When Ralof, Feandal and Hadvar found me after I had screamed, I was on my knees gripping the pommel of the ancient Nordic great sword with my left hand and desperately digging with my right hand around the sword.

"Lydia! By the gods girl what's happening? Why did you scream? Are you okay?" Hadvar ran up to where I was sword and shield ready to strike, asking things I couldn't understand.
Feandal came next with his bowstring tense and looking for something to shoot at, while Ralof had both his steel axes in his hands and ran past me looking for someone or something threatening nearby.

When all of them realized there was no threat, they all came close to me, and that's when they noticed the sword.
"Lass! Why are you desecrating an ancient tomb?" Ralof asked with a surprised tone, while Hadvar kneeled next to me and took my right hand between his; I resisted, I had to dig; I needed to know… my resistance forced Hadvar to try and hold me; yet I contorted and flailed my arms trying to release myself from the grip.

"Lydia! It's me, Hadvar; stop moving around, we are all here; there's no danger around us, you're safe!" Hadvar said trying to calm me down.
I stopped moving once I realized that I wouldn't be able to free myself.
Ralof kneeled next to me inspecting the tomb, while Feandal kept his bow at the ready and looked around still keeping watch.

"Lydia, look at me." Ralof said with a firm voice as he cupped my face between his hands and made me focus in his eyes.
"Breathe lass; look at me, we are safe. Keep breathing." Ralof commanded me.
It took some minutes, but I managed to steady my breaths; I closed my eyes and just kept breathing.

I opened my eyes after what felt like an eternity; my face pointed upwards unto the blue skies.
"Lydia?" I looked to my side and saw that Hadvar was holding my arms together; but once I focused on his face he let go of them.
I took a very deep breath.
Hadvar took my right hand in his, and that was when I noticed there was blood dripping from my hand…
Ralof let go of my face and between the two of them helped me stand up and walked me close to a water stream.

Hadvar took some water between his hands and cleaned my bleeding hand with the cold water which made the pain increase a little.
I had cut open my fingers with the sharp rocks that were around my Thane's sword.

Ralof was next to speak; "lass, tell us what happened? Why did you scream? We thought something or someone had attacked you. You scared the crap out of us." Ralof said. "Tell us what happened to you".
I looked around and stopped when I spotted the sword, now tipped to one side due to my digging.

Everyone stayed quiet for a while I tried to talk; I opened my mouth but nothing came out…
I tried to say something, anything but I couldn't… I had a knot on my throat and I felt so empty.
I don't know when I started crying; I didn't knew what the faces of my friends were looking like, but I could tell they were probably perplexed at my pitiful form just lying there crying and sobbing, but I didn't care; they didn't understand.

"No! This can't be!" I heard Feandal mutter, which was enough to make me lift my gaze; Hadvar and Ralof were quick to ask what he had found.
Feandal was kneeling beside the tomb and had taken the great sword in his hands; he was passing a finger over the inscription.

When he spoke, his voice seemed lower than usual; "this… this is Laniüs' sword; I was there when he made the inscription in his sword; it's in ancient Akaviri; "Minatur innocentibus qui parcit nocentibus." I don't really remember what it means, but this is Laniüs' sword without a doubt." Feandal said looking between torn and incredulous.
"Feandal, are you completely sure; this could be a very ancient tomb; after all we are close to an ancient Nordic monument." Hadvar asked.
"I'm sure; look at this sword with more detail; this sword looks in a very good condition; if this was an ancient undisturbed tomb, the sword would not be in this shape; especially if it had just been sitting here in the open; and this inscription here… this is Laniüs' great sword."
The silence that followed Feandal's statement was eerie.

"He threatens the innocent who spares the guilty." I managed to whisper in between sobs; the absolute silence that had fallen upon us making my whispering voice sound like normal talk, which made everyone focus their attention on me.

I didn't had to give any explanations, nor were any needed; everyone knew that the small phrase I had whispered was the meaning of the inscription.
"I… I'll go to the camp for a shovel and a pickaxe; I won't take long…" and with that Feandal jogged back to our camp.

I remained on the ground; I felt heavy, my movements were sluggish and I couldn't think clearly.
Hadvar had let go of me completely by then, and was just standing next to me, while Ralof was pacing back and forth next to the tomb murmuring something I didn't understand while holding the great sword in one hand.
"Ysmir's beard! Where's that damn elf!" Ralof shouted suddenly, which made Hadvar and me jump slightly.

As if on cue, Feandal came running to us with a shovel in one hand and a pickaxe in the other.
Ralof shoved the great sword back into Feandal's hand, and was quick to get a hold on the shovel; he began digging immediately, while Feandal walked to where Hadvar and I were.
He gave me the sword of my Thane, while Hadvar took the pickaxe and went to help Ralof dig.

