Onwards!

I felt an incredible sense of elation and satisfaction at finally finishing our quest to repair the Gaulder amulet. It didn't just come from the completed amulet itself, but I also felt like we'd done something greater, in finally putting to rest the events begun by the Gaulderson brothers all of those years ago, events that everyone else just wanted to cover up and hope would never be found again. But we had proved them wrong, now their vengeful spirits were banished for good and their father could get some well-earned rest, as could we.

"They tried to separate us to make us weaker," she realised next to me, staring at the place where the brothers had been. "Isolating us one-by-one in hopes of beating us."

"Indeed," I nodded. "But, of course, it didn't work."

"Why do you think so?"

I thought for a moment before answering. "I think it's because we fought with a lot more than magic and swords. We had something they never did, that they never can have."

"What's that?" I only turned to her, giving her small smile in response. She returned it and kissed my cheek when she realised what I meant. "You can be so sweet sometimes… though that was rather cheesy."

"Cheesy is good, great with a slice of bread and a slice of life," I countered.

"I suppose." I beamed at her and gave her another hug.

I was more proud of Brelyna than I had ever been. I admittedly had been worried about her when the Gauldersons used their powers to separate me from her and I didn't think, at first, that she'd be able to beat Jyrick. But she'd done it, with her own strength and her own abilities, proving that I needed to have a lot more faith in my travelling companion. Truly a daughter of the House of Telvanni through and through.

"Now… to claim our prize." I led her up the steps and stopped before the altar.

"It's… beautiful," she whispered in awe.

"Yes, I suppose it is. Nowhere near as beautiful as you though," I added, making her smile.

I turned back to the altar, staring into the light that shone from it. Suspended in the golden light, fully completed and whole for the first time in years, was the amulet of Gaulder, the one that had given him his unique powers and that his sons so desired after. They had used the pieces of the amulet to spread havoc and destruction across Skyrim before they were stopped. Now, it was time to use it for better purposes.

I reached out into the light, feeling the tingling up my arm and took it, the light fading as soon as I did. I could feel the power that it held hum in my hand, images flashing in my mind of me using its power for a multitude of deeds and battles, all for protecting those who couldn't protect themselves. It would make me more powerful than I had ever been and would really give me an edge against the dragons. Grinning, I lifted it up and was about to put it around my neck when I thought to myself, just for a moment:

Do I really need it?

There were many more magical artefacts in this land, still waiting to be discovered and I already had great power as the Dragonborn, which I still had to unlock with more training. In addition, I already had both the circlet and the amulet of Savos Aren on my head and neck respectively, which provided me with added magical abilities already. Did I really need this amulet too, when I already had so much power and… what if I ended up misusing it, becoming drunk on the power I already had? I always tried to do the right thing but what if I did something wrong by accident?

I turned around and looked to Brelyna, who was watching me expectantly and couldn't help but smile. We were both powerful mages in our own right, even more so with more experience, artefacts and training that we had yet to discover. Yet she had defeated Jyrick, alone, without knowing his powers like she had the other two. That was truly an admirable feat, but what if something like this happened again and she needed something more, something that would help her and I'd never given it to her when I could have?

I considered it further, but nothing else changed it. My mind was made up and I knew what to do.

She must have sensed my indecision and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, take it and put it on. It's in good hands now, I know it."

"It will be." She appeared confused at my statement, which lifted when I presented it to her. "Here…"

"Sauron… I… I…" Her voice was low, disbelieving, her eyes wide and shocked. "You… want me to have it?"

"That's sort of what I'm saying by giving it to you, yes."

"But I… shouldn't you have it?" she asked unsurely. "I mean, you're the Dragonborn. You need all the power you can get."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you saying I'm bad at being the Dragonborn?"

"No, no! No, of course not," she said quickly. "It's just that… you know, you need to fight Alduin and his dragons. Wouldn't you want the power it can offer?"

"So glad that you considered me in this."

"I do my best to remember you, dearest."

"I have power," I told her, "abilities and spells I have yet to be taught or to discover. Besides, I already have this circlet and amulet, plus the staff of Magnus and that Dragonpreist mask back at the College. I have all the power I could have and much more still to come, if I do it right."

"But… what would I do with it?" she asked, still unsure about taking it.

"Anything you like." I held it up to her, so she could see. "This could be a big increase for your own abilities. You'd be able to cast more powerful spells, run longer without getting tired and be stronger physically too. But with all of that, no matter what you do with it, I ask only that you remember to do one thing."

"What's that?"

"The right thing." I smiled again and held it closer to her, letting it dangle in my hands and waiting for her decision.

She stared at it for a little while longer, no doubt considering it heaviliy in her mind. Looking at me again, she asked, "Are you sure… you think I should have it?"

"I don't think so, I know so. There's no-one I'd trust more with this artefact than you, my love," I said confidently.

Her face glowed at this and she returned my smile. "In that case, for you…" Her hand reached out slowly and I let it fall into her open palm. "I'll make good use of this, I promise."

"I have no doubt you will," I said. "Go on, let's see how it looks on you."

