Chapter 10: The Thu'um of the Greybeards

We woke up the next day with a horrible headache, as if my mind couldn't comprehend what just happened within the last few days. I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes and looked over to my right and saw my green tunic was neatly folded on the small table on the side of my bed and I felt my headache beginning to lessen as I slowly rubbed my eyes, and I heard Yang and the others groaning as they struggled to get out of bed. I slowly sat up and looked at the side of my bed to see my bag and boots on the floor, my Ordon Sword and Hylian Shield near toward the head of the bed, and I looked down at myself to see I was sleeping with a white long sleeve shirt and brown pants. I slowly sat up as I grunted softly, feeling my muscles were sore, and I saw Lydia slowly awakening from her slumber, rubbing her eyes and giving off a big yawn.

I heard Rigmor groan from the top of the bunk bed, "What happened…?" I climbed out from the bottom and felt my bare feet touch the stone ground, and felt my blood rushing to my head, giving my brain oxygen before my vision cleared.

I rubbed my head and said in a tired voice, "Ugh… my head is pounding as if I got a migraine…. and my body feels like I've been exercising too much…" I looked at Rigmor and said as my voice returned to normal, "It's pretty much what I remember about yesterday."

Yang groaned and said as she held her head with her hands, "I am not going to drink another bottle of mead ever again…"

Ruby sat up and stretched from her bed and I saw she was wearing a black shirt and white pants with multiple pink hearts aligning across her legs, making me shake my head. Blake was wearing a black long sleeved shirt that had a white edging over her purple undershirt, and he had a skirt that matched her black shirt. Yang wore an orange muscle shirt and black shorts that reached only halfway to her upper legs, while Weiss wore a night dress that looked like turquoise, and her hair was worn down. To be honest, I haven't slept with a bunch of girls in a single room before, and I was glad things didn't go bad so far, while at the same time, I felt in my heart that these girls are fighting to find their way back home, just as I am. I just only hope I don't do anything stupid…

I asked as my voice started returning to normal, "Does anybody want to take a bath first?"

Yang said as she placed her hands on her head, "Just… give us a few minutes…" I nodded and decided to take a quick bath while the girls tried to recuperate, and I went to the bathroom to clean myself. I took a less than two minute bath to get my body clean, and as soon as I was finished, Yang and the rest of the girls went to the bathroom. While the girls were taking a bath, I decided to try some cooking of my own, and I made German Pancakes, ham, scrambled eggs and bacon for the Companions. I also shared with the cooks that were helping me with some of the recipes I knew, since they shared pretty good meals through the last couple of weeks. Once breakfast was prepared, everyone gathered in the dining room, all clean and loved it when they ate the food, and I was really happy with the results, and during breakfast, Yang made sure she stayed away from mead and drank either water or milk instead.

After breakfast, I decided to check out the house since it had been a few days since I'd seen any modifications to the outside, and everyone was curious to see what Breezehome looked like. We left Jorrvaskr to get to the house within a few moments, and as soon we stood in front of the door, I pulled out the key from my pocket and inserted it inside the lock, twisting it to have the metal gear move open and unlocking it, and I grabbed the door handle and twisted it to push open the door, to reveal the inside of the house as we walked inside. I widened my eyes as I saw the floor was neatly covered in wood that was smooth, the stone walls that were created from stone and cement, and some windows revealed the rays of light outside. Bookshelves and weapon racks were against the sides of the wall and a cooking campfire was in the first room of the house, warming the place. At the back of the house was the kitchen, with a large wooden table and a couple of shelves and barrels to hold certain food inside, and I was impressed by how the inside looked so far.

There were a few doors on opposite sides to show an alchemy station leading from the kitchen on the left, and to the right in the living room was a bathroom with a bucket and a large tub. On the left side in the living room was a staircase that led to the second level of the house, and I saw there were multiple bedrooms, a room with four beds on the ground, two separate bedrooms and two bathrooms. The inside of the house looked gorgeous, though I could see some modifications that can be made to help make it feel more like home and welcoming.

Rigmor said in amazement as I nodded with a smile, "Hey! This isn't so bad!" She turned to Lydia and said, "Hey Lydia, you should check this place out!"

Lydia looked around and said as we walked inside the living room, "Oh! I… I've never had a home like this." She turned to me and said, bowing humbly at me, "It is an honor, my Thane, to be welcomed in your household."

