Chapter 8: Bleak Falls Barrow, Part 3 (Finale and Aftermath)
Beyond the double doors, they were introduced to an inner lobby with a single large brazier in the middle lighting the whole place with dragon head statues surrounding it. They went around it, but stopped at the same trap-rigged hallway they had previously gotten past. Like before, they each timed their movement and went to one safe space after another. Once they were finally on the other side, Adrien pulled down the lever and the trap was shut off.
The two were introduced to a strange room, with an archway above them connected via bridges at the second floor, and the only way to get up there is by an old wooden staircase tied together by rope, built to the wall straight ahead. They only took a few steps inside when they spotted a draugr to their left, hissing and grunting as he was in the process of crawling out of his sarcophagus. Adrien was the first to spring into action as he sprinted with his longsword out and cut the draugr's head off.
A swift action, but it had gained them the attention of two other draugr from the second level. One ran down the staircase wielding a greatsword, while the other remained on the second level backing him up with a loaded bow. The knight would have fully intended to go after the undead fighter if only there wasn't a trap between them. There was a large puddle of oil on the floor, and two pots hanging above. To add more to the obvious fact, the two draugr were being smarter than he gave them credit for as the fighter pointed his greatsword at him and threw (what he assumed) insults at him, trying to provoke him to come over. And to bait him further, the archer above loosed an arrow at him, but he caught sight of it in time and dodged left.
The huntress quickly grasped the dilemma and moved to defuse the situation. She took careful aim and loosed an arrow of her own, neatly slicing the rope from which the pot hung and causing it to fall down, setting off the trap.
If the undead were shocked, the two could not tell through the fire as their trap was ruined. The draugr warrior, growling at the living pest, decided to head left to go around the burning oil to attack them, while Adrien met him halfway around, tossing aside his torch and sword and pulling out his greatsword until they clashed. The archer set his sights on the huntress, firing another arrow at her but missing, and only got a steel arrow to his rotten head for his trouble.
Adrien meanwhile had given some respect to the undead warrior for putting up a fight, but the fight was to be short lived. The draugr swung his greatsword, but he missed as the knight crouched down and swept through his feet. The undead was down and disoriented, but would not be getting back up after the knight mightily brought his sword down. The undead warrior had put up an effort by using both hands on the flat blade as a shield, but no amount of whatever strength he and his sword had left could stop it as the iron greatsword bent the ancient greatsword inward and split his unarmored skull in two, extinguishing the blue lights of his eyes forever.
The battle now over, the knight put away his greatsword and gathered his torch and steel sword while the huntress went to recover her steel arrow. They both got together on the second level, and were strolling across the archway/bridge and further into the winding halls until they were met with ancient double doors blocking their way. Adrien pushed the doors forward, and what they went into was different from the others. On one side of them, they saw a hieroglyph of people worshiping what they believe to be their robed leader, floating above all and brimming with power. There were several other hieroglyphs telling stories of either this barrow or something else. Depictions of warriors fighting each other, carvings of dragons in the sky…
This had to be the Hall of Stories the journal mentioned, and at the very end of this hall was a strange door if one would call it that. There were odd details to this door as they got closer. Its artistry, like all the others they had seen so far, had wind patterns which surrounded a large circle made up of three rings depicting animals like the ones on the keystones, and at the very center were three holes in the carved shape of a claw; a dragon's claw.
"This is it, Summer. Here…," he said as he knelt down with his backpack facing her. "Take out the claw."
"Okay." She undid the straps and opened the top. She did not need to rummage much to pull out the golden claw. Closing the lid but not tying it up, she walked over to the claw shaped keyhole. "Okay, open sesame…" She was about to insert the claws into the keyholes, but she halted when she had a thought. A cloud of doubt was forming in her mind, and if the previous puzzle was any indication, then this should not be that simple. She turned around and faced a now standing knight. "Adrien, what did the journal say about this door?"
"He said the answer lies in the palm of your hand." He answered. "Though judging by the look of it, I don't think looking at your own hand is the answer." Even he was puzzled by the riddle.
"Palm of your hand?" She muttered to herself when she looked down at both of her hands, and when she looked at the claw's palm in her right hand, she paused when she spotted something odd about the key. "Hey, Adrien."
"Yes?"
"There are animals on the palm of the claw." She then showed it to him. "Is this what he was talking about?"
"Let me see." He took the offered claw and made a closer inspection of its palm. There were engravings of three distinct creatures. First at the top was a bear, the second in the middle was a moth, and the third at the bottom was an owl. Then he looked at the rings and connected them together with the riddle. "This all makes sense now." He realized. "It wasn't our hands but what was engraved on the claw, and judging by the rings, it's a combination lock. Just like the previous puzzle we had to solve. We'll have to move the rings to correspond with the creatures on this claw; a bear at the top, a moth in the middle, and the owl last."
And so they got to work. Summer worked on the bottom two rings while Adrien worked on the top ring as the sound of stone grinding against stone could be heard throughout the hall. It took some time moving the rings twice, but their efforts bore fruit in the end as they finished aligning the right animals as depicted from the claw.
"You do the honors." He offered the claw back to her. She nodded with a smile and accepted the offer, holding the claw in her right hand again before standing in front of the lock. She inserted the claws into the keyholes, and twisted it side to side until they heard a click. Just as she removed the claw from the lock, they were caught with surprise when two of the three rings suddenly spun around until all three became the owl. Another click was made, and the door slowly grinded downward, lowering itself into the bottom frame until it eventually disappeared underneath with a locking sound.
The way was now open to them, but the path forward was a long stairway up. It did not matter to them as they went up the steps with a torch in his hand. They eventually reached the top and navigated through the halls until they found themselves in a wide cavernous area. A weakly burning brazier and some timid rays of sunlight coming in through cracks on the roof barely managed to dispel the darkness there, so the torch was still necessary. A flock of bats was scared by their passage and forced them to duck and shield themselves as they flew by. They advanced cautiously, senses primed, and by the time they went around a sunk ruined column, their eyes became fixated on the sight before them which left Summer in audible awe.
To the best that they could describe, it was like a podium or stage made of the same ancient stonework with a sarcophagus at the top, and the only way to get over there was via the stone bridge. There was an oddity to this podium, however, and that was the strange half-circle wall behind it bearing that same demonic looking head they saw on the front door. What it entailed they could not tell from this distance.
Once they were near a natural column, another flock of bats flew over them, and though they flinched, they kept going. Adrien's torch went out soon after, but it did not matter since there was natural light shining down. So he tossed it away, and they were soon over the bridge and going up the steps. He flinched with confusion when he heard something. It was quiet, but it sounded like… chanting.
"Do you hear that?" He asked.
"Hear what?" She glanced his way curiously.
