Chapter Five: Ysgramor's Tomb (Middas/Turdas, 22nd/23rd of Frostfall)

It was nearly dinnertime when the group of Companions arrived in Winterhold. Aerenwen gazed around in shock at the state of the town, remembering Aela's story of how it had once been a great city but had fallen into the sea. Now there were only a handful of buildings that appeared inhabitable. The rest were ruins. The great college of mage's stood at the end of the road, reachable only by a series of narrow stone bridges. The architecture of the college, from what she could tell through the snow squall, was beautiful and ornate, and the building looked like a giant fortress on the sea. She wondered if her sister had made it there yet.

The group didn't stop in Winterhold. Instead, they hurried down the road, garnering the attention of the townsfolk. Aerenwen heard whispers of "Companions" and "Ysgramor's Tomb" as she followed Vilkas down the slick, icy road.

Near the entrance to the college, Vilkas led them down a narrow path which traversed the cliffside and arrived at the snow-covered coastline. The tomb was located on an island to the north. Aerenwen watched in surprise as the brothers waded in up to their waists and began to swim through the icy water in full armor. Couldn't they have hired a boat? She glanced at Aela who, much to her surprise, was already knee-deep in the water as well.

"I'm not swimming," Aerenwen insisted.

"We don't have time to secure a boat, Ren," Aela replied. "We don't know how long Kodlak's spirit will remain here. Days have already passed."

"I'm not a Nord, Aela," the elf replied. She gazed out at the areas of the water that were actually frozen over, little islands of ice bobbing in the waves. "That water will kill me."

Aela frowned. She hadn't thought of that. "Perhaps the beastblood will be enough?"

"I doubt it," Aerenwen answered. She surveyed the landscape and realized there was a smaller island between where she stood and their destination. She took a deep breath and shouted.

"Wuld!"

Thanks to her shout, she arrived on the small island. Another shout had her standing at the edge of the frigid water on the island that housed the tomb. She stood patiently, glancing out over the sea as she waited for her friends to arrive, smirking slightly as they all frowned at her dryness when they emerged, dripping wet, from the icy depths.

"Damn Dragonborn," Vilkas muttered.

"Eh, you needed a bath anyway, brother," Farkas joked, slapping his brother on the back which caused water to splash out from the fur beneath the steal of his armor. "How long had it been?"

Vilkas rolled his eyes and sloshily stomped his way up the path toward the tomb's entrance.

A doorway led to a narrow, stone stairway. At the bottom stood a massive statue of Ysgramor, or so Aerenwen assumed. His hands were lifted as if they should be swinging an axe, but his grip was empty. At first glance, there appeared to be no way out aside from the way they had come.

"Return Wuuthrad to Ysgramor," Vilkas instructed with a nod toward the statue. "It should open the way."

Aerenwen did as she was told, stepping up onto the alter beneath the statue to allow her the height needed to reach, and gently placed the weapon in his grip. A grinding sound echoed through the room as a hidden panel in the stone wall behind the statue slid open.

They began to make their way toward it, but Vilkas stopped them, placing his hand on Aerenwen's arm.

"I can go no further, sister," he stated sadly. "Kodlak was right. I let vengeance rule my heart. I regret nothing of what we did at Driftshade, but I can't go any further with my mind fogged and my heart grieved. I cannot face Kodlak."

Aerenwen nodded, and Farkas glanced at his brother sadly, watching as the other man took a seat near the base of the statue.

"So what should we expect in this place?" Aerenwen enquired as they made their way through a narrow passageway.

"The original Companions," Aela replied. "Their finest warriors rest with Ysgramor. We have to prove ourselves to them."

"Are they guarding the place? Like draugr?" she asked.

"Not exactly," the other woman answered. "I'm sure if our intentions weren't true, that would be the case, but we aren't intruding. I'd wager they've actually expected us. They just need to make sure that we're worthy."

"Be ready for an honorable battle," Farkas stated.

Sure enough, in a small burial chamber, two ghosts appeared. They battled, and the trio continued on down a large set of steps and into a larger chamber where three ghosts awaited them. After proving themselves worthy against those ancient Companions, they found themselves in a small narrow chamber with a pond in the center. Four more ghosts were taken out before they climbed a few steps out of the murky water and found themselves outside a heavily webbed doorway.

"I can't go any further," Farkas stated.

"What's wrong?" Aela asked.

"I've never been good with the big, crawly ones," he replied, "but ever since Dustman's Cairn," he cast a sheepish look in Aerenwen's direction, "they've been too much for me. Everyone has their weakness, and this one's mine. I'm not proud, but I'll stay back with Vilkas."