I nodded and said, "You're welcome, and uh, Lydia… maybe you can stop with the 'Thane' phrasing and just call me by my name instead, please? It's James. James Brightheart."

Yang nodded and said as she walked down the stairs, "So far this will do! If there are multiple people here, we can try to find some space for them!"

M'rissi said as she walked around the kitchen, "This place seems comfortable for M'rissi!" She started checking the barrels to see if there was any food, but there wasn't any which made her ears lower in disappointment, and I chuckled as I shook my head, placing my hands on my hips.

I said, "Well, I think there can be a couple of upgrades and modifications to be made here." I looked up and said, "But I think we should head to High Hrothgar to see if there is anything we can do."

Weiss nodded and said, "Right, because you need to train yourself with your new power."

I looked at my Housecarl and said, "Do you think you can stay here while we head to High Hrothgar?" I reached inside my pouch and pulled out a bag full of gems and said, handing them to her, "Hopefully this can help repay you for your help. I never got the chance to thank you for your help, so this should be enough… hopefully."

She said, "No, my Thane. I am more than happy to help."

I shook my head and said, "No, Lydia. It was your money, and now I am paying you back. I always try to settle my debts as best I can. Besides, if you want to spend this, you can help supply the house with food and different materials." I smiled and said, "I think you can take care of this place while we're gone." She looked at me and nodded in agreement, taking the bag and I felt I was ready to move as soon as possible.

I looked at Rigmor and Team RWBY and asked, "Ready to head out?"

Rigmor smiled and said, "You know it!" We decided to pack some food along the journey, though I felt a little bad leaving Lydia and M'rissi behind, but I gave her instructions to see if they could meet us in Riften after a few days of supplying the house. I helped Blake buy some fish for herself, and I really wasn't too much of a fan of salmon, but I loved shrimp, and I bought bread, meat, apples and some pies that were made. I figured I could do some cooking at home or at Jorrvaskr, and we set off and started walking on the road to the east in order to get to Ivarstead, which was close to the entrance of the path to High Hrothgar. During our walk, Ruby gave me the Kokiri Sword and I strapped it in my belt on my waist, knowing it may come in handy, and Yang told her sister and Rigmor what I told them about the game, Majora's Mask.

We walked for a few hours as we felt the soft breeze blowing against us, and Ruby told me some things that she and her sister did while they were at Beacon, their academy in Remnant to help train them to become Hunters or Huntresses. She asked me some questions of what I was going to do, and I told her I was going to follow my heart and figure out what was going on, especially finding more Tarnished Shards and Charred Fragments. When nighttime came though, I volunteered to take the first watch while the girls slept, and I kept the campfire lit and burning to keep animals away, though I really wasn't just concerned for wild animals to attack us. During my watch, I thought about how home was doing, and I hoped that my family would be okay while I was gone, and I knew as I looked at a sleeping Rigmor and had a strong feeling that she was meant to be with us after I found her. Blake woke up next and told me that it was her turn, and I retired for the night, having dreamt nothing but having a good night's sleep until first light came, and I woke up to the smell of food being cooked on flat rocks, seeing it was some eggs and meat.

After a quick breakfast, we continued traveling on the road for a few hours as we saw some wolves traveling on the road, and Rigmor started talking to us about her home, Bruma. It made me smile since I was familiar with Cyrodiil after playing Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, and we managed to get closer to Ivarstead after a few hours of walking on the stone or dirt roads, and I was happy that there were hardly any wolves or bandits that ambushed us. But when we were getting closer to the city, I felt my heart begin racing as if we were being ambushed by something, causing me to draw my sword and shield. Everyone stopped at once and I looked around to see if there was anyone following us, and I felt we should stay on guard ever since we are close to town. Suddenly, a man dressed in black clothing jumped out of nearby bushes and I widened my eyes as I saw he had a dagger pointed directly at me, and I limboed to the ground as fast as my reflexes could take me, and he missed my face as he swung his weapon at me.