"This… chanting. Do you hear it?"
"No, I don't." She shook her head with denial, and furrowed her brows a little.
'This is odd,' he thought, and although he was still hearing the faint chanting, he simply shrugged. "Must be imagining it, I guess."
They continued up the steps, but with each step he took, the chanting slowly grew louder and clearer. It sounded like a chorus of several men chanting the same primal "hugh" sound, but more than that, it felt primal to him. By the time they were on the top platform, the chanting was loud, clear and grating to his ears.
"Seriously! Do you not hear that!?" He asked bewildered with his raised voice while his hand was instinctively close to his ear.
"No, I don't!" Now she was getting confused, and rather concerned about his sudden behavior. "All I hear is this cave! Seriously, are you okay?"
This was making him feel more and more confused (and a bit frightened) about why he was the only one hearing this. He searched around for where the chant was coming from, but his eyes landed on the wall. There were strange markings carved into the wall like they were some sort of forgotten language, but his eyes were being fixated on the source of the chanting. A word or name… glowing in fiery blue. They seemed to be… calling out to him, urging him to come. He felt compelled as he unconsciously, yet curiously, stepped toward it.
"Hey, Adrien, what are you looking at?" She asked curiously as she looked at both the words on the wall and at the knight, but he strangely did not answer. "Hey, are you listening to me?"
Everything around him had become silent, replaced with only the primal chant which continuously thrummed in his mind as he crept closer to the writing. Suddenly his vision was darkening, but the streams of auric light were all he could see pouring out from the word and toward his being, as if they were wrapping around him and pulling him ever forward to the word.
"Adrien? Adrien!" She kept trying to call out to him, but not a single glance came from him nor did he stop creeping toward the wall. Now this was leaving her confused and worried. "Hey, what has gotten into you?!" She tried to grab hold of him in order to shake him out of whatever he was under, but to her immediate shock he reacted by shoving her off. The strength in his shove made her fall on her behind. She fumbled with her words as she looked on hopelessly in fright as he continued toward whatever he was looking at.
He was now so close to the glowing letters that his vision blurred and his eyes were feeling strained. Then the unexpected happened. His mind felt like it was hit by a punch. He could not perfectly describe this level of intrusion when a single word became permanently burned into his brain. He could not make out what it was or what it meant, but his eyes were in more pain than before as he pressed his hands against them and backed away, failing to stay standing and unknowingly being on his knees. Then, the chanting ceased, the pain had vanished, and he could finally hear everything around him, including his partner who was freaking out, but this whole experience left him with so many questions.
"Hey! Are you okay?! What happened?!" She was firing questions at him while placing a hand on his shoulder.
He still felt disoriented after the experience, yet he was coherent enough to answer her, although he was unsure himself. "I… I don't know what that was. It was calling to me and I… answered."
She did not understand what in Remnant he meant by that, but their conversation was cut short when the sarcophagus burst open. They turned their attention to the noise as an armored draugr crawled out of his resting place. He was indeed decked in armor from head to toe, a little more so than the others, and each piece seemed more stylized than the others. He equipped himself with an iron plated round shield, but in his other hand he wielded a double-edged sword made from a metal similar to the others, but the design was what separated it from the others. To the sharp eye of the huntress, it looked like a banged up saber with a wide blade starting from the guard, and it slightly curved and thinned to the pointed front. There was not much more time to describe it as they all prepared to fight, but the living companions did also notice the cold shimmering coming off the blade. Adrien knew right away that it was a frost enchantment. How powerful it was he did not know as he stood back up, removed his backpack and tossed it aside.
"There's something different about him." Summer hastily addressed when she had her bow ready and her steel arrow pointed at him.
The draugr was standing with his legs spread apart in a combat ready stance, but was audibly growling at the intruders who disturbed his rest, and the knight could tell his glowing eyes were looking straight at him. Was it because of what he gained from the wall behind him? Was it considered theft?
"Hi fod ni lost bo het!" The draugr spoke as if threatening them, but they could not understand what the draugr was saying. "Nu hi dir het, joor!"
The undead warrior's back stiffed straight, he breathed in but then spoke something. The hair on the back of the knight's neck went straight. Something wasn't right. And before they knew it, the draugr shouted his words and out came a perceptible force so loud almost like a thunderclap. The two had no time to prepare as this strange force overwhelmed them, and during the short lived ringing in their ears, what happened next caught them by surprise as the weapons they had in their hands were suddenly ripped from them no matter how strong a grip they had. Their weapons clattered to the stone floor and the arrow flew wild. The draugr seized the opportunity and lunged at the knight with a downward strike; Adrien dodged left, jumped backwards to avoid the next swing as he unsheathed his greatsword, and now the draugr was between the two of them.
"Yeah, definitely different." Adrien growled as he deflected a blow from his saber, feeling half the bite of the cold because of his gloves but never dropping it. "Must be the overlord." He riposted with a stab at the overlord's unguarded face, but the draugr was deceptively fast for a mummified corpse, stopping the blow with his shield and trying to slice at the knight's abdomen in turn. Adrien backed away and spun his sword around to parry, but he was an instant too late. The blade merely nicked him, but the metal was as cold as the grasp of winter itself and would have numbed him if not for both his armor and his mixed heritage. Not one to be deterred by that, he went again on the offensive and exchanged blows with his undead opponent, neither connecting, but this time the ferocity of his attack left a dent on the draugr's shield and forced it to take a step back.
Meanwhile, Summer recovered her bow, nocked a new steel arrow and took aim at the distracted overlord's back. Her shot would have been a direct hit if not for her target's uncanny senses, as the draugr whirl around briefly and catch the arrow with his shield. Baffled, she hoped her attack had at least distracted her target enough for Adrien to land a killing blow, but with the same speed the draugr recovered and parried the knight's strike with the guard of his saber, following up with a shield bash. Adrien did not budge, but they both had the same frustrated thought: this was definitely no ordinary undead warrior. Unable to score a hit with her bow, she transformed it into their twin axes and went in to help her partner up close, and the draugr turned his attention to her.
The huntress slashed at her enemy with both axes, wanting to relieve the pressure on Adrien. The draugr parried the strikes with the iron-plated shield, only to recoil with an angry surprised hiss: the axes had carved deep rents through the metal and opened gashes on the bony wrist. The undead warrior furiously swung the ancient saber at her one, two, three times. She evaded the first slash, ducked under the second, and parried the third, but the utter cold of the enchanted steel jolted her and she dropped her own weapon with a yelp.
