Lyara deliberately avoided any contact with Farkas, giving him a wide berth should she upset him again. Instead, she chose to ride in silence with Aela. The whole group was in a somber mood as they rode through the cold landscapes of northern Skyrim.
At the entrance to the tomb, a large statue of Ysgramor loomed over the Companions. The statues' hands were outstretched, ready to accept an offering. The Companions parted to allow Lyara to step forward. She raised the huge axe and laid it onto the cold stone hands. Behind the statue they heard grinding noises as ancient and massive stones moved to reveal the entrance to the tomb beneath.
As they headed toward the door, Vilkas stopped them saying that he would remain at the entrance.
"I regret nothing of what we did at Driftshade, but I can't go any further with my mind fogged and heart grieved."
Lyara just shrugged, her mind too occupied to worry about his reasoning, and headed towards the door.
"Be cautious," he shouted after her. "The finest warriors rest with Ysgramor. You will have to prove yourself to them."
Great, she thought. Now I have to worry about the dead as well as the living.
She was grateful to hear Aela and Farkas behind her as she made her way lower into the tomb. The walls were moist and slick with slimy mould and funghi. Their breath started to plum in front of them as the air got colder the further they descended.
Their footsteps echoed as they stepped around the tombs of past Harbingers and heroes of the Companions. The eerie silence was broken, when Lyara heard sibilant voices whispering around the room. The Companions froze, as the whispering got louder. They were disorientated as it was impossible to pinpoint the source.
Lyara caught a hint of movement of to her right, but when she tried to focus on it, she couldn't quite make out what it was. It was vaguely human shaped, but almost transparent. As Lyara stared, the misty form started to coalesce into a more recognizably human form.
"Who daressss disssturb my ressssst?"
With that, the ghost moved towards her preparing to attack with its ethereal sword. She fired quickly, the arrows barely slowing it down, so she quickly released her sword just as the spirit struck at her. It took only parrying one attack, and a couple of strokes herself and the spirit returned to its mist form and disappeared.
Lyara was a bit shaken, and looked at Aela and Farkas who both looked equally taken aback. They carried on, having to fight off several more of the restless spirits before they got to their destination.
When they arrived at the burial chamber, Lyara could not help her shocked exclamation. In the centre of the room was a large stone brazier that held the Flame of the Harbinger and next to it stood the ghost of Kodlak.
"Kodlak? Is that you?" She asked cautiously.
"Of course. My fellow Harbingers and I have been warming ourselves here," came the spirit's reply. His voice was that of the Kodlak she knew and loved, but it had none of the familiar warmth and vitality. It sounded distant, and disembodied.
"But there is nobody else here," Lyara asked.
"You only see me because your heart only knows me as the Companion's leader. I'll wager old Vignar could see half a dozen of my predecessors," Kodlak said with an unearthly chuckle.
"But they can all see you," he continued. "You have brought honour to the name of the Companions. We won't soon forget it."
Lyara was a little embarrassed at the high praise. "Vilkas said you could still be cured."
"Do you still have the witch's head?"
She nodded.
"Then throw it into the fire, and it will release the magic."
Lyara reached into her pack, and pulled out the grisly package. She threw it into the strange flickering blue flame, and waited.
Kodlak's spirit started to shake, and doubled over in apparent agony. Lyara and the Companions watched as a second spirit, that of a wolf, pulled itself free from Kodlak. It lifted its large ghostly head, and growled.
Farkas was instantly ready with his sword, and engaged the beast. Lyara was shocked into action, and joined the fray. Aela kept back, and fired her arrows lightening fast. The ghost-wolf succumbed to the attack, and vanished into thin air just as the ghost-Companions had done.
The ghost of Kodlak remained however. Lyara spoke to him. "We have killed your beast spirit."
"I thank you for your gift," the spirit replied. "The other Harbingers remain trapped by Hircine, though. Perhaps from Sovngarde, the heroes of old can join me in their rescue. The Harrowing of the Hunting Grounds. It would be a battle of such triumph."
His kindly face smiled at her and the other Companions before looking directly at Lyara.
"Perhaps someday you will join us in that battle. But for today, return to Jorrvaskr. Triumph in your victory, and lead the Companions to further glory."
With those final words, his spirit faded, until he could be seen no more. Lyara smiled then. Despite feeling like she had lost her friend all over again, she was happy that now he would spend his eternal rest in Sovngarde, as his heart had desired.
When she turned to the other two, Aela asked her, "Did I hear him right? Did he say you were to lead the Companions?"
"He did," Farkas answered on her behalf. His sounded thoughtful, but his feelings regarding this outcome unreadable.
"Does that upset you?" Lyara asked, to them both.
Aela just shrugged, and said, "You have earned the right. Your strength and honour are apparent to all."
The Huntress stepped forward, and placed her hand on Lyara's shoulder.
"It's my honour to be the first to address you as Harbinger."
Lyara smiled in return, then Aela nodded her head towards the exit, and added, "Come on, let's go tell the others."
Farkas was strangely silent. Not exactly known for being talkative, but she would have expected some remark from him.
At the entrance of the tomb, Vilkas was so relieved to hear that they had indeed cured Kodlak's curse, that he actually took the news of her being Harbinger quite well.
"I wouldn't have expected someone like you to be Harbinger, but Kodlak trusted your judgment … and so will I."
Lyara was a little stunned. Maybe Vilkas had actually listened to his brother for a change.
When the party returned to Jorrvaskr, the news spread quickly about Kodlak's cure, and of her installment as Harbinger.