As he missed, I raised my left shield and bashed him in the face with the side of my shield, causing him to cry out in pain and stagger away from me, holding his face. I took my chance to stand back up and swung my weapon at his arm, cutting through his armor and forming a long gash on his forearm, and I thought that this person might be a bounty hunter or an assassin. He looked up to me angrily and Rigmor quickly stepped behind him and impaled him through the back, causing him to widen his eyes for a second before she grunted in effort to pull the sword out and he fell to the floor. The assassin looked up to me as I held my shield defensively, and I slowly lowered it as I saw a small flash from his body before his final breath left him.

I looked at Rigmor and said, "Thanks for that!"

She nodded and said, cleaning the blood off her blade, "No problem. You created an opening for me and I took it while he was too focused."

Yang asked, "Who was he?"

I sheathed my sword and shield on my back and said, "I don't think that matters now." I walked toward the corpse and knelt down to it as I began searching his body, seeing some gold, a few sapphires and a note within his pouch. I frowned as I took the items and opened the note to read what it said:

"As instructed, you are to eliminate James Brightheart by any means necessary. The Black Sacrament has been performed - somebody wants this poor fool dead. We've already received payment for the contract. Failure is not an option. Astrid."

Rigmor asked, "The Black Sacrament?" I frowned when I heard that, but I stopped at once as the words started to sound familiar, and I looked around to see if there was anyone else, and I put the note inside my bag. I knew I was being hunted, but whoever sent this assassin after me is going to pay dearly.

Weiss asked, "What are you going to do?"

I shook my head and said, "For right now, nothing." I stood from the ground and said, "Someone sent an assassin after me, and I don't know who wants me dead, but I know they are going to pay for this. The person who told these assassins about me could be anyone, or someone I don't know." I looked at them and said, "But for right now, we still continue on to High Hrothgar, and I will think about this on the way."

Yang said, "We'll help keep you safe, James. You have our back." I nodded in thanks and with a smile on my face, and we continued on the journey to get to Ivarstead. I prayed in my heart for protection as we got closer to the village of Ivarstead, and I felt a comfort in my heart that everything will be alright, and that the Lord will take care of the culprit who sent the assassin. Within the next few minutes, we arrived at the village of Ivarstead, as it sat directly at the base of the Throat of the World.

The village was quiet and peaceful as a river of water flowed across the canal between the edge of the village and the beginning slope up the mountain, and some crops were being pulled in different farmlands of the village. We followed the path as I looked to my right and saw a tomb that had a blue fairy floating at the entrance of the tomb, but I restrained myself and continued following the path until we stood at the entrance of a stone bridge. I raised my eyebrows as we all looked up the path of the mountain seeing a lot of stone stairs leading higher up the tall mountain as far as the eye could see.

Rigmor said, "Whoa! Look at the size of that mountain!"

I said, open mouthed, "Holy… crap…" Yang folded her arms and whistled at the sight of the mountain, and I saw snow that was past halfway up the mountain, making me think that it will be cold when we get close to the top.

Ruby said, "That… looks like a very big climb."

Weiss widened her eyes and said, "You have got to be kidding me…"

Rigmor said, completely astounded, "7000 steps? Are you kidding?!" I suddenly knew it was going to be cold at the top and I opened my right hand and summoned my chest at once, and I opened it once it appeared in front of me, and I removed my belts holding my sword and shield before I pulled out my blue coat. I scratched my head as I thought if there was anything I could share with the girls to help them dress warm, though I couldn't really find anything that could be shared, except I had a lot of leather.

Blake understood what I was doing, sometimes I swear she could read my mind, and she grabbed some of the leather I saved from my chest and walked toward a tanning rack and I watched with interest as she worked quickly. I raised my eyebrows as she continued using the leather I had, even using a wolf's pelt as she made four coats for her and the team. She held them up with a smile as I looked at the time and saw she managed to get them finished within less than ten minutes, which made me shake my head in amazement as she brought the coats to us.

Ruby said with a grin on her face, "Thanks Blake!"

Rigmor looked at me and asked hesitantly, pointing at my light blue coat I wore over my green tunic, "Uh… Guardian… what is that?"

I looked down at my coat she was pointing at and said, "This is my coat from my world. It will actually help keep me warm as we get up to the top." I grabbed my weapon and shield belts and strapped them over my coat, making sure it fit perfectly and had enough room to stay on my back, and I felt prepared and ready to go as Rigmor pulled her hood over her head. I brothe nervously as we stood at the beginning of the bridge and said, "Here we go…" We then started walking up the bridge and ascending up the stone steps once we got to the other side of the bridge, while I didn't want to leave anyone behind since I am a pretty good hiker.