A part of me wanted to go there and help dig, but another forced me to stay down; I wanted to know what was buried in there, but at the same time I feared what we might find… these feelings of impotence and helplessness were keeping me nailed to the ground.
Feandal's hand rested lightly on my left shoulder; I looked up to his face; "I'm sure there's an explanation for this…" He began saying; "…we both know that Laniüs is okay; he is okay; he must be." Feandal's voice sounded sure and confident; that gave me a little bit of hope.

He gave me a light and reassuring squeeze between the shoulder and neck and went to help Ralof and Hadvar in whatever he could.
I knew I couldn't just stay on the ground and do nothing; I was Laniüs' Housecarl by Talos' sake!
I found some strength in me once I thought that; either by resolve or just duty I pushed myself off the ground and walked to where my friends were digging; I offered my help, but they had already made a lot of progress, so there was no point in interrupting them from their work.

It wasn't long until we heard the iron of the shovel hit something made of wood.
I began having a dread feeling; it only accentuated when Ralof dropped the shovel and cleared the dirt from the wooden box we had just unearthed slightly; at first glance it looked like a coffin, and I felt my heart drop while everyone left out a gasp.
It wasn't until Ralof cleared the entire wood surface that we saw that the coffin was nothing more than a medium sized wood box.

The sighs of relief we all exhaled were like music to my ears and probably just the same to everyone else.
When we opened the box, we all held our breaths; and what we found inside took us all by surprise…

"Nine hundred ninety-eight, nine hundred ninety-nine, one thousand; well that makes three thousand septims in total." Hadvar said as he finished counting the gold coins we had found in the wooden box we just unearthed.
"Wow, how on Nirn did Laniüs earn all this gold?" Ralof asked no one in particular.

"I don't know; I don't think there's a job that pays this much, but whatever he did must have been important." Feandal answered.
"Lydia? What are you hiding from us?" Hadvar asked me which made both Ralof and Feandal fix their sight on me.
"Wha… what are you talking about? I don't know what you mean by that." I retorted feeling my face get a little hot.

"You are blushing; you know something we don't" Hadvar replied with a stupid grin on his face.
Both Ralof and Feandal weren't saying anything, but they were also grinning and focused on the small debate between Hadvar and me.
"Come on, just tell us; we won't laugh at you, we promise." Hadvar replied once more this time with a serious expression on his face; still I felt like he was mocking me…

After a couple more noes from my part, Ralof and Feandal decided to join forces with Hadvar…
"Fine, fine just shut up; gods you are like children still." I said after finally giving in to their demands. Mara's mercy they can be so immature.

"Rorik, the noble in charge of Rorikstead, came to the keep to tell us of Laniüs' behavior and that they wanted help putting the town back in order after my Thane passed through there with that mage in their drunken state." I explained to my friends.
"Well…" I continued wriggling my hands together; "… one of the things Rorik said my Thane had done, was that he sold a goat to a giant that lived in the mountains near the town." I finished my explanation.
Everything remained silent for a little bit, and just as I thought nothing stupid was going to happen; Feandal, Ralof and Hadvar began laughing like skooma addicts.

I blushed even more than what I must have been already; "Hey! You said you wouldn't laugh at me!" I yelled to be heard above the laughs.
"Lass, we're not laughing of you; we are laughing of Laniüs; only he would be capable of selling a goat to a giant."

After Ralof said that I began laughing too; I guess that he's right; only Laniüs would be able and willing to sell a goat to a giant that could smash you to Oblivion and back with those massive clubs of theirs.

It was an absolute relief when we realized that the small mound wasn't a tomb, but just the place my Thane had buried the gold he had gotten.
I can only imagine how Laniüs managed to hide the gold in his drunken state; maybe that breton mage he was seen with helped him; but I don't know.

I found also a small note at the bottom of the wooden box; I took it without the others knowing. I guess that as Housecarl of Laniüs I felt like protecting his notes or his private information; although I have to say I was most curious about the small piece of parchment.

We walked back to the campsite still laughing and with smiles on our faces; I couldn't express with words the feeling of relief I had; I felt so light, like weightless, even though I was still wearing my steel armor and I have to say, that the thing isn't precisely light armor…

We continued packing all the things we had used; Feandal was preparing the horses, while Ralof and Hadvar were dividing the extra food in equal parts and giving the knapsacks to Feandal to put them on the horses.
I was sitting in a lodge that we found nearby; I was still holding my Thane's sword; I had decided that it would be me who carried the sword and used it if I had to.

Feandal's voice made me look up; he signaled the horses and told me that they were ready to go.
I stood up and walked to them; when Laniüs improved my armor he added a leather strap for a large weapon on my back; although I hardly ever used it, it would come in handy at the moment.
I learned to fight with a large sword when I was training to become a Housecarl; I hadn't used a blade like that since, but I decided I would give it a try if the opportunity arrived.
After all, this old blade was probably better than a simple steel one; just for a start, it was very lightweight when handled, but looked rather heavy in comparison.

We all mounted our horses and began pushing for the last two or three miles to Rorikstead. Finally I would be doing what Irileth commanded me to do, and I would be a step closer to finding Laniüs… I need to find him.