"Leave her, you wretch!" Adrien swung his greatsword on a blow strong enough to slice the undead warrior in half. His target spun around and deflected the slash with the shield; the big targe was almost useless now but still afforded a bit of defense. A quick riposte with the cold-enchanted sword nicked Adrien in his muscled arm. He hissed at the cold, but still he pressed on and brought his sword around for another powerful blow aimed at the monster's neck, when it shouted an unbelievably loud scream at him:
"Fus, ROH DAH!"
It was as if he had been hit by a giant's barreling swipe. The air rippled with the thunder of an impossibly powerful force that blew him away and sent him flying, not caring a whit that he was a heavyset man, and one carrying almost a third of his bodily weight in armor, gear and equipment. All that extra load just meant he was slammed against the wall behind the sarcophagus that much harder. Wearing a helmet saved his life: if not for it his skull would have been crushed by the impact. He was merely knocked out cold instead.
"ADRIEN!" She called out in worry after seeing him get blown away and knocked out. Now she had the undivided attention of the overlord as he spun back around with a slash, but he missed when she jumped back away from it. She had never thought they would underestimate an undead being, but after witnessing his power in action, it was abundantly clear the threat he posed to both of their lives. With only her axe and dagger, she dodged his slashing twice before he slashed downward and she gunned for it. She was as quick as she could possibly be to make it work. She was beside the attack as she hooked the sword arm with the beard of her axe, pulled him in with all her might to stagger him, brought up her hand forged dagger and plunged it into his glowing eye socket. She thought the blade had gone through and should've ended him, but the overlord shoved her back with the swipe of his sword arm, leaving a diagonal cut on the chest of her leather armor. Her armor and layers of clothing saved her skin from most of the damage, but the biting cut it left behind on her exposed flesh made her yelp and shiver. Now visibly shivering, she had no idea why he was still alive, but it turned out that within her haste she angled it the wrong way, missing the brain by inches. Now she was without her dagger, and the reward for her efforts was the chilling cut in her skin and an assault by his strange power.
"Fus, ROH!"
The force pushed her along the stone floor as she shivered and lost her grip on her axe. Though the power behind it was not as bad as what Adrien had experienced, she slid to the wall, almost knocking the wind out of her. She was disoriented, cold, but she tried to get up. Meanwhile, the overlord had pulled the dagger out of his useless right eye socket, tossed it aside as he marched toward the struggling Huntress to finish her off. Slowly filling with dread, she saw him coming closer, but she was still weakened from the blast and had no other weapons on her than her arrows. If only her Aura had not been mysteriously caged, she would have easily defeated him faster than this. But at that moment, she now fully realized the cost of taking her Aura and Semblance for granted. She would have to find a way to make up for this weakness, if she survived.
Her instincts went into overdrive out of a clear desperation to live, she reached behind herself to use an arrow as a last resort weapon, but to her near misfortune, she could only feel one arrow from the quiver. Perhaps the rest had fallen out after the blast, but there was no time to look for them as she pulled out the only steel arrow she had in her hand and got ready. She did not have time to perform a counter-move as she rolled left from a downward slash which cut against the stone in a small shower of sparks, and she almost rolled over the arrows she found scattered on the floor. She quickly yet awkwardly got back up in a combat pose, wincing while trying to ignore the cold and fighting against the growing fatigue that came with it. She could tell the overlord was getting pissed with the growling he was giving her. Getting closer, the draugr had had enough of the mortal fool and raised his saber menacingly above him, ready to strike her down once and for all.
"Dir volaan!" The draugr overlord angrily said.
Just when he was about to bring it down, and just when she was about to make one last ditch effort, a fleeting thought ran through her mind; she wondered if Adrien was okay. Her answer came to her when she heard a battle cry from her left… no, from behind him, catching the overlord off guard as the draugr turned around with a shield in front…
At least that was what he assumed, but since his right eye had been destroyed, the draugr was not anticipating a pommel swung to his jaw so hard that he lost some of his teeth, and his jaw was shattered and dislocated from the force which knocked him sideways. Adrien, though looking ragged, was back up on his feet and had his greatsword held backwards by having both of his gloved hands holding the double-edged blade and used the pommel like a club. Disoriented but wanting to continue the fight, the draugr attempted to retaliate, but was harshly kicked to the word wall, almost knocking the wind out of him. He attempted to raise his shield to block the incoming attack, but was out of focus and too late to do so as the knight used the blade tip like a spear and struck him through the left eye socket and stabbed through the rotten brain. The overlord went limp within a second before collapsing.
The knight removed the sword from his head, covered in black blood and brain matter, and the battle was over. He flicked some of it off and slid it back in his sheath. The cold feeling was almost gone, but he was still feeling the effects of the enchantment which made him feel fatigued. At least the ringing in his ears was gone.
"My god, are you okay?!" She asked in bewilderment, surprised he even got back up in time after a blast like that.
"Yeah, I just… need to catch my breath." He replied, then he looked at her and saw the frosty cut in her leather. "How about you? I see you got cut."
She looked down at herself and put her hand through the frosty cut leather and clothing to see how bad it was. She hissed a bit from the sting, only to look in both concern and disgust as she pulled out blood being on her fingers.
"You know what to do." He half reminded her.
"Right." She fished in her backpack for that red bottle. She grabbed hold of one and took it out, only to reveal it to be the minor mana potion. So she put it back and fished out another, and this time the red one. She popped the cork and downed the whole thing. She felt the familiar odd taste and sensation running through her. She put her hand through the opening, and found no cut to her skin as if it never happened, still to her amazement.
"You coulda just took a sip, but oh well." He shrugged.
"What about you? Your arm is bleeding." She pointed out as she put the empty bottle back inside her pack.
"Don't worry, I'll get to that," he dismissed.
She sighed. "Suit yourself," she muttered. She wanted to argue that his arm could get infected at any moment, but looking at the dead draugr made her change the subject. "I'll be honest. I didn't think a single zombie would give us this much trouble."
"Yeah. You know, normally most people would buckle from blocking my swings, but I never expected his strength and power to catch us off guard." Then he looked at her. "I don't know what my chances would have been if you hadn't come along. But I think we handled it well, all things considered." He turned around to spot his steel sword laying against the wall. "Right, let's gather our things, take the tablet and leave this gods forsaken place."
She nodded, and the two went about gathering their fallen items. Adrien took half a sip from the red bottle, being enough to make the cut disappear before putting it back in his backpack and wearing it back on. It took Summer a bit to gather her things, but luckily nothing was broken, and left the arrow she misfired somewhere in the cave. After that was done, they went over to the ancient decorated chest placed next to the sarcophagus, believing that the stone tablet could be in there when they opened it to reveal otherwise. Summer was a little more in awe than Adrien would be as they looked at all the gems, jewelry and trinkets which filled up the inside almost to the brim, and there was not a single Septim or Reman in it. However, there was no trace of the tablet.
