspect a thing, he was simply out taking a piss and if he came back smelling sweeter than he had before he could simply say the smell of the place rubbed off on him. This was all a very good plan to him at the time, but as he refilled the jug for the third time he had forgotten all about it.

* * *

While the barkeep was busy serving Edward and Alphonse as they tried to decide on if they wanted to get something to eat - or if they could even afford anything - he paused to call out to one of his workers a moment.

"Einar! Come in here for a moment."

Ed glanced over his shoulder as a young man with short blond hair stepped out with broom in hand from a doorway, eyes looking curious.

"Yes, sir?"

"Go and check to see if that new batch of mead is done brewing yet, so we can refill our stock here."

"Yes, sir." He dipped his head and headed outside to the second building. He pulled his key to unlock the door, but it jarred open before he could, making Einar pause before pushing it open. Suspicious eyes glanced around as he stepped inside and quickly came to land on the Khajiit that was helping himself to as much as he could drink, as if it were a free open bar.

"You're not supposed to be in here," he barked sharply, a deep scowl etching his features. "Guards! Come quick! We have a thief in the brewery!"

In mere moments, two armor-clad figures appeared in the doorway, weapons drawn menacingly and shields poised.

"Well, well…no surprise to find one of _your _kind breaking and entering into here," one of them sneered. "Come along quietly, now, unless you fancy the taste of steel over mead."

Charvin had been humming to himself as he was pouring another glass. A drunken, broken humming tune that had no particular rhythm for the fact as soon as he found a rhythm he forgot it. Such was his indulgence he hadn't heard anyone come in, he barely registered the man shouting at him from the door.

"It'sh OK." he drawled, pouring the amber liquid into another goblet before offering it to the people that now crowded the room. "This Khajiit can sshare."

The guards slapped the goblet away, sending it shattering into the floor nearby. "You're coming with us Khajiit scum."

They yanked Charvin from the chair, being none too gentle as they half dragged the stumbling slurring cat out the door. "It'sh good stuff." Charvin slurred between a hiccup. "Not as-sh good as skooma but -" he was silenced as the guards jarred him forward. "Silence cat, before we turn your hide into a rug."

The two ushered Charvin along towards Whiterun Hold while Einar walked back to the main room of the Honningbrew meadery, looking unhappy. The owner of the place noticed immediately and furrowed his brows in question.

"Something wrong?"

"There was a Khajiit that broke into the brewery, sir," he reported with a note of malice to his voice. "He was lounging and drinking up some of our mead, so I called the guards and they took him away."

The man growled under his breath, a harsh light entering his eyes.

"Those damn Khajiit…always trying to help themselves to what isn't theirs. Thieves, every one of them," he spat, Ed listening to them silently, even as he turned his attention to the two. "See what I told ya? Shady, untrustworthy bunch. Good thing the guards got him before he could do the same to you two boys, eh? I hope that cat rots behind bars, never to so much as see another barrel of mead again."

Ed faked a smirk, though he wasn't ready to agree on the man's sentiments, if he ever would be.

"Yeah. I had my suspicions but I guess this just confirms it. Sorry to hear about your mead stores. Hopefully he didn't drink too much of it."

Alphonse looked troubled by the news but held his tongue, finishing off the half of the sweet roll they'd ordered to share. He was itching to make sure Charvin was okay…or at least _going _to be okay. He had a brief flash of that Helgen place and wasn't so sure that circumstances wouldn't be too similar to that. They wouldn't execute him over it, would they?

"Anyway, thanks for the food and the drinks," Ed announced as he pushed his seat out and stood, taking his leftover half of the sweet roll. "We just needed a break on our way to that big town over there…Whiterun, I think it was called, right?"

The man nodded, though a hint of suspicion had entered his eyes at this point.

"Come on, Al. We'd best get a move on, before the sun goes down."

Alphonse nodded his agreement and got up to follow, taking their time out the door at first, before then setting off at a quick lope towards the city gates from the main road. He could still vaguely see the figures of what he assumed to be the guards and Charvin up ahead.