We climbed up the stairs and I listened to the birds chirping and the crickets making their usual sounds as we ascended up the mountain, seeing some bushes and flowers growing on the mountainside. I looked back to see Rigmor was behind Team RWBY, though Weiss was in the far back as Blake was behind Yang, and Ruby was in the middle. My heart slowly started beating faster and I started taking slow deep breaths to control my heart rate and having it beat steadily to help preserve my energy.

Rigmor said with a grin on her face, "My thighs are going to be this by the time we get up to the top!"

I said, "I think we're just getting started, Rigmor!"

Weiss complained, "We're gonna be exhausted by the time we get up to the top!"

I looked at her and said, "Just as long as you pace yourself, you'll be fine, Weiss! Just have faith!" She groaned but didn't say anything else, and we continued hiking up the mountain, and it felt like my legs were on fire, in a good way. We got higher on the mountain as about twenty minutes passed, though it felt like we might have passed over 1000 steps by now. I looked down the edge to see how high we were up, and I saw we were higher than Ivarstead, seeing it was a little smaller than before.

Weiss didn't complain much as Yang barely passed her sister and walked next to Rigmor, and I remained focused as I looked up to the path and continued walking up the steps.

Rigmor asked, "Are we there yet?"

I looked at her and said, "No. If we were, we would have been close to the top of the mountain by now." I pointed and said, "We still have a long way to go."

Weiss said, "Uh… maybe we should take a quick break."

Blake sighed and said, "Come on, Weiss." Slowly the temperature started to drop from warm weather to moderate cold, and I was starting to feel a little tired as we passed some stones that had different writing inside. My guess was they were markers to tell us the story of the Greybeards, or the beginning of the Dragon War, though I didn't pay too much attention to it. We continued on without stopping, and my legs were starting to hurt as we climbed a large amount of stairs, and I could tell the group was starting to get a little weaker during the climb.

Rigmor then said, "I'm getting hungry."

I looked back and asked, panting a bit, "Does anyone... want to take a break really quick?"

Blake said before Weiss could speak, "We should keep going. If we get to the top before the sun begins to set, we will be able to rest and recover inside." Weiss looked at Blake with an offended look, and I could tell she wasn't going to do too well for this hike.

I looked at Weiss and said, "Hey if you want, Weiss, I can try carrying you to help you save energy."

Yang teased with a smile on her face, "Aw, is someone being a little touchy?"

I widened my eyes and said, "Tha- wha-?! No! I just want to help Weiss, that's all!" Weiss looked at Yang as if she was going to give her a good beating after this was done but her face was starting to show a red color as if she was beginning to blush. I kept my complaining quiet and we continued hiking up the mountain, and Rigmor was trying her hardest to keep up with me as we continued up the trail, and we were hiking through the snow within the next couple moments. The wind started blowing against us as I kept my hands close to my arms to keep them from freezing, and I put my gloves on my hands to try and keep them warm.

My body heat was keeping me warm inside my coat as we moved on, and my heart was pumping a little faster as I tried controlling my breathing to slow my heart rate again. I knew we were higher than probably a couple hundred feet, as I could barely see Ivarstead as the trail on the mountain started to move and circle higher, and I looked back to see how the girls were doing. Rigmor was panting heavily as Weiss was barely struggling to keep up, and she pulled out a green potion and drank it, suddenly starting to be energetic. Blake, Ruby and Yang were panting a bit, and I slowed down to have the rest of the team catch up.

Rigmor wheezed as she collapsed to her knees, "I don't think I can make it…" I walked back to her and knelt down to her as she gasped for air, and I placed my hand on her back.

I said, panting, "Hey, keep in there a little longer, okay? It's… not far now…"

She nodded as she wiped her brow and I smiled as I stood on the ground and offered my hand to her, and she accepted, standing up on the ground. I turned around and started to walk but I heard her mutter as I walked up a few steps, "Pfft… dragonbutt."

I looked back at her and said, offended by her comment, "Hey, I heard that! I'll dragonbutt you, crazy girl!"

Yang said before Rigmor could react, "Hey! That's enough, both of you! Making fun of each other is not going to help us get to the top faster."