"Quite a find to make us rich easily," he commented, "but I don't think we can carry the whole thing with us. Best to just leave it here." He turned his head to Summer when he had an idea. "Hey, how about you take a handful with you? It'll be good to have your own little wealth with you."
This would be the point where she would refuse to take part in looting, but again, he made a fair point and she needed to get somewhere with the right money in hand. So she nodded, and she picked out a few gems she could hold in her hand. A couple amethysts, a ruby, and one garnet and stored them away. Adrien joined and took with him a couple ancient necklaces, a few amethysts, one ruby, one garnet and a ring.
"Looks like we'll be walking away a little richer," she said after he closed the chest and backed away, "but we still gotta figure out where the tablet is."
"Hmmm," he pondered on forming a theory as to the location of it. He looked at the dead overlord, but he, as well as the huntress, would guess he would not be carrying it, but the missing puzzle to their conundrum would be what it looked like. They were not even told of its size either, so that left them stumped somewhat. Then he looked over at the sarcophagus and spotted something peculiar tucked within it. He walked over to it, his partner tagging along as they towered over the opened sarcophagi to see, embedded within was this strange hexagonal slab of stone bearing the same written language as the wall. The size in both width and height could be almost compared to his back. He spotted two hollowed out slits for hands to slide under the slab to lift it.
"Do you think this is it?" She asked.
"Let's see." He stuck his hand underneath the slit closest to him, gained a firm grip on the edge and lifted it up to hold it standing on its rounded tip. There was nothing underneath it, simply a frame to fit this stylized slab of stone. So he inspected the underside of the slab, and found a frontal face of a dragon at the bottom, and above it had linear patterns and waves and dotted with stars.
"Yup, this must be the tablet." He concluded.
"Huh, so his source's information was right after all." She said being both surprised and glad. "At least we won't be leaving empty handed."
"Yeah…," he idly agreed as he thought of a plan. "I'll be holding onto it. I'll have my hands full the whole time, so I'll need you to keep me safe."
"You got it."
With both hands, he grabbed hold of the tablet and held it close. "Let's head up those steps. I'm sure it'll lead us to the exit." He pointed to the steps built next to the wall. They both walked up the steps, and Summer took one last look around the place before catching up to him. The inclining passage, however, became shortened to a dead end, or so one would think. There was a rectangular pyramidal shaped pedestal to his right which had a handle inside a creature's mouth at the top. Guessing it was a mechanism to open a passage, she grabbed it and pulled it up. She twisted it one side, twisted it back and pushed it down when she then heard a click. The wall blocking their way revealed itself to be a stone portcullis as it opened upwards. Once the stone door was through the ceiling, the two companions continued on through the dark narrow passage. Having no torch, they would have had to hug the walls in order to navigate, but luck once again was on their side when they spotted light coming from an abandoned lantern around the corner. They saw more light up ahead, and it was almost just enough to make out the inclining narrow passage. So they kept going until they stopped at another obstacle.
Both of them were looking down the split edge to see the floor below. It was not far to jump down thanks to the wall brazier, so he did just that and the huntress followed. This new area seemed wide enough, and the passage to the exit was right in front of them, but they found more than just that. To their right, there was a chest that seemed out of place and did not look to be of ancient make but more a modern one. Next to it was a pedestal surrounded by freshly plucked flower heads, and placed on it was a very old book. This had come as rather odd to them, especially the flowers. Was there someone in Riverwood who knew of another way into the barrow? Whatever the case, if someone was frequenting this place, then they morally decided not to take anything from them.
"Let's head out. I'd rather not be here when someone comes back." He stated.
She nodded, thankful he lived up to his code this time. The passage they walked into again went up at an incline, and the natural light at the end of it gave Summer that feeling of relief the closer they got. Adrien and the huntress squinted as they exited out of the cave, their eyes making adjustments to the outdoor light until it all became clear, and until then they could hear their footsteps crunching on snow. The huntress felt the chilly wind making her cross her arms instinctively for warmth, but the smell of fresh mountain air was a relief to her nostrils. It was still a sight to behold no matter how many times Summer looked at it, with the clouds surrounding some of the mountains, and with the addition of trees and a large lake ahead of them, it seemed to look picture perfect. That's when a thought popped up.
'Maybe I should take a picture of this,' she thought. She took out her scroll, opened it up and tapped the camera app before positioning it to take the shot.
"What are you doing?" He asked when he turned to tell her something, but noticed she was holding up the scroll for some reason.
"Going to take a picture," she replied, focusing on the glass as the camera itself adjusted focus. Not wanting to question further, he silently watched out of curiosity to see what she meant. She held her breath to steady it, then she lightly tapped the button and took the picture with a click sound. She showed it to him, but the picture made him do a double take as he looked at the view and then looked back at the picture being exactly the same.
"So this is the power of this "Scroll" you say? Amazing!" He was quite taken aback by the image of this instant painting done so well, it was like magic. "And this is how you make a painting?"
"Well, it's not really a painting you see. It's done with billions of colored pixels and…," she saw the look on his face being absolutely confused with what she was explaining, so she sighed knowing the obvious. "Ehh, you know what, never mind. It's pretty complicated. So what now? Do we camp near the lake or head back to the village?"
He looked at the position of the sun. They still had plenty of time to make it back to the village. He remembered the produce he still carried inside his backpack, but he also remembered that the produce was bought fresh and would be just fine for now. So he opted for the former, but they would not be staying there. He wanted to cover as much ground in order to reach Whiteun before nightfall. "Let's head back to Riverwood," he answered. "We drop off the claw and eat at the inn, but we won't be staying there for the night. We'll head to Whiterun and sleep at the inn."
"Okay." She acknowledged the decision with a nod. The two skidded down the steep cliffside until they were on the base ground. What they noticed all around them were large skeletal remains of tusked beasts neither of them had ever seen before. Ignoring what they were, they soon reached the edge of the lake and went left along the shoreline, avoiding the pack of wolves feasting on the carcass of a dead elk.
While they were nearing the river, seeing the water had gotten Summer to remember the last time she bathed. It was three days ago when she bathed herself at a river. She looked at her damaged armor and dried blood on her wrist, thinking her blood might draw in predators, then she sniffed her armpit. Yeah, she could use a bath at this point, but knowing the climate she was in, it was a bit cooler than the late summer heat in Vale. She looked back at the water and wondered if they could stop here for a bit, but then she wondered if the inn had a bathing room. She had the toiletries needed, and she still had the light towel in her pack…
"Hey Adrien?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think we can stop here for a bit? I could use a bath."
He suddenly stopped and turned around to face her. "How long has it been since you bathed?"
"Three days. You?"