"Guardsh. Always with the rushing." Charvin muttered as he fought to keep his bleary drunken eyes open. They could have at least humored him and taken a swig of that beautiful brew. He sighed as he attempted to make a motion, absently trying to take another drink even though neither the cup nor mead remained in his hands. Finding it impossible to move without being jostled, shoved, or even hit with the broad side of a shield he decided to go back to humming, his mind unable to fully process what was going on.

He had drank what would have amounted to a gallon of the sweet mead and it radiated from every inch of his being. His breath reeking of the honeyed substance, his furred hands sticky and matted from refilling the jug so many times, and even his clothes were soaked in the alcoholic beverage from him toasting himself or just being a clumsy drunk and spilling it down the front of himself.

The guards remarked on it both casually and mockingly as they dragged him past the stables and up to the front gates. "We found this cat soaking in a barrel of mead. Trying to wash the stink off himself, I wager." They spat on him as they laughed and opened the gates and dragged him inside. The sun a beautiful hue of oranges and red behind them.

Charvin mumbled, hardly able to stay awake, let alone stand. "You c-can wake me when w- ge- to the celebraerr- I wll jus- juss rest a bit." and with those last words he slipped into unconsciousness, a smile on his face as the alcohol lead him away into sweet dreams.

The guards cursed as his weight fell upon them, demanded he stand and when they got no response they simply deigned to drag him, hardly caring if they hurt the cat as they went up the cobblestone streets.


	5. The Agreement

**Crossroad  
****A Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Skyrim Fanfiction**

* * *

Ed had tailed the guards into the city, which first he had to deal with the ones at the front gates that didn't want to let anyone in. Something about _"official business only"_ and everyone else had to stay outside. He'd finally managed to convince them into letting him through, but it had been a pain in the ass, and by that time he'd lost track of where the guards carrying Charvin had gone.

It had become just as much a pain in the ass trying to find out where he'd been taken, but eventually he found out that the jail was up in the top area of town known as Dragonsreach.

After assuring themselves that Charvin wasn't off to be beheaded for his breaking-entering-drinking fiasco, they'd found a place to sleep for the night and come back in the morning, Ed setting up a seat in front of the cat's jail cell just a little before the sun broke over the horizon, announcing that morning was coming to full swing.

"Y'know I'm starting to think your little _arrest _back in Helgen was a little more than accidental coincidence," he harped when he was certain that Charvin was finally coming awake and coherent enough to hear him, sitting with his arms resting over the back of a wood chair with a loose scowl on his face.

Cheers and beautiful faces in a desert background faded away into blurs as waking tore Charvin from his dream of being a great, wealthy king returning to his homeland of Elsweyr to a feast of wines, foods and women. It had been such a good dream, placing a smile on his face all the while he was out, but the smile faded with any traces of the dream as the pain hit him.

Charvin groaned loudly as he sat up, holding his head with the free hand that that wasn't holding him up. "This one feels like it has been hit by a giant."

His head was pounding, his bones ached, his throat and insides burned with the fire of a dragons flame. He had been hung over before, but it never seemed to get any better.

He appeared to be in a small cell. Cold, grey cobblestone floors splashed with stains that could have been anything from squashed bugs to blood, he did not wish to think on it. It smelled of mold and piss. A roach skittered across the floor towards a crack in the corner.

His eyes flickered about the cell, his ears perking and leading his gaze to the blonde at the front of his cell. "Ah. Edward. How was your sweet roll?" he smiled trying to delay his answer.

The youths glare did nothing to ease him of his headache or worries as he tried to remember what had happened yesterday, or even the days before. He was clearly in a jail cell…not for the first nor third time in his life, but what had led him here was foggy at best.

He remembered everything up to crossing the river then things got lost in a honey-like haze. Something about walking into a meadery of sorts, he supposed it was Honningbrew because of the sweet, yet bitter, scent that still permeated the air around him. He sure did love to have a good drink, perhaps he had used his gold to buy a few too many? That did not explain why he was in a jail cell, however.

