The ride into the fields of Whiterun was pleasantly uneventful. Kiir took the chance to enjoy the ride, even though her legs ached and her hands cramped. She tried not to think too hard about the Horn or about Miraak or about anything, for that matter. A few times her mind drifted to Hadvar, hoping he was somewhere warm and safe. Or to her father, wondering what he thought of his missing daughter.
Sometimes she was hit with a pang of nostalgia, for what was or what could have been. She'd close her eyes and smell the fresh fish hauled up from the docks, could feel the cool sea air. She'd long for the nights when she would stay up late and just watch the city of Alinor from her study as night fell. Things were so simple.
Then she'd glance over to Driem or Tukara, wondering just as feverently about their futures as her own. Driem had said she had a family somewhere and Tukara had her castle. They each had people waiting at home for them. Kiir almost felt guilty for having them along.
But then there was the looming thought that Kiir was loathe to let into her mind. The one Wonder'li had put into her head. Kiir had the world on her shoulders and she didn't have the choice to go home. Though, the thought had become more of a sour reminder than a fearful one. Kiir knew what was needed, it was simply unfortunate that she should be the one to shoulder it.
As they rounded their way towards the steps to High Hrothgar, Kiir found herself mourning the loss of her Khajiit cloak. The chill winds that blew down from the mountain were icy, even if the weather at the base was still in mid-fall. Kiir shivered and pulled her sleeves down over her wrists - her thin linen wouldn't do much for her here.
As if hearing her thoughts, Tukara asked, "Where's your cloak?"
"I left it in Markarth," Kiir admitted. "I forgot to grab it in the chaos."
"Pity." Tukara turned to her saddle bag and pulled out a dull, worn shawl that had seen better days. She waited until Driem pulled Cheshire close enough so that she could hand it over. "It isn't pretty, but it's better than nothing."
"What will you wear?"
Tukara rapt her knuckles against her chest. "My armor is pretty thick, it'll keep me warm."
"Are you sure?"
Tukara waved her off. "Yes, of course. Now question is, will the horses be able to make it up here?"
"The slopes aren't too bad, as long as we stay along the path," Kiir answered. Though, if she was honest, she wasn't entirely sure. But the thought of walking up the entire way to High Hrothgar made her suddenly exhausted. "And as long as the weather holds."
"Does the mountain weather ever hold?" Driem asked. She huffed, urging her horse forwards. "Worse comes to worse, we can just send the horses back down."
"Assuming they don't get stuck," Tukara murmured. "Or freeze."
Driem turned to whap Tukara on the arm. "You don't have a horse to worry about, so hush."
"I do have a horse to worry about. Arvak's fucking skull is cracked!"
"Right. Sorry. Have you even tried summoning him since then?"
"No."
"Are you sure it's even still an issue?"
"I'd think a huge split down the center of his face is enough to consider him out of commission."
Driem shrugged. "I'll take your word for it."
"Do we have enough food for the trip?" Kiir asked, moving Sid in behind Cheshire. She realized she likely should have asked before they started up the path. "Beds? Tents?"
"Yes, yes, and yes," Driem replied. She patted her saddlebag, hanging off behind Tukara. She slowed Cheshire to a stop. "We can stop in Whiterun if you want, though."
Kiir shook her head. "No, we should be fine. As long as I don't try to shout my way off the mountain again."
While they were following the stairs, Kiir and Driem kept the horses off the the side of it, where the land had been smoothed enough for the horses to walk on. The hardened ground turned to snow faster than any of them had expected and it slowed their pace considerably. It wasn't until the snow turned to ice and the air stung that the three stopped altogether.
"Was it this bad the first time you went up?"
"Only a little better," Kiir replied, shouting over the wind's howl. The thin shawl Tukara had given her was but paper up against the blizzard. Kiir could feel her skin prickle under the cold. They had travelled almost the entire day, but it hadn't felt like it. "I can't hardly see the trail!"
"Me neither." Driem held her arm up over her face.
Kiir turned towards a small patch of trees and nodded over. "Let's go there, get out of the wind, wait it out. The only thing worse than this is getting lost!"
The horses made their way through the few inches of snow rather easily, seemingly enjoying the spot out of the wind.
Kiir was the first off, jumping down into the snow and tying Sid up on one of the pines. She adjusted her shawl, trying to cover as much of herself as possible, when a speck of brown caught her eye. At first, she'd thought it was an animal, a small rabbit or something. But it didn't move at all, not even when Driem passed in front of it.
"Should I start a fire?" Tukara asked. "How long are we planning to wait."
Without answering, Kiir moved closer to the speck and crouched down by it. It was cloth. "No way."
Driem drew near. "What?"
Kiir grabbed hold of the pole beneath the cloth and yanked. Beneath a few layers of frozen, icy snow, she withdrew a small tent. Most of the outer part had ripped and one of the poles had snapped, but it was a tent alright.
"A tent?"
"Way up here?" Tukara asked, moving in. "Who the hell is camping on a mountain?"
Kiir laughed, shaking the excess snow from the tent and opening it, seeing a small pouch and a blanket. "It's mine."
Tukara scoffed. "Yours?"
"From before you fell?" Driem asked.
"You bet." Kiir wrapped the blanket around her arms and laughed again. What were the chances? It seemed that the small enclosure of trees had called to her more than once. The small pouch jingled and Kiir poured out a pile of coins. "I honestly don't remember having this on me."
"I'll take it as a sign of good luck," Tukara said. She crouched near the remains of the tent, pulling the pieces apart. "I think we can still use this."
"Tukara, I have a tent-"
"No, no. I mean, I can string it up between the trees. Have it block more of the wind and snow so we can actually start a fire."
