Indira Skyrim Fic

Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Bethesda Studios. I own Indira Rosebed.

Chapter 35: Sky Haven Temple

Korthspire was not far from Rorikstead, so I began my journey to Korthspire from that location. It was a fairly straight path south of the small farming village and, it would be nice to finally have a calming travel for once. Or, so I thought. I was just on the outside of town when I saw an Argonian woman dressed in all black, wielding two swords. She saw me and came at me. It was near dusk, but she seemed to blend into the shadows so expertly. This woman was an assassin.

I pulled out my sword and she dashed at me with her two swords. She was like a dancer; moving with unnatural grace and flexibility. I ducked out of the way, barely. I had no idea who this woman was, but she wanted me dead, and she was not going to stop until she got what she wanted. I ducked again, her sword attacks missing me, but barely. I came at her when her guard was down and managed to disarm one of the attacks. I then let loose a frozen breath attack, encasing the assassin in ice.

It was really a strategic ploy for me to get some distance. There were rocks, but no trees, so I dashed away as the sun went down. Now, advantage would be mine as I readied my bow and withdrew up the hill. I had a few moments until the ice would melt enough so this woman would be free and begin hunting me down. And, I was right. She did free herself from the icy prison I made for her, and, when she did, she began looking around for me. I had taken cover in the rocks and I used my Aura Whisper Thu'um. It was extremely handy in the shadows and, I could see her life force as clear as day, despite it being so dark. She looked around, confused and confounded as to my presence. I got my bow ready and fired an arrow, penetrating her armor and piercing her heart. She clutched the arrow as she dropped dead on the ground.

As I searched her body, I found a note on her person. A woman named Astrid, working for the Dark Brotherhood, had ordered this assassin to kill me. Failure was not an option, as someone really wanted me dead. I could think of way that was possible.

The Thalmar.

I used my real name in that infiltration mission and now, I was going to be hunted by these assassins forever. Skyrim may have been crawling with these people, and they were probably on most of the major roads, waiting to ambush me. My best bet now to get to Korthspire would be to head via the river. From the location Esbern gave me of the place, it was due south, along a river. I saw the river below me and figured this would be as good as it was going to get when it came to safe travels. I shook my head; I was stupid enough to use my real name. I should have come off as a drunken lout, like Razelon, but I did not. It matters little anyway. I just would have to watch my back from now on.

I scaled down the cliff side and followed the river. It was doubtful that assassins would try and come after me along a river and, as I arrived at Korthspire, something was happening. The place had been turned into a Forsworn camp, and Esbern and Delphine were battling them right now. As I found a vantage point from which I could cover them, I heard an inhuman howl, and a very familiar one at that.

A dragon had caught our attention and was laying fire breath attacks on top of us and the Forsworn. Some of the Forsworn were firing arrows and battling the dragon. I picked off any of the more weakened Forsworn, hoping to thin them out and deal with the dragon. The dragon would not be a problem for me, since I would let them defeat it and I would absorb the soul.
It was a chaotic mess of a battle; Forsworn being incinerated to ashes by the dragon; Esbern unleashing his magical ice creature on both the Forsworn and the dragon, and the dragon causing all sorts of chaos as it swung its tail and flapped its mighty wings. The whole campsite was destroyed, burning as the battle continued. More Forsworn came out of the cave to help their brethren, but they did not last long as I fired arrows, killing them as they funneled out of the cave.

When it was over, the place was a tinderbox. I had absorbed the dragon's soul, but Delphine was exhausted. Esbern was sweating too, but he did not want to stop. Somehow, he still had energy as he eagerly went into the cave. Delphine and I looked at each other, confusion filling our minds as to how an old man like Esbern could have so much energy, even after the exhaustive battle he had gone through. And, he did not have to fight a skilled assassin.

The three of us continued onward. The Forsworn were using this place as a sort of staging ground for their war in Skyrim against the Nords, claiming the Forsworn had a right to the land. Esbern did not pay attention to the camp site; he knew what we had to do. We continued onward, navigating through some traps that would test me as the Dragonborn and, once I passed them; then, it would be safe for Delphine and Esbern to proceed.

We then got to the entrance of Sky Haven Temple; the place where the secret of Alduin's weakness could be found. Esbern studied a particular mark on the floor. The mark was a sort of gateway to the temple, and that only the blood of the Dragonborn could open it. I asked how that was to be done and Esbern explained that my blood had to be spilled in order to open it. For a moment, I thought this crazy old man was going to stab me and spill my blood, but he handed me a dagger instead and I knew what this meant. I stood over the seal and took off one of my gauntlets. I traced the blade on my palm and cut into the flesh, enough for the blood to spill onto the seal. We then waited.

I had no idea how much time had passed and I was starting to get impatient. So was Delphine. Then, the seal began to glow and the door to the temple opened. The light I was bathed in was magical, but it also seemed ancient. I was definitely sensing something, something from this seal, but I could not tell what it was. It felt familiar to me, however.

The three of us walked inside and the place, though well preserved, had a thick lair of dust on everything. I sniffed a little as Delphine used her torch to light up various areas of the temple. Esbern looked over to a wall and he began to explain this was Alduin's wall. This wall contained the history of how Alduin was considered by a cult to be a god. These dragon priests were wicked and cruel, and they wore masks. I swallowed and decided to take off the mask that I had received and put on my helmet. As Esbern continued, he saw that Alduin ruled as a tyrant, as did his dragon lieutenants. It was a dark time for the people of Skyrim, but there was a glimmer of hope.

In the center of the wall was a warrior holding a sword, driving it into Alduin's head. As he did this, he was shouting something. According to Esbern, there seemed to be a very specific shout associated with Alduin, one that seemed to weaken him. Throughout my travels, I had encountered words for shouts, but I had not encountered this one. Did I not look hard enough? Did I miss it somewhere?

Delphine suggested I go see the Graybeards for information on this shout. I could tell Delphine was not a supporter of them and I asked her why that was the case. Delphine said that they had the power to end this war, and the Graybeards were a bunch of cowards hiding out in the middle of nowhere on top of a hill. She said,

"If you have the power, use it, and use it responsibly."

I said I would go talk to them, but, as I left Sky Haven Temple, I had a feeling in my stomach that would not go away. This was not going to be easy…

Next Chapter:

Meeting the Man behind the Curtain…