His brows furrowed as pain ached through his skull.

"Charvin does not remember what has led him here. Do you care to remind me, my friend?" he said with more annoyance then he meant to, trying to both to skirt around the brother's question, and to actually remember what had happened.

"It was decent enough," Ed answered to Charvin's question. And indeed it had been. Sweets weren't necessarily his favorite, but it had been a satisfying enough treat. Of course that had been mid-day yesterday and they didn't have the coin for breakfast. Man, it sucked not having the military financing his meals all the time…

He pushed this thought away, trying not to think about it. Doing that would only make him more hungry.

When Charvin went on to ask what had happened, not remembering, the eldest Elric was quiet for a long few moments, his golden eyes searching as though trying to discern whether or not Charvin's lack of memory was truth or lie. Satisfied when it seemed he'd determined that the Khajiit was being honest about his inability to remember, he went on to explain for the hung-over feline.

"Well according to the guys working at the meadery and the guards, you decided to help yourself to some of their alcohol stores behind their backs without paying," he recounted, not really entirely sure since he hadn't actually witnessed it himself. Of course, there wasn't much to be disbelieved of their story considering the reek of it coming off the Khajiit's shit-faced unconscious form, which still lingered around him like a subtle viel, much to Edward's displeasure.

He really did hate the smell.

"You know, people don't really like it when you take their stuff without asking," he reprimanded in a disapproving tone, as if scolding a child.

He chuckled light-heartedly, wincing as the pain in his head protested. He scratched the back of his head smiling sheepishly. "Charvin tends to forget things when he is near a good brew. This one could not help himself. Such a famous brew and not enough gold to savor it."

He picked himself up off the floor and attempted to stretch away the kinks and pains in his limbs." Will not happen again, this one promises," he possibly – and more probably did – lied.

"When can you get me out of this cell? This one is starving." His stomach growled loudly as if to back up that fact as he approached the bars.

Ed was silent for some seconds, not looking as though he entirely believed Charvin's _'promise'_, and his words only further backed up this fact.

"I couldn't say. I didn't bother asking, and I'm not entirely convinced yet that you didn't earn your stay." His tone was mostly matter-a-fact, but there was an accusatory undertone, only thinly veiled, underlying it. "I heard the barkeeper and the guards talking, and a lot of them say that your kind, the _Khajiit_, are prone to some pretty unsavory practices. I'm not really a big believer in stereotypes and had been thinking that maybe these rumors couldn't be as true as they were saying, because bad habits like that are bound to attract a lot of trouble that I'd personally rather not deal with."

He didn't specify whether or not he'd come to believe such rumors after Charvin had been thrown in jail, leaving it open to interpretation and playing it by ear at this point, but figured his words would hold enough hinting without directly saying it that he did fully expect that something like that wouldn't happen again if the Khajiit planned to stick around them, or more pressing, whether or not he'd be willing to help vouch for his innocence.

Charvin put on a hurt face, with tone to match.

"If Khajiit were so bad this one would have stabbed you in the tunnels when we first met. We just have trouble controlling our love for things. We Khajiit are full of love."

He didn't bother to specify that Khajiit had many things they loved, nor that he would have very well left the brothers for dead, not necessarily by his hands, had they not perked his interest. They were foreigners to this land, foreigners with knowledge of a certain famous scroll and even though the Khajiit had not yet come to realize it himself, it had felt nice traveling with people who didn't ridicule him just for being from the south. People who didn't judge him, even if they were wrong not to, and were somewhat comfortable traveling with this strange cat like creature.

"Much has been said about our kind and, to be sure, not all of us follow the rules to the word but we can be just as friendly as…as…" he paused trying to think of something considered friendly to most people, his ears twitching and his hazel eyes wandering about. "As friendly as the dogs some keep." He nodded, satisfied with his metaphor.