Aerenwen and Aela nodded their understanding.

"Give my regards to Ysgramor," he stated with a grin before wandering back the way they had come.

"I guess it's just the two of us then," Aerenwen said, pulling her sword, so she could hack away the spiderwebs blocking the doorway.

"Forever and always," Aela answered.

They exchanged a quick kiss before Aerenwen sliced at the sticky silk and cleared the way, revealing nearly a dozen of the giant spiders. It wasn't easy, and there were a few close calls, but they persevered and continued on through the tomb.

Three more rooms and ten more ghosts passed before the women arrived in what was obviously the main burial chamber. A ghost stood, warming his hands over a bluish tinted fire glowing from a brazier near the center of the room. They sheathed their weapons when they realized it was Kodlak.

"My fellow Harbingers and I have been warming ourselves here," he informed them with his usual paternal smile, "trying to evade Hircine."

They glanced around but saw no one but Kodlak.

"I don't see anyone else," Aela commented.

"That's because your heart knows only me as the Companions' leader," he replied. "I'd wager old Vignar could see half a dozen of my predecessors, and I see them all. The ones here, the ones in Sovngarde, the ones trapped in Hircine's realm. And they all see you. You've brought honor to the name of the Companions, both of you. And we won't soon forget it."

"I brought one of the witches' heads," Aerenwen stated, pulling it from her satchel. "Vilkas said we can still cure you."

"Did he now?" Kodlak asked. "I can only hope. Throw it into this fire," he nodded toward the odd, magical flame he stood beside. "It should release their magic, for me at least."

Aerenwen did as she was told, and soon Kodlak's ghost was squirming and crying out. A great wolf appeared beside him. Instead of the blue tint of a ghost, the wolf was tinted red, and it snarled viciously at the women. Aela began firing off arrows at it, and Aerenwen fought it head on with her sword.

The wolf lunged, avoiding her strikes, but eventually Aela's arrows weakened it enough that Aerenwen was able to cleave off its head. It immediately disappeared, and Kodlak let out a sigh of relief.

"The beast inside of me has been slain," he stated. "I thank you for this gift. The others remain trapped by Hircine, though. Perhaps from Sovngarde, the heroes of old can join me in their rescue." He looked wistful for a moment. "The Harrowing of the Hunting Grounds. It would be a battle of such triumph! Perhaps some day, you'll join us in that battle," he glanced at Aerenwen, "but for today, return to Jorrvaskr. Triumph in your victory and lead the Companions to further glory."

"You truly believe I am the best to fill your shoes?" Aerenwen asked.

"You came to us for a reason, child. I saw it," the old man replied. "I'm sure, by now, Tilma has shared my journal with you. You are a born leader, Aerenwen, with a strength of spirit and a heart of gold. I am confident the Companions will thrive with you as Harbinger. If anyone doubts, share my journal with them." The apparition began to fade, and as he disappeared, they heard him sigh. "Ah, Sovngarde."

Aerenwen glanced over at Aela and saw the Nord discreetly wiping tears from her eyes. She approached her and took her hand. In that moment, she decided after her business in Solitude, she would procure herself an Amulet of Mara. Life was too short to waste a moment, and she wanted the world to know this woman was hers. She wanted to be her wife.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Aela asked, a single brow raised in challenge.

"I love you," Aerenwen replied with a smile.

"And I love you," Aela answered. She leaned up and met the elf's lips in a kiss. She glanced around the room in awe. "Do we have time to linger a while?" she asked. "This is the Tomb of Ysgramor! I'd like to commune a bit. This place is worthy of some time."

Aerenwen smiled. "You commune all you want, my love," she chuckled. "I'm going to tell the others we've finished and look around a bit myself. I'd imagine there must be a word wall here somewhere."

The elf found the brothers back by the statue, which she accessed quite easily through a passageway that led to a second panel in the room, this one near Ysgramor's left side. She noticed a third panel opened opposite and decided to explore it but stopped to talk to the brothers first.

"It's done," she stated with a smile. "We cured Kodlak."

The brothers were thrilled and looked immensely relieved.

"Did he say anything?" Vilkas asked. "Did he express who he wished to be his successor?"

Aerenwen nodded. "Me," she replied with a shrug. "He said if you didn't believe it, to read his journal when you return to Jorrvaskr."

Vilkas looked shock while Farkas gazed at her with pride. Eventually, Vilkas nodded. "A month ago, I never would have guessed it, but I see what he saw in you. You will make a good leader."

Aerenwen smiled. "We have much to discuss," she stated. "I need to finish this Dragonborn business, figure out why the dragons are coming back and if it can be stopped. That will have me away from Jorrvaskr for extended periods from time to time."