Kiir brushed at some of the snow. "I bet my firepit is down here somewhere. Maybe with some wood still in it."
Driem dropped to the ground beside Kiir. "I'll help you dig."
It only took a few more minutes to locate the old pit, but a bit longer to fully unearth it from the ice and snow. The few pieces of wood still within were charred and cracked and were quickly replaced with a few of the dead branches from the lower parts of the trees. Within the hour, there was a modest fire going that the three sat huddled around.
"How fucking long is this storm going to last?" Tukara groaned. She pulled off her gloves and left them near the base of the firepit, holding her hands out over the flames. "It sounds like all it's done is gotten worse."
"We'll see how the next half-an-hour goes," Kiir replied. She looked out behind her and saw that the sky was still blurred by the thick snowfall. "I'd rather not spend the night out here."
"That makes two of us," Driem said. She tucked her hands under her armpits.
The wind, however, didn't let up and the snow fell only harder. Kiir could barely see out past where the trees were and it was beginning to get dark. Defeated, Kiir laid back in the snow. "So who wants to try and catch dinner?"
It was a miracle that any of them got any sleep. The fire burned all night long, each taking turns tending to it, but the warmth never felt like it sunk in. The wind howled like a rabid wolf and, every so often, a gust would flow just right that it could snake between the trees and rip Kiir's shawl from her arms.
She had dug herself a small bed out from the snow and, while thankful it kept the brunt of the wind from her, shivered whenever she moved just right that her face would touch snow.
They all rose early, likely only because trying to get more sleep sounded worse than simply facing the storm. The wind had died to a whistle, but the chill had not left the air and, Kiir knew, was only likely to get worse as they ascended. They ate some fruit Driem had brought and packed up their belongings.
Tukara threw snow onto the fire and wrangled the horses while Kiir hovered over the charcoal remains for just a moment longer.
"Think of it this way," Tukara said, handing her Sid's lead, "if this was your old campsite, we can't be far from Hrothgar, right?"
Kiir remembered the journey lasting much longer. If anything, the fire only made her more aware of just how cold it was up here. She leapt onto Sid's back and settled in, keeping her legs close to Sid's chest to conserve warmth. At least he was built for the cold, Kiir was most certainly not.
It was another half a day before they reached the pass, the first place Kiir vividly remembered from her first trip up. Perhaps most of all, she remembered how the high rock walls silenced the wind for the few precious moments they were there. Too, Kiir realized, they were making much better time. It'd taken almost three days to make it here to first time. Now it'd only taken one and a half.
"This is beautiful," Tukara remarked, her eyes drawn upwards.
Kiir hummed. She'd forgotten how breathtaking the scenery was. Though, that might have entirely been because she couldn't see any of it through the earlier storm. Carefully guiding Sid upwards, Kiir heard a grunt. She turned and Sid's ear went forward and then flat against his head.
Cheshire must have had a similar reaction as Driem looked back over. "Did you-"
Kiir did hear it. And, unfortunately, she saw it, too. But they'd killed it the last time they were here! "Troll!"
The massive hairy beast charged from the sides and the horses spooked.
Kiir managed keep herself steady on his back, but he charged forwards, narrowly avoiding the troll's fist.
Driem and Tukara weren't as lucky. Cheshire reared with a sharp yelp and Tukara slid off her back, dragging Driem off with her.
Kiir lit a Flames spell, drawing the troll's attention towards herself while Tukara and Driem gained their bearings. Kiir wasn't used to fighting on horseback, to have her movements be decided by someone else. She tossed the flames towards the troll's shoulder, but it fell short.
The beast roared and slammed its fists against the snow.
Sid snorted.
Kiir tried again with a Fireball, but the troll dodged out of the way with far more grace than expected. The spell landed just shy of where her companions stood. Kiir would have apologized had the troll not charged her again.
Kiir pulled Sid so that he ran a circle around Driem and Tukara- Cheshire was nowhere in sight. She could hear the beast behind her panting. She twisted back and flung a third fire spell, this time it landing directly in the trolls face.
The creature screamed.
As Kiir led Sid back around, she saw neither Bosmer had wasted a moment in drawing, and summoning, their bows. In the moment the troll stood frozen, clawing at its face, both sisters let off a volley of arrows of their own.
In a second, the troll seemed to change from distressed to enraged. It roared, a sound that shook Kiir's chest, and ran.
Driem leapt out of the path and knocked back an arrow. It lodged itself into the trolls' shoulder, burning, Kiir noticed.
Tukara ducked under the creature's attempted swing for her face.
But the troll kept running.
Kiir turned Sid to the side, feeling him tense and nervously stomp. She waited until the troll grew closer before she cast a sudden Ice Wall. She heard a satisfying wham as the creature slammed itself into the ice.
Neither Driem nor Tukara wasted another second letting free a second volley of arrows.
The troll wasn't so lucky the second time. It attempted to turn, but instead slumped and fell onto it's chest. It moaned and snarled, though much quieter now.
Kiir urged Sid around the wall. "Are you guys alright?"
Tukara was panting, but she nodded.
Driem offered a thumbs up. She turned and gave off a shrill whistle. "I'm sure you didn't get that your first time around?"
In the distance, farther ahead, the figure of a horse moved towards them.
Kiir laughed. "Actually, the only reason I'm surprised by this is because I figured we killed the only one the last time I was here."
"Who would've thought a place like this was a magnet for trolls, of all things?" Tukara said.
"Maybe they like the scenery, too?"
Tukara raised a brow, but smiled.
Driem grabbed ahold of Cheshire's reins once she was close enough and swung herself up. Tukara following suit. "Either way, I hope our next stop is actually at High Hrothgar."
On that, they were agreed.