"Well I'm sure that your friendliness doesn't come without its ulterior motives, like wanting that scroll you heard about from us for yourself." It didn't take a genius like himself to figure that part out, even if Charvin wasn't typically the thieving type. Whenever there was something of great power, there were always, _always _others who were interested in it, regardless of the reasons.

Of course, that wasn't to say that he could claim he was any different, or had been at least, when he had been searching for the Philosopher's Stone many years back, before knowing the dirty secret behind its creation. Everyone had motives, but some were certainly worse than others.

"Whatever stigma it is that surrounds your race, I don't really care. Like I said, I don't really buy into stereotypes, but you've been arrested _twice _for stealing in the last few days, so it's obviously a habit, and I don't want to have to carry around that kind of baggage." He figured Charvin was determined to beat around the bush, so Ed decided to skip straight to the point. "If you expect me to vouch for you, there are going to be conditions."

Charvin's ears drooped noticeably. Asking him not to steal was like asking a…a dragon not to breathe fire and kill everyone. It just wasn't natural, nor easy.

"Charvin would hardly call being beheaded over chickens fair," he huffed, giving the brother a critical look that almost look like a pout. "Nor would this one call it stealing. Chickens running around, teasing everyone with their tasty meat."

After a pause he sighed "I will hear these conditions." He would simply have to learn better control if he wanted to make it to the scroll and take it for himself. It didn't necessarily mean he would stop stealing things, it just meant he would have to be more careful with how much he took. Like with the mead, but that was a more severe case, it had been so tasty.

"That much is true. Beheading is a little…extreme," Ed empathized. Considering he'd almost had his head chopped off just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, never having actually _done _anything, he could agree on that one. At least, to a certain degree. "But still, you probably wouldn't have gotten into that mess in the first place if you hadn't done it, so no more thievery. I think that one's pretty obvious. Otherwise there's no guarantee that I can actually trust you not to double-cross us."

He had one finger up already, holding up a second one.

"Two is the fact that you owe me for this. I'm not sure how I want you to pay me back just yet, but I'll figure something out for you to repay the favor eventually. And three is that this is the only time I'm going to vouch for you if you ever get caught breaking the law again. Next time you get thrown in jail, you're on your own. I'm not risking our integrity or our lives if you can't keep it together. Is that a deal?"

He felt his heart sink. He hated being in debt to people. To him it was the equivalent of allowing a rogue behind you. It simply wasn't healthy, let alone safe. However, he had no desire to rot away in this cell forever and agreed with a disheartened sigh."Charvin agrees to your terms."

He didn't really mind if the brothers helped him out another time or not, even if they failed to get him out now he still had his lock picks hidden away in the leather straps around his ankle. Still, it was always a pain getting out of prison once in a major city. No one ever allowed Khajiit inside, or out, of the cities, making him an easy-to-spot convict. It was for this reason he was glad the brothers were willing to help him out, at least for now.

Ed wasn't entirely sure how full-hearted such promises were, but he nodded his head, figuring that was about as good as he was going to get.

"I'll hold you to that," he assured as he stood up, placing the chair he'd been sitting on back against the wall and tossing a glance over his shoulder. "Hey, guard! My friend over here would like out."

The armor clad figure looked over and approached a few steps, crossing his arms as he stopped.

"Oh, is that so? I guess we should just let everyone else out who says they don't want to be here, too?"

"Of course not," Ed deadpanned. "But I've talked to him and made him swear that he won't do it again, and I'll be keeping an eye on him to make absolutely certain he really doesn't."

"Oh, really?" The guard sounded almost amused, but not as if he took any of the blond's words very seriously. "And just who might you be, shorty?"

Even as the first two syllable's left the man's lips, Ed automatically unleashed a noise that sounded halfway between a choking sound and an animalistic growl. Alphonse had his arms around his brother's waist already by the time he snapped, almost lunging forward.