"Two days." Pluss he knew that the dried blood on his armor wasn't his either, and the smell of it was beginning to dawn on him. He looked at the lake and then back to her. "If you'd want to do so right now, we could, but I'd rather we didn't. There could be slaughterfish living deep in that lake, and since we both got dried blood on ourselves, I think it would be best to do so at a river… unless you prefer water that is still."
The naming of the fish had her concerned and curious. "What's a slaughterfish?"
"Slaughterfish are aggressive buggers that grow to about six feet and have razor sharp teeth. They're very often the main culprits when it comes to missing swimmers." He could tell this was making her very uncomfortable. "Of course, this is simply what I know from those fish in lake Rumare and the Illiac Bay. I don't know about the slaughterfish here."
She looked out at the lake and pondered on it. The thought of being attacked by large carnivorous fish unawares would make for a bad day for her, and she knew for an absolute fact that fish were faster in water. Feeling convinced, she faced him again. "Do you think the inn might have a bathing room?"
"Maybe, but we'll have to see."
Well, it was better than nothing she supposed, and she could try bathing in a river again if she had to, but she did not feel up for it. "Right, let's try the inn."
"Okay, and now that I think about it, I should also clean my armor and weapons while we're there." It took over half an hour until they made it back to Riverwood, but it seemed there were less people walking about at this time. Perhaps most were enjoying themselves at the inn he guessed, but first things came first. They reached the front door of the Riverwood Trader, he placed the stone against a wood pole and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" The merchant, Lucan, answered.
"It's us. We've come back from Bleak Falls Barrow." The knight replied. They faintly heard footsteps getting closer until the merchant opened the door.
"Hey, you're back!" He greeted them, sounding glad they came back in one piece, but he also noticed they looked like they went through a rough patch, and judging by the smell and the dried blood on his armor, they must have really fought their way through whatever horrors lied in those ruins. "I was getting a bit worried. For a minute I thought I sent you two to your deaths."
"Well your worries should be unfounded. The thief and his gang have been dealt with."
"And what about the claw? Did you get it?"
"Yes we did." He stepped aside and let Summer show the golden claw.
"Here it is." She handed it to him with a smile.
"Hahahah, you did it! Here it is!" He laughed joyously as he graciously retrieved the claw back into his hands. "Strange. It looks smaller than I imagined. Ah whatever, at least it's back, and my shop can go back to the way it used to be. I'll never forget this, thank you."
"We were just glad to help." She stated.
He thanked them both with a nod in reply, but then his expression changed as if he remembered something. "Ah yes, your payment! Come inside." He gestured them in.
'Wait, payment?' Adrien questioned as he blinked, and had a flashback to their conversation before they made the trip to the mountain. Lucan did mention about a shipment coming in, and he would give the extra Septims to them as a reward for returning the golden claw. This felt embarrassing to the knight upon remembering.
As a knight, he swore to never accept payment that was deemed unofficial especially from the peasantry and merchants who ask for help. The fact that he was caught up in the moment of focusing on the mission and gathering intel did he ignore the part about receiving payment, and he felt guilty for not speaking up about his oath sooner. He had to clear this up to clean this quiet stain on his honor somehow.
The two followed him in, seeing his sister sitting at the table as usual but with a heartened expression of thanks. The merchant got behind the counter, set the claw where it usually was and presented him with two gold Septims. "The shipment came this afternoon. Here's your share as promised."
He looked down at the two gold coins in his offered hand, hesitant as he thought of a way to clear up this misunderstanding. He quickly had an idea pop up in his head when he remembered they had taken some treasure from the Barrow to trade.
"I would thank you for this offer of gold were I a mercenary," he spoke with chivalrous civility as he placed a clenched right fist to his breastplate. "But I must refuse it, for as a knight, I have sworn to never accept payment from those in need of help."
Lucan was taken aback, speechless by his chivalrous tone but was also baffled by this information, now fully realizing his status as a knight when he first thought him to be a mercenary along with his partner. Summer felt delighted by his generous refusal to accept it, but she noticed a glint in his eyes which told her he was up to something.
"I-I heard we had strangers passing by and cleared out a mine near us," the merchant finally spoke. "I assumed you both were mercenaries, but I didn't think you would be a knight."
"I understand your confusion, and how I came to look this way is a long story. I was a bit more focused on the mission that I forgot you mentioned payment, and for that I apologize for not bringing this up."
"Heheh, well then, I don't know what to say." Feeling a bit embarrassed by his generosity, he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand while pulling away the offered payment. "Thank you."
"Of course, though it is ironic since we've come bearing treasure from the Barrow to trade."
'Now I see where this is going,' she figured as she smirked a bit at his mercantile diplomacy, and it did feel ironic since she was also planning to sell the gems she had in her pack for this world's currency to take with her.
"So how about we make a trade." He proposed as he unslung his backpack and took out two precious gems. "Will an amethyst and a garnet be enough in exchange for two gold Septims?"
Summer and Lucan's sister looked on, watching as Adrien laid them out on the counter for her brother to inspect. He examined each of them for any flaw and calculated the value. One of the perks of a merchant is having a critical eye for an item's quality. Take, for example, an amethyst: its beauty and price depends on how clean cut it is. If given in its raw, uncut form, or if there are any flaws on the gem, then the price on its quality is lowered. If it's cut clean and has no flaws, then the price will be raised.
"Hm, they seem alright. Not flawless, but not bad at all." He concluded. "These'll definitely match two hundred Septims. You said you got these from the Barrow?"
"Indeed," he replied, "quite a lot of treasure to be found."
"Ha, I'll bet, and I guess you've come back rich."
"Not really." He shook his head. "We only took what was necessary. There's certainly more treasure to be had back there, but I wouldn't recommend risking your life for it."
"Hm, good point. Well, since we still have enough time before the shop closes, is there anything else you need? Perhaps some items to get the filth off your armor?" He referred to the dried blood stains and other odors from the ruins.
"Heh, I was just thinking that."
"Wait, shouldn't we ask him about those coins we found?" She asked Adrien, storing the question away for later, and remembering the Reman coins they found in the ruins.
"Ah yeah, that's right." He remembered, then he kneeled with his backpack facing her. She opened it and searched for the purse. "Remember, it's the small one." She found the small purse he mentioned, pulled out the coin which she confirmed was the one she was looking for, and set it on the counter.
"We found these in the ruin as well." She explained. "Do you think there's any value to them?"
The merchant picked up the coin and inspected it. He looked amazed at what he was looking at. "Oohhh, a Reman coin! I've never seen one of these in forever!" Then he frowned a bit. "Though I'm sorry to say this, but as much as I would like to think these coins have some value; no, they don't hold any. Not anymore."
"Why is that?" She asked perplexed.