"We shall discuss it," Vilkas replied. "When you return from Solitude, we will meet and then officially name you Harbinger."

The brothers wandered toward the main chamber to explore and visit Ysgramor's actual tomb, and Aerenwen followed the third passageway which led to a door leading outside, opening higher up on the island than the entrance. She followed a set of steps curving up and around the cliffside and found the word wall she had expected was there somewhere. A new word, Ra'an, was added to her repertoire.

Battling through the tomb had lasted until close to midnight, and after exploring and communing, as Aela called it, for a few hours, the group found themselves back in Winterhold at first light.

"I'm starving," Farkas announced, causing the others to laugh but also agree.

"Why don't you three head to the inn?" Vilkas suggested. "I'll secure us a carriage for the return home. If we leave by noon, we should be back in Whiterun before nightfall."

Farkas wasted no time heading toward the inn, and Vilkas wandered toward the entrance to town where a hired carriage sat. Aerenwen nudged Aela and nodded in the direction of the college. They made their way toward the arched entrance to the bridges where two sentries stood guard.

"Admission is restricted to students and staff only," one of them stated.

Aerenwen nodded. "I'm actually not looking to get in," she replied. "My sister, Mari, was headed here to study. I'm not sure that she has arrived yet, but if she has, would you tell her that Aerenwen will be at the inn until noon?"

The man nodded, and she and Aela made their way down the road.

The four Companions shared a table at The Frozen Hearth, shoveling large bowls of horker stew and mead, or in Aerenwen's case wine, into them. They were all chilled, especially Aerenwen, and hungry after their long night in the tomb.

"Hello, sister!" a familiar voice greeted, and they all looked up with a smile as Mari approached their table, each of them, even Vilkas, having gotten to know the perpetually cheerful elf while she visited in Whiterun. "What brings you to the frozen north?"

Aerenwen embraced her sister and made room for her on the bench she shared with Aela. "We just returned from visiting Ysgramor's Tomb which is on an island off the coast to the north of here. We're only here long enough to warm up and fill our bellies, but I didn't feel right not saying hello if you had already arrived. How is the college treating you?"

"Alright," Mari replied. "I'm beginning as a novice," she stated with a frown, "but I couldn't tell them of my previous studies. They have a Thalmor emissary there, and he's sketchy, more so than most, and if I had said I was an advanced student in Firsthold, he certainly would have looked into my past. He's already a bit suspicious of me, but he's that way with everyone, I think."

"Be careful," Aerenwen warned.

"Always," Mari replied. She stole a piece of her sister's bread. "Otherwise it's good, though. My fellow students are nice, and I have my own room with a comfortable bed. It beats the loft at the farm. The professors are quite knowledgeable, and I think I will be pleased with my studies there. It's all been quite basic so far, but we're heading off soon to visit some ruins nearby. Saarthal?"

"Ysgramor's city," Vilkas stated with a nod. "It was the first city the Nords founded when they arrived in Skyrim from Atmora. It was decimated by the elves in a battle known as the Night of Tears. It is said only Ysgramor and his sons survived. They fled to Atmora and returned with five hundred companions to seek their vengeance, settling in Windhelm."

"I'm really excited," Mari stated, after nodding along with everything Vilkas has said. "No one really knows why the elves attacked Saarthal. There's a rumor that the Nords unearthed a great power during their excavation, and the elves wanted it for themselves. I'm anxious to see what we will find. The college is overseeing the excavation, and it's been centuries since anyone has set foot in the underground caverns."

"How was Windhelm?" Aerenwen asked.

"Cold," Mari replied. "Even colder than here, if you can imagine. It's always so windy, and the people are rude. After they found out I was Elain's sister, most were friendly enough, but I certainly wouldn't want to be living there. Elain is up to something. She's more secretive than usual."

"She'll tell us what's going on when she's ready," Aerenwen replied.

Mari nodded. "What about you? Anything new happen with the dragon business?"

Aerenwen shook her head. "Aela and I will be off to Solitude tomorrow," she replied. "We have a lead there that I'm going to look into to see if we can get some more information as to why they're returning now."

Aela frowned when she realized Aerenwen wasn't going to tell Mari exactly what she was doing in Solitude. The elf discreetly shook her head, not wanting to worry her sister unnecessarily. Mari noticed.

"What aren't you telling me?" she asked.

Aela raised an eyebrow at her lover, and Aerenwen sighed, motioning with her hand for the other woman to tell her since she apparently wanted so badly to do so.

"She's infiltrating the Thalmor embassy," Aela stated with a frown. "This Delphine woman seems to think the Thalmor are behind the dragons. Your sister disagrees but finds it likely that they may have information."