"_Who the Hell are you calling a midget so small he'd get crushed by an ant?!"_

"…Brother…you're doing it again…" Alphonse admonished sheepishly. Not a day went by that he wasn't surprised his elder hadn't yet outgrown that…'quirk'…of his.

Ed drew in several ragged breaths as if he'd just run a mile, giving the man a glare. He pushed his anger to the side, for the most part, but it was definitely a struggle.

"Alright, so what exactly do I have to do to have him released?" Edward demanded, trying and partially failing not to glower.

"If you pay enough gold, he can go free, but not before either then, or he's served his sentence."

"How much gold we talkin' here?"

"200," the guard told him unflinchingly, Edward repeating less unflinchingly, "Two-_hundred_?"

"Did I stutter?" the guard humored. Ed gave him another glare, pondering what other options he might've had.

"Exactly who's the head guy in charge around here?"

"That would be Jarl Balgruf, but he's busy right now, and not taking petty disturbances over silly things like whatever it is you have to say to him."

"And where can I find this Jarl Balgruf guy?" Ed questioned, ignoring the rest of what the guard had said. The man uncrossed his arms and pointed.

"Don't be surprised when they show you the door. Like I said, the Jarl isn't receiving visitors."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Ed waved off, heading the way the guard had directed. "Hey Charvin, just sit tight. I'll be back for you soon." He called over his shoulder.

* * *

Charvin listened to the exchange with a mixture of amusement and growing unease. He ran a claw absently up the rusted bars of his prison, eyes darting from the two brothers to the guard, to the way out. His ears slowly losing their gravity and laying back, seemingly full of guilt the cat must feel.

_This one does not fancy staying in a cell. Always too small. always too smelly. The meals always so…mushy. _

His eyes darted to the cells keyhole, briefly pondering his chances of escaping with his life and limbs attached should he happen to choose to break himself out. If he was being honest, the chances were slim, but Charvin was a confident Khajiit in these manners so.. fifty-fifty.

50/50 was not something he was looking forward to trying, non-the-less. He preferred keeping his limbs, his head mainly, attached to his body. It would be hard to keep his limbs attached should he escape into a city unfamiliar to him and Whiterun just happened to be that city unfamiliar to him. He had heard of it, yes, but had never seen the inside. He doubted anyone of his kin had.

He sighed, resigned, for now. His eyes flicking back, boredly to the brothers as they told him, what he assumed, would be a lie.

_The Jarl will not see them and they will forget of Charvin._

On some level, however, he wanted to believe the brothers, and that small bit clung to the hope they would indeed return soon. They said they had, they even made him agree to terms, why would one make you agree to terms if they was going to be made null and void in the end?

_Circumstance sometimes makes it difficult for one to follow through._

With that final thought, he watched the two brothers disappear through the exit and plopped down on the floor, chin in his hand.

* * *

Edward led the way to the main hall with Alphonse following, the two pausing just inside as he heard voices talking with a sense of urgency. He caught some snippets, something about a dragon, and perked his head, glancing to Alphonse.

The younger nodded to him and they made their way forward, immediately confronted by an armor-clad person with dark grey skin. Ed had to pause a moment. The only time he had ever seen a person with such colored skin was Greed and his Ultimate Shield. He had to remind himself that this was a different world though, and he'd barely seen any of it.

"Halt! Jarl Balgruuf is not receiving visitors."

"Yeah, so I've heard," Ed muttered. "We've got something we need to talk to him about though."

"Then come back another time. The Jarl does not have the time. Talk to one of the other guardsmen instead if you have a problem." Ed secretly ground his jaw in irritation, not really appreciating being talked down to like a child.

"It's about the dragon," Ed snapped, making sure his voice was loud enough to be overheard, the two men talking not far off ceasing their discussion.

"And what do you know of this dragon?" the blond of the two older men asked curiously. The grey-skinned woman looked between them as though not quite sure to let them through, but the man waved her aside and she obediently moved to let them pass, albeit with a distrusting glare.

Edward returned it and walked closer, Alphonse close behind him.