"I remember seeing this same particular coin brought to my counter a long time ago in Cyrodiil. I asked the banker the same thing, and he explained to me that when Tiber Septim became emperor, the traditional decree was made that all Reman coins were to be converted into having his face on them for his great deeds. I believe it is still in effect today, so any imperial coin before his ascension is now useless."
"Well that sucks." She said in disappointment.
"The good thing is that you can turn them in at the bank for exchange. So it's a win-win." He assured her.
"And is there a bank in Skyrim?"
"Why, of course! But the only bank this province has is built in Solitude northwest from here."
"Huh...," Adrien thought out loud. "That's nearly… a three days trek to get there."
"Yup, if you plan on walking. You can get there faster by horse if you got the money for it."
Adrien paused for a moment, remembering the coin count of his current wealth, and how much was going to need before making his decision. "I guess we'll have to hold onto our purses until then."
"Or, if you have any more to sell, I'm willing to take them off your hands." He suggested with a sincere grin in his business-like manner.
"Yes, we do have more to sell," he replied, ready to do business again, "and I'm sure you got some things we need as well."
At the end of their trade, they gave their treasures and bought what was needed for both of them. He sold the ruby, the enchanted dagger, the two necklaces, and the two lesser soul gems for eight hundred and ninety nine Septims, and bought for himself two small healing potions, anti-rust oil and a rag for five hundred thirty six Septims. Summer gave her gems away for five hundred and forty Septims, receiving her first bit of Septims as well as buying a medium sized coin purse to store them all at the mere cost of fifty Septims.
After bidding farewell to them, the two went outside as satisfied customers and plotted what to do next.
"Okay, I'll be staying outside for a bit while I clean my armor and weapons. I'll meet with you inside the inn when I'm done." He said his plan.
She nodded. "Alright, and I'll go see if the bathing room is available." She asked Lucan about where people would bathe, although she figured the answer was right outside. Since the nords would mostly bathe in rivers, she asked if there was an indoor bath available. The inn did have a bathing room, and conveniently it was free for anyone to use, but the inn had only one bathing room installed. The Valerius siblings did have an indoor bathing room of their own, but as much as they appreciated getting the claw back, it was going to cost them. So she kindly turned the latter idea down.
He nodded back. "Before you head inside, how about I take care of your bloodied gauntlet and your dirtied weapons for you?" He offered. Unbeknownst to him, mentioning the bloodstained left gauntlet she still wore reminded her once again of her current mortality without her Aura.
"Sure thing, thank you," she obliged as she set the thought aside for now. She removed her gauntlet, unstrapped one of her axes and handed them to him. The axe tip was still stained with dried black blood, but it was only the leather glove that was stained with her blood, and if it was true that this ointment could remove blood stains easily, then it will not be difficult to clean.
The two went their separate ways. She headed inside the Sleeping Giant inn while Adrien went to the river. Inside, there were more patrons than the last time they were in here, and the bartender was currently stirring a large cauldron over the hearth fire, and the flavor coming from that cauldron smelled really good.
"Welcome back," Orgnar greeted as he continued to stir the giant pot.
"Hello. I see your cooking something good. Is everyone having some?" She asked.
"Yeah, everyone here felt like having soup tonight. So I'm cooking up my own specialty."
"Ooh, sounds nice, but I'll bet it's not free."
"Yup, it'll be two silvers per bowl, but trust me, it'll be worth it." He sounded sure.
"I'll bet, but I have another reason for being here. Is the bathing room available right now?"
"As far as I know, it still is. The room's next to Delphine's in the back, so help yourself to it."
"Thanks." She walked past him and went straight for the door built next to the proprietor's bedroom. She went inside and locked the door behind her, then took a look at the room. It was not as spacious, just only enough for a bench, a round wooden bathtub that could reach her shoulders if she sat down, and a primitive hand pump acting as a manual faucet to fill the bathtub. There were cleaning supplies, such as a bar of soap and a towel, left on the bench to be used to clean oneself, but looking uncomfortably at the soap bar, she would have to clean it of all the grime and body hair first before using it. She was not going to complain. In fact, it was better than nothing, and she had cleaned herself in cold water before on more than one occasion. Not wasting anymore time, she sat on the bench and got to work undressing herself.
Meanwhile, Adrien kneeled at the edge of the river, at a spot where the villagers would normally go fishing, hence the rack used for hanging and gutting fish was close by. His armor pieces and weapons were removed and laid next to him while he was in the process of washing the dried blood off the damaged chest plate with a wet rag, not wanting to bother putting ointment on a piece of equipment that would be in need of repairing at the forge. If the situation were not urgent, he would spend the rest of the day repairing his equipment and head out the next morning, but seeing that the condition looked manageable, he decided to wait on that until after the job was done.
Spending time to clean equipment had always helped him think more clearly, and the events of today had gotten him thinking as he started cleaning the gauntlets next. If the tablet were to be the key ingredient to fighting this black dragon, would it really be enough? He still remembered vividly yesterday of its destructive power. All the soldiers garrisoned in Helgen threw all they had at the flying lizard, but nothing they did could land a scratch on it, and that monster had the power to literally bring oblivion down upon them and the whole village. Perhaps if Skyrim were to unite, and maybe with help from the Legion, then there could be a chance to kill it. There was doubt festering in the back of his mind that somehow this dragon would be too powerful to bring down.
'If I had my gear back, maybe…,' he thought about the gear he once had on him before his run-in with the Imperial Legion. His full plate armor was the uniform and symbol of his knightly order. It had minor enchantments to protect the wearer from magical harm, and that armor alone had saved his life many times. He wielded a greatsword made from Dwemer metal that was larger than the iron greatsword he currently carried. How he had come to obtain such a sword would be a story for another time. As for the rest, he knew that would be salvageable given his current luggage now, save for the piece of clothing to be used to track down the dead nord's body. Even now, he was still surprised that no one recognized him or his armor. He thought everyone knew his order well enough including his deeds, but it seemed either his order's fame did not extend far enough to the legion or anybody in Skyrim, or these were different circumstances altogether and they did not care.
Going off-topic, he thought back to the event in Bleak Falls Barrow while he worked on the shin guards and leathers. He still could not figure out what it was he obtained inside his head from that memorial or Word Wall. He could still see the markings in his mind, but he could not decipher what they meant or how they were pronounced. It was like being given an alphabet with no knowledge of meaning or pronunciation behind each letter, just shapes. What was strange most of all was him being the only one affected by this. He could only hope that the court wizard would know the meaning of these letters, otherwise any attempt to comprehend them on his own would eventually drive him mad.