I started, "What?! But, Yang, I wasn't-"

She interrupted with a scold, "Not now. Save it for the top!" Both Rigmor and I groaned and we continued moving on in silence, feeling our hearts pounding in our chest as the air continued to grow colder as we followed the path. We walked further up the path within the next couple minutes, and I noticed we were in front of a rocky crevasse that was revealing a way forward. I narrowed my eyebrows as we walked through, feeling that we were being watched, and I found myself clenching and unclenching my fists. I started slowing down as we got to the other side, and I stopped as I started to look around, sensing something was off, and I smelled with my wolf senses that something stinky and familiar was near or close to us.

Rigmor turned around and called to me, "Hey James! You frozen back there?" My hat flapped in the wind that blew against me, and I slowly reached with my hand to my back as I grabbed my Fairy Bow and slowly moved it out from my back and held it in my hand. I looked up and sniffed the air again, now feeling my senses were on full alert, and I slowly grabbed an arrow from my quiver and pulled it out as I knocked the arrow on the string of my bow.

Yang turned around and asked, "Hey James! Something got your feet frozen?" My eyes widened and flared with anger at once, and I recognized what the smell belonged to.

I shouted in alarm, making the girls stop at once, "Guys, watch out! Frost Troll!" I quickly pulled the string and turned around to the top of a cliff and released the arrow, seeing it strike the arm of the creature, and as I suspected, a loud roar sounded from the cliff side, announcing its presence. I narrowed my eyebrows as I watched the Frost Troll leap from the cliff and I quickly placed my bow on my back and grabbed the hilt of my sword as the Troll fell to the ground, landing on its feet. A large splash of snow emerged a couple feet away from me, and I quickly drew my sword and shield from my back, holding it in a defensive position as the creature roared in front of me. I charged toward the Frost Troll as I held my shield higher, and rammed into the creature, causing it to fall to the ground and I jumped in the air and swung downward, yelling a battle cry.

My weapon struck the arm of the Frost Troll, though I noticed the arrow that struck the same arm broke off and the wound healed, and I tried attacking quickly, swinging left, right, up and down as fast as I could, but the wounds started to close. The Troll then swung its claw at me, causing me to raise my shield to protect myself, but I felt the strike hit my shield, and I staggered backward, losing my defense and the Troll swung it's claw at me again, hitting me in the chest. I felt the wind in my lungs be knocked out, causing me to fly backwards and I felt my back hit the ground, causing me to cry out in pain. I coughed as I struggled to stand on my feet, and the Frost Troll was charging toward me, and I raised my shield to prepare to defend myself again but the Troll raised its claw and swung a powerful swipe at my shield, and I found myself flying in the air for a couple seconds, crying out in pain before I smacked onto the snow, groaning in pain.

I slowly stood on the ground again as I felt dazed from the blow, and the Troll was running toward me as I shook my head to get rid of the dizziness, and I heard my name being called out and the girls started to run toward me, drawing their weapons. I raised my shield as soon as the Troll got close to me and I readied myself to be hit by its blows, and the Troll began swinging its claws at me furiously, causing me to grunt as I struggled to hold my defense, until I felt a surge of strength in my shield arm and I swung my left arm at once, shield bashing the Troll in the face. The creature groaned as it moved its head back, and I felt my power rising in my mouth, causing me to narrow my eyebrows and focus until I was ready.

I Shouted at the Troll, "FUS!" (Force!) A shockwave emerged from my mouth and struck the creature directly in the chest, forcing it to stagger away from me, and I saw Yang leaping high in the air, raising her fist and striking the creature directly in the face. Blood and a few teeth flew out of the creature's mouth, and I grabbed the hilt of my sword with both of my hands and I swung as hard as I could, hitting the creature's chest and forming a long gash on his chest. I heard something cocking and I saw something emerging from her metal bracers as it looked like a metal tube formed on top of her wrists, and within the next few seconds she clenched her fists and a loud sound came from the tube, like a gun going off. A yellow blast emerged from her tube and struck the Troll directly in the chest, punching through it and forming a large bullet hole inside the chest as the creature froze at once.

Yang pulled her arm back and yelled a battle cry, swinging a powerful punch and hitting it over the chest, blasting the creature directly off the edge of the cliff and down the mountain. I watched as the creature fell from the high edge