"Well… that's not the _only _reason I'm here, but it's one of the reasons. A friend of ours was thrown in prison, and we don't have the gold to pay for his bail, so how about a trade? Our information for his freedom."

The man whom Ed assumed to be Balgruuf appeared thoughtful.

"And what might this information be?"

"Before I give it, I want you to let our friend go."

Balgruuf shook his head. "No, I won't be doing that until I know what I'm trading for. Tell me this information, and I will consider it."

Ed huffed, but figured that was only fair. So he told Balgruuf what he knew, of Helgen and the dragon, and seeing it fly away. It didn't seem to satisfy Balgruuf, however.

"Do not get me wrong, the information you provide is valuable, but not anything I haven't already heard, other than confirming the other accounts. I'm sorry, but there will be no trade." Ed growled in annoyance. "If that is all you have to say, then be off with you. As my Housecarl told you, I have important tasks that I need to see to."

"Well, maybe there's something else we can do to help, then." Ed proposed, glancing about. "Doesn't seem to me like you've got a lot of guards here, from what I've seen. I'm sure you have to be short on manpower. Maybe we can help make up some of the difference."

Balgruuf hummed thoughtfully and stroked his beard.

"Well… if you are willing, perhaps there is a task that I could give you, but I'd be reluctant to ask a mere boy to complete such a dangerous mission. Like you said though, we are short on manpower, so maybe…"

"Just tell us what we have to do. I'm sure that whatever it is, we can probably handle it."

Balgruuf looked uncertain, but nodded his head after a moment. "My court wizard, Farengar, has recently mentioned that he is in need of an artifact pertaining to the dragons, an ancient stone tablet, known as the Dragonstone. It resides in Bleak Falls Barrow, the ruin on the mountain just outside Whiterun, that you can see from Riverwood. That place, however, is a den crawling with rogues and undead Draugr. You may very well lose your life in going there."

Edward wasn't sure exactly what Draugr were but he had heard Charvin speak of undead before. He figured he could ask Charvin later.

"Doesn't sound too bad. We've dealt with worse, right Al?" he glanced to his brother, who nodded. "That friend of ours could help us out too. It'll be less dangerous that way."

"And who is this friend of yours?" Balgruuf asked.

"He's that Khajiit your guards hauled in the other day," Ed shrugged, noticing a shift in the man's attitude.

"A Khajiit you say?"

"That's right."

"Sir," the grey-skinned woman harped. "We can't just let a criminal, much less a Khajiit one, walk free on such an errand. They'll never come back, and what's worse, they may even decide to profit, and take the Dragonstone for themselves."

Balgruuf hummed his agreement, Ed's gaze shifting between them uncertainly.

"I'll make sure that he doesn't just make off with it. I already made him promise to give up thievery if I get him out," Ed offered up sincerely.

"It is not your word that I worry about," Balgruuf informed. "It is the Khajiit's. They do not have a reputation for no reason, and this is too important a task to just let you and him go off on only your word alone. What is there to say that the three of you will not simply leave for the hills, never to return?"

Ed opened his mouth to speak, but Alphonse beat him to it.

"What if I take Charvin's place until they return with the stone?" Ed almost bawked and looked at him incredulously.

"Al, are you sure?" He had been speaking on Charvin's behalf and that he'd gone honest, but in all truth, he wasn't so sure of his own words. What was to say the Khajiit really wouldn't just go back to whatever unsavory practices he had before as soon as he was out? Really, the only reason at this point that he still bothered with the feline man was because Charvin already knew about their situation and seemed interested in helping them, even if he had ulterior motives. Alphonse looked at him and he could tell his younger brother was sincere.

"I'll wait here in Charvin's place while you guys go and get what they want you to fetch from those ruins."

"Yeah, but Al-" Ed began to protest.