He finally started cleaning the weapons, starting with Summer's bearded war axe. He remembered that she called herself a weaponsmith, and looking at her axe up close for the first time, he could now clearly see just how much of a master she was in forging weapons. The sharpness of the blade looked extraordinary, and to his amazement, there was hardly a chip or any sign of damage on it that would warrant concern. Her world's work in metallurgy must be far advanced than their own, or she must be a genius in weaponsmithing, judging by how well she built the axes to mechanically transform into a bow like that.
With nothing else to think about and choosing to leave his current issue alone to the back of his mind, he continued his focus on cleaning the pieces. Eventually he was all done, and his gear and equipment were all strapped back in place. He placed the now cleaned gauntlet inside the backpack, strapped the axe and hid the tablet somewhere in the absent forge where no one would take it before heading to the inn.
In the meantime, she was in the tub getting right down to business. It did take a while to fill the tub manually with effort from a hand pump, but she got it filled to a height that was just right. Being in cold water was not a luxury she would want to be enjoying since there was no device to change the temperature, yet she had gotten herself into situations like this when it came to being outdoors, so she grew used to it. All she was going to do was get in, clean herself of all the filth and dried blood and get out. It was after she shampooed her hair and dunked herself into the tub to wash it off did she finally feel clean and refreshed. She got out of the tub and grabbed the towel to dry herself off before draining the water out of the tub through a plug she found at the bottom outside of it.
After combing her hair, putting all of clothes and gear back on, and putting her toiletries and cleaning supplies back into her backpack, she was soon out the door and back into the booze smelling dining area. She soon spotted Adrien at the same table they sat at and joined him, but not before paying for a bowl of soup and a drink. So now she had a filled bowl and a mug of water, all for fifty Septims.
"Feeling better?" He asked, his helmet removed and on the table beside him, along with the backpack being laid against the side of the table.
"Well enough I suppose," she shrugged before taking another spoonful of the delicious soup.
"Here's your gauntlet back." He handed the steel Nordic gauntlet back and placed it next to her. "Your axe is tied to my backpack for now."
"Thank you." She replied graciously.
The two stayed silent as they ate their meal. It was after he swallowed his eighth serving did he break the silence.
"So, after what we went through, what do you think of your first tomb raid?" She looked thoughtful while chewing her meal. She could say that it was difficult. Killing those bandits would surely keep bringing back harrowing memories, and she was sure to not be able to rest easily for a while. But after slaying a giant spider, fighting undead guardians, going through traps and solving puzzles… It felt like she was in a real life adventure game. But still, killing those who were alive… What was scary most of all was that she felt almost nothing, even after steeling herself. It was beginning to scare her, but she did not show it.
"I want to say that it was quite scary since I can't use my Aura… but I think it was kinda fun." She replied half honestly, but then she turned away and her smile faltered. "Of course, I think I won't be resting easy for a while."
"Is it because you killed those men up there?" He asked, thinking back on how she behaved while they trekked up the mountain. What he got in return was silence as she looked back at him, an open mouth as if she wanted to say something, but she closed it into a frown and returned her attention to the bowl.
"...Yes," she uttered admittedly and solemnly before going back to finishing her soup.
He could almost hear what she said due to all the noise around them, but her lips showed him what he needed to know. He still remembered their conversation from before when she admitted to killing people, and it was after she explained about huntsmen capturing criminals instead of killing them. Inside he felt upset about it when she told him her vague truth, and when she did not want to explain further about it, it made him feel quietly suspicious of her. But he wisely reserved his judgement, and after witnessing her sparing the life of one bandit, it proved to him that she still had an honest heart, but that still did not convince him to set aside the question as to why she lied to him. He was not going to push it, but she was going to have to resolve her conflict soon, or he would have to.
After they were done with their drinks and their bowls of soup emptied, they grabbed their things, thanked the bartender for the meal and bade farewell before heading out the door and into the dusky air.
"I'll be back with the tablet." He said as he walked over to the smithy, leaving her alone with her inner moral conflict. Once there, he moved aside two round shields covering the tablet, picked it up and left the smithy, only to see his companion deep in thought, not even noticing him coming toward her. "Hey." Just saying that got her out of whatever she was in and looked up to him with a bit of surprise. "Are you ready to head out?"
She did not say anything, just stared back at him with those exotic silver eyes, presenting to him the whole struggle written on her face. She looked down, gritting her teeth and fighting to come out and say it. Eventually she sighed and looked back up to him.
"I want to say I'm sorry for lying to you." She finally said, frowning. "Truth is, I lost that title of sainthood a long time ago." She glanced away in disgust of her own hypocrisy. "Of course it was naive of me to think I could get away from my past forever."
"Summer."
"I mean, I'll get over it!" She started pacing and getting frustrated. "I've—I've done it before! I've murdered criminals before and–"
"Summer!" She abruptly stopped rambling and looked back at him, being puzzled and a bit frightened. "Let's go have a seat."
His request puzzled her more. When he raised his voice to stop her, she first thought she had gone too far with expressing her personal problems, but his expression under the light of dusk betrayed no emotion of anger toward her. She felt like asking why, but she chose to stay silent as she followed him back to the porch of the inn where they sat on the bench. The silence stretched on for a bit longer for her discomfort. 'Is this a calm before the storm,' she mentally asked herself.
"A quiz for you," he said out of nowhere after he placed the stone and his backpack aside. Quizzically she listened. "Let's say that a village is being threatened by a raiding party of goblins. What would you choose to do?"
'What's this about?' She questioned what he was doing. First, she thought she was going to be scolded, but instead she was given a quiz? And 'goblins', now that was a name she had not heard since her childhood game with her friends. They are little green bipedal creatures that tend to be a dangerous nuisance to farmers and villagers. They're supposed to be considered weak, but she learned otherwise during her streak of bad luck rolling the attack dice. It was quite a long time ago, but how could she ever forget those little green menaces? She decided to participate in the quiz.
"I would choose to defend the village," she answered.
"Good choice," he praised. "Not many would want to reason with those little pillagers anyways. Next one: you've been hired to guard a merchant caravan heading from Solitude to Cheydinhal, but during your trip, you and your caravan are suddenly ambushed by bandits, and the only ones standing between them and the loot is you and the other hired guards, what would you do?"
"I would fight to fend them off."
"But how so?"
"How so?" She was perplexed by his question, but after that pause, she answered somewhat unsuredly. "I would… knock them unconscious and tie them up?"
"If the merchant had twenty guards and more than enough food, then maybe. It all depends on how rich the traveling merchant is. But in most cases, it's not a good idea." He half rejected the answer. "Depending on where the caravan currently is, most merchants do not want any more mouths to feed and don't want to be slowed down. And also, there's a chance the thieves will break their bindings and either steal as much as they can before running to the woods, or they slit everyone's throats while they sleep. It's a risk the caravan will not want to take."