"That's a definite possibility," Mari agreed. "I don't think they would have the means to resurrect dragons, but they certainly have eyes everywhere. They may have more of an idea of why it's happening. This isn't good, though, Ren. You can't just go waltzing into the embassy alone. Tell me you're going with her," she added, addressing Aela.

"Nope," Aela replied, popping the 'p'. "She won't let me."

Mari frowned at her sister, and the brothers looked on in curiosity. Vilkas had never seen Aerenwen go head to head in a battle of wills the way Farkas had, and this was the first either of them had heard about the dangerous mission their comrade was undertaking.

"I have an official invitation to a reception there," Aerenwen explained. "I can't get Aela in. Once I'm there, I have a contact inside, who is going to help me get away from the party. As an Altmer, I'll be able to blend in once I steal some armor. I'm hoping I can get in and out without anyone realizing I'm not supposed to be there."

"And if you can't?" Mari asked.

"Then I'll kill some damn Thalmor on my way out," Aerenwen stated.

"Delphine is going to wait at the stables for her, but she's skipping out at midnight," Aela explained, her tone dripping with displeasure. "She's a fugitive from them as well because she was once a Blade, and she's apparently not honorable enough to stand by the code of not leaving a man behind. I'm going to wait with her, but when she leaves, if Aerenwen isn't back, I'm going to go get her."

"Not alone you're not," Farkas stated. "I'm coming, too."

Aerenwen groaned. She knew they meant well, but her entourage on the trip to Solitude was slowly growing, and that certainly wasn't the way to stay under the Thalmor's radar.

"Will you please go see Elain first?' Mari asked.

Aerenwen started to argue, but the smaller elf held up a hand to silence her.

"She scoped out the embassy while she was in Solitude visiting Steffen," she explained. "Maybe she'll have some valuable information for you. I'm not happy about this, but I understand why you feel you need to do it. I would feel a lot better, though, knowing you were as prepared as possible."

Aerenwen nodded, relenting. "Think that carriage can swing by Windhelm briefly?" she asked Vilkas.

He nodded. "We should arrive by dinnertime. It's slightly out of the way, but I'll pay the driver extra if necessary," he stated. "It may put us back in Whiterun after dark, but it still shouldn't be too late."

"Any other crazy schemes I'm missing out on?" Mari asked.

Aerenwen shook her head. "Kodlak was killed by the Silver Hand," she informed her sadly. "Vilkas and I wiped them out in revenge."

"Who's the new Harbinger?"

"Your sister," Aela answered with a smirk.

Mari's eyes widened.

Windhelm was everything Mari and Elain had told her it would be. Aerenwen pulled her cloak tightly around herself against the biting wind as she and Aela made their way through the maze of streets. Mari had given her directions for finding Elain's home, and the brothers had stayed outside the city with the carriage.

Elain's home was large and ornate, surrounded by an iron fence in what was obviously the wealthier section of town. Aerenwen knocked on the door and was greeted by a large Nord who scowled at her.

"Is Elain at home?" she asked, knowing this must be the housecarl her sister wasn't fond of.

He nodded. "Who shall I tell her is here?"

"Her sister," she replied.

He looked surprised but nodded. As he walked away, leaving the two women in the entryway of the large house, they heard him muttering to himself something along the lines of "How damn many of them are there?"

"Aerenwen! Aela!" Elain gasped as she emerged from a room in the back of the house. "What a surprise! Come in! Can I get you anything to eat?"

"I'm afraid we can't stay, sister," Aerenwen replied after being greeted with a warm hug. "Mari asked that we come. We've just left Winterhold and are headed back to Whiterun, but we leave for Solitude in the morning, so we can't dawdle."

Elain nodded. "Is Mari all right?"

"Yes," Aerenwen replied. "She's getting settled in at the college and seems to like it there. We're actually here for me. The dragonborn business has led me to a mission that involves infiltrating the Thalmor embassy to see what they have for information and knowledge about the return of the dragons. I'm invited to a reception there on Loredas night and will be going alone. Mari said you scoped the place out and hoped you may have some helpful information."

"Like hell you're going alone," Elain stated with a frown. She hurried to a wardrobe in the corner and pulled out her cloak. Soon she was dressed for the weather and had her bow and a quiver of arrows slung on her back.

"I don't have an invitation for you," Aerenwen replied with a sigh.

"Now, sister," Elain smirked, "have I ever needed an invitation to get in anywhere?"

Aerenwen laughed and shook her head, but she had to admit, the idea of Elain accompanying her certainly made her feel a bit better about this dangerous endeavor.