"Just trust me, Ed," Alphonse assured quietly, in a whisper. "While you guys are off doing that, I can try and find information here, maybe even make a few friends." He was a lot better at that then Ed was after all, having more tact with interactions than his older brother. "We're in a strange land we hardly know. We could use all the allies we can get. 'might as well start here, right?"

Ed hummed reluctantly, before replying, "Yeah, I guess you're right. We'll go with your plan then, I guess. Just… be careful, alright?"

Alphonse nodded, then turned his gaze back to Balgruuf.

"I'll take Charvin's place while they retrieve the Dragonstone together, and if he doesn't come back, then you can keep me here instead. My freedom for his." Balgruuf looked curious, seeming to sense that something was going on, but not able to place his finger on exactly what. It seemed odd to him though that the young man had enough faith to risk his freedom on the Khajiit's integrity though.

"Well… I suppose that would be a fair exchange, for now," the man agreed at last, motioning to his Housecarl. "Irileth, go inform the guard of our arrangement."

"Yes, sir," she acknowledged, leading the way. Ed and Al followed her back to the prison.

"Hey Charvin, looks like you're getting out after all," Ed announced as they approached.

Charvin, having heard them returning, had quickly stood from his spot on the cold cell floor, ears pricked forward. He pressed his face to the bars, hands gripping the tight bars on either side, attempting to see the returning duo making their way to his cell.

He grinned widely as they announced his soon to be freedom. "Many thanks, comrades. This one owes you much."

"I'm glad that you've already mentioned it, actually," Ed snarked as one of the guards moved to unlock the cell. "Because you're going to start working to pay me back as soon as you're out of here. I managed to negotiate your release, but it wasn't unconditional. You're going to help me retrieve something called the Dragonstone from a place not far called Bleak Falls Barrow, and while you're helping me, Al's going to take your place here. Once we bring the stone back, everyone's free to go. If you don't come back and bring the stone to the Jarl with me, then Al doesn't get to go free."

He leveled golden eyes on Charvin, speaking in an almost unnervingly non-challant, matter-of-fact tone.

"And believe me, if you try to run off and abandon my brother here to rot, I'll _personally _beat your ass bloody before I drag you back here by force to resume your sentence, just so we're clear."

Charvin's ears flicked away a fly as his thoughts went wild.

They were willing to trust him – _him_ – a Khajiit of all things, with a life. He was not sure how he should feel about this and his dark tail swished away dust as this sunk in.

He had no intentions of keeping to his original promise, it just wasn't in his nature, everyone knew this. It was one of the main reasons Khajiit had been barred from the cities. They liked to pocket things they took interest in or found to be of value. Sure these brothers were foreign to the land of Skyirm, but they had heard nothing but the foul rumors that surrounded the cat species of Elsewyr. That would have made any normal person think twice of who they were traveling with and abandon him to his fate first chance they got. He had thought of abandoning the brothers himself on several occasions. Yet here they were… trading places with him.

Had he been a particularly sentimental Khajiit he might have teared up. As it were, he was simply confused.

_Why do they put so much faith in this one?_

"Simple enough." He nodded, briefly dropping his smile at Ed's threat before chuckling. " Fair enough."

He whisked out of the cell before it was even half open,sliding past the disgruntled guard and towards the brothers to ruffle both of their hair.

"Many thanks. This one will help you get this..-" He had not been paying all that much attention to their words and was unsure of exactly they were going to look for. He decided on a more universal term. "This rock you speak of."

Ed nodded and exchanged a glance with Al as he stepped into the cell willingly.

"You just sit tight, and wait for us here, alright?"

Alphonse laughed softly. "Well it's not like I'll be able to go anywhere even if I wanted to."

Ed knew this wasn't quite true. If Al _really _wanted or needed to get out, he could always use his alchemy, but he knew that his baby brother wouldn't resort to that unless he really had to, like if he was in danger. He had figured that out moments after Alphonse had first volunteered to take Charvin's place, which was the only reason Ed even allowed it.

"We won't take long," Ed promised, leaving it at that as he directed Charvin to follow.


End file.