"What's this all about now?!" She asked as she now demanded answers. "I actually had thought you were finally annoyed with me being a burden, but now you're just playing twenty questions with me! What's going on!?"
"I'm getting to that, just be patient," he silenced her. "Last one: An inn was in the middle of dangerous times, and the innkeeper hired a small band of mercenaries to keep the place safe. After the roads became safe, and the innkeeper no longer had any use for the mercs, they decided to stay and force him to pay for their protection. He's in quite the predicament, and because they're still around, less and less customers come by his inn. You walk into the middle of an argument, one that might turn ugly. What will you do to resolve it?"
She looked down pensively with her index finger and thumb, rubbing her chin as she thought of what to do. After almost a minute of consideration, she had her answer. "I would convince them to leave. Perhaps with a little bribe if need be."
"I see, and if you have a silver tongue, you just might pull it off. But what if that failed?"
"Well, then… I would challenge their leader in order to make them leave."
"Interesting choice, though in my experience, mercenaries don't always follow a code of honor."
"Do these questions have anything to do with what I've done?" She guessed.
"In a way, yes." He replied, then he started his explanation. "You have a good heart, I can see that, but you already know this is not your world, and you're going to be running into some tough choices more often than what you're used to. What I'm trying to get at is there will come a time when things will fall down to two choices; it's either going to be you and those you care about, or the enemy who wants to do harm. It's not a pretty picture, and I'm not telling you to take joy in killing. I'm telling you to always be prepared for such outcomes, because being a pacifist will only get you so far."
She was left quite speechless by his wisdom. He spoke with the weight of carrying decades of experience. And once again, he was making a point, one that was uncomfortable to accept despite the fact he knew nothing about her past. Yet all she could ask was one question as she looked him in the eye, though she was uncertain of the answer. "Tell me, how can I get over taking someone's life?"
He remained silent for a moment, and for just a second, she thought she may have said something wrong, but he finally came out with his answer. "To be blunt, you don't." He could tell she was conflicted by his blunt answer. "I know, you've seen me act as if I've moved on so easily after a fight, but I've spent years being forced to accept the fact that I will have to do it no matter the outcome. Of course, I do have a grudge against bandits, but that doesn't change the fact of the matter. I'm sorry this won't help you, but I hope you understand."
She frowned, but she agreed nonetheless anyways.
The knight looked at the position of the setting sun, seeing that the sky was getting darker. "Well, I think that'll be enough pep talk for tonight. Let's get going, shall we?" They both stood up. Adrien got his backpack on, but he paused and remembered what he wanted to say. "One more thing."
"Hm?" She looked back at him.
"Don't ever get self defense mixed up with murder, they're very different. A murderer would kill innocent people in cold blood, either for sport or spite, but from what I've seen of your actions, I know you're no murderer." He placed his gauntleted hand on her shoulder. "You're a good person, Summer. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."
She was moved almost to tears by his assessment of her, and though she first would assume he said all that to comfort her, she appreciated his honesty nonetheless and returned a weak smile in appreciation.
"Alright, then," he picked up the stone and turned back to her. "Let's get going. It's going to get dark soon."
She hummed in agreement as she nodded her head, and the two left the porch and headed for the open gate.
Going alongside the river and over the bridge, they never spoke as they strolled and just listened to everything around them. Adrien looked left into the forest, and what his perceptive eyes had caught in the darkening forest was a woman clad in familiar steel armor. Even from the setting of the sun, he could tell she was a redguard based on the skin tone alone. If memory still served him, she looked eerily similar to the one Summer spared back on that lookout tower. She was armed with her axe and shield, and she looked to be planning to ambush them. He knew bandits were not the type to let things go that easily, but there was one thing he could do to test that. He turned his head fully in her direction, letting her know he was watching her, daring her to make her move. She got the message, and to his small surprise, she backed off and scurried back deeper into the rocky woods.
'What are the odds,' he wondered. It was rare, to his experience, that a bandit would chicken out and give up, but there was always a chance they would come back with hired friends. Good thing she ran the other way. He did not want his companion to be burdened on her choice.
"Did you see something," she asked him.
"Nah, just a fox going about," he lied, not wanting to worry her.
"Oh, okay." She shrugged, accepting the answer and said no more as they continued on.
They remained silent for the rest of their journey back to Whiterun, and the two moons could be seen by the time they reached the Bannered Mare. The knight and the huntress rented separate rooms for the night. She was out of her armour while she sat in front of a candle lit desk, keeping her diary up-to-date on the events which transpired, along with her thoughts. Once that was done, she slid it back inside her backpack and got underneath the fur covers of her rented bed. But, before she blew out the candle, she was once more looking at the photo of her family back home.
'He's right, it won't be the same. This life isn't going to be easy,' she thought, having finally made up her mind and accepting the reality of her place in Skyrim. 'But no matter what, I'll come back to you all. Even you, too, my little bud.'
She smiled, referring to the little bundle of joy in her arms. She was currently three years old and getting closer to four by the time Summer left on that hunting mission. She remembered when she started walking at the age of two, and her big sister Yang tried helping her to stay up. She remembered reading bedtime stories to the little girls; stories of heroes and monsters… Those were fond memories that brought a smile to her face. She then looked at the smiling face of Taiyang, her beloved husband, and the man who brought her back from a dark place. The family she still has, plus one, healed her heart. This picture was one of the few items that will remind her of home, and they're more than enough to help her push through whatever this savage realm will throw at her.
'No matter what, I will come home. I promise.' She folded it and put the photo away, blew out the candle and snuggled in. On that night, she was given pleasant dreams.
Adrien: 67 Copper + 21 Silver + 5 Gold = 1,041 Septims
Summer: 0 Copper + 1 Silver + 4 Gold = 425 Septims
Pouches of Coin: Unknown
Reman Coins: 5 Copper + 1 Silver + 0 Gold = 30 Reman
A/N: Right, this took very long, too long in fact, but I finally got this one done. I really tried my best with this chapter finale, especially with the combat and the aftermath with the merchant and the serious talk between the two main characters. And also, my first shift job during these difficult times has been sapping me of my enthusiasm for writing. Darn you COVID! Another problem which added more to my stress was my big failure in keeping tabs with their inventory and currency, so it took me a while and all night using my big brain to mathematically calculate their number of coins and worth, and I had to reread the previous chapters to jot down what is and isn't currently in their backpacks, so that was quite a hassle that could've been avoided if I wrote them down early on.
Anyways, With all that aside, I finally got back to writing, and I'll be focusing on finishing up the next chapter of Bloodborne Twin, so expect that one to be coming soon.
As always, shout-out goes to CruxMDQ for his amazing proofreading and suggestions.
This is Kyro2009, signing off.