Still moving slowly, she rose up the amulet and slipped it around her neck, letting it dangle gently from side-to-side. There was a brief flash of light from it, like it was acknowledging its new wielder and I heard Brelyna gasp before the light faded again. She stared down at it and flexed her hands outwards, a smile still on her features.

"I can feel it already. This is… incredible!" She flared up two firebolts in her hand and let them off at the wall. "That barely even diminished me! This really is remarkable!"

"Well, it had better be, considering what we just went through to get it."

She laughed and flung her arms around my neck. "Thank you Sauron, for this special gift. I won't misuse it, I swear with all my soul, I'll use it for the right reasons always."

"I had no doubts you would." I let my expression become serious. "Just don't shout about it and be careful how you use it, or others might catch on and try to take it for themselves."

"Of course. After what happened to Gaulder, I wasn't exactly going to go parading it around. I'll do my best to keep it secret and safe."

"You always were the more sensible out of the two of us," I remarked. "Now, I think we've lingered here long enough and the smell of rotting flesh is most nauseating."

She coughed and waved her hand in front of her face. "Agreed. Let's get going then."

We proceeded, at a faster pace this time, back out of the tomb. I made sure to bow out of respect to the mage Gaulder and offered a small prayer that he may rest in peace from this day forward, never to be troubled again by the vengeful spirits of his treacherous sons. I also offered my reassurances that his amulet was in good, responsible hands and we would make sure it was put to good use and thanked him for repairing it for us.

I didn't know for sure, but I think he did hear me. As I turned to rejoin Brelyna, I could have sworn, out of the corner of my eye, his spirit was there, just for a moment, nodding in approval. Or maybe I was just seeing things, I had no idea. Sometimes, it was nice not to know for sure.

As we neared the exit, Brelyna planted a kiss on my cheek, making me blush red and grin a little, as I did.

"What was that for?" I asked her, touching the spot.

"Do I need a reason to kiss the man I love?" she returned.

"Probably not," I shrugged, as we bowed our heads and hurried back outside, dripping wet once more, "but it's good to have one ready. Here," I added, drying her off with a spell.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, returning the favour. "It's just that… I'm touched that you'd trust me so much with something so important."

"Of course I would," I beamed, reaching our horses and offering her a hand up. "I'd trust you no matter what, you should know that."

"I know, but it's still nice to know that you would." She placed her hand on the amulet again. "I'll make sure this is used for the right reasons."

"I know. Besides," I added, jumping onto my own horse, "I've already entrusted you with something equally as inpornat, perhaps even more so."

"What's that?" I only responded by placing my hand on my chest, making her laugh and smile. "You are being so cheesy today!"

"Why not? What's stopping me, apart from your obvious disapproval?"

"I never said I disapporoved," she corrected, spurring her steed to move alongside mine. "Where to now then?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I think we've done enough questing for a while." I turned my head in the direction where I knew Whiterun was. "I feel like spending a bit of time at home…"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," agreed Brelyna. "So, to Whiterun then?"

"To Whiterun! But first, I think we need to stop at the village of Rorikstead. We need to replenish some of our supplies and we might be able to get it there," I explained.

"That seems sensible and safe, quite unlike you."

"I like a bit of variation, if nothing else," I said in response. "Besides, Rorikstead is small and out of the way comparatively to other places. It should be perfectly safe."

"Should be?"

"Well, you can never be completely sure, can you?" I let her see my best grin. "But that's the best part, that you never know what's over the next horizon. Such as… oh, I don't know-"

"KILL THEM! FOR THE REACH!" a fierce voice cried, making us both look down the road, to see a trio of men and women, dressed in some of the most ridiculous clothing I had ever seen, charging down the road to meet us in battle.

"I take it those are some of the Forsworn?" I asked my companion.

"I'd say that's about right," she replied warily.

"Do they know how silly they look in those furs?"

"Either they know, or they don't care."

"Just when you think it's all over… I suppose Rorikstead can wait." I sighed, unfastened myself and leaped off Arthur, pulling out my dagger and lighting up my hands. "Right, let's get this over with."

"You're not all that worried, are you?" asked Brelyna, jumping off her own horse to join me by my side.

"Not really, no," I answered, looking at her. "After all, I'm with you."

"Funny, I was just thinking the same thing." The amulet shone around her neck, as she summoned an atronach and pulled out her bow. "Alone from the rest…"

"… together, the best…"

"… no contest," we finished together, as I let off my first firebolt and launched myself into battle, Brelyna Maryon at my side.

As it should be.


Another adventure of our light-hearted Dragonborn brought to a close. Again, my sincerest apologies for not having finished this sooner, but I had a blast writing for Sauron and Brelyna again. I'm glad those of you who stayed enjoyed what I had to offer.

Now, once again, I'm going to leave Skyrim alone for a bit. I've got another story put on hold so I could finish this one and they will tear my head off if I don't get back to it. I'll probably end up doing another short story at one point, so if there's any quests you'd like to see Sauron and Brelyna do, don't hesitate to PM me with an idea. I'm thinking of doing a short Christmas special for them, but we'll wait and see.

Fair well for now, my fellow adventurers and writers and may your swords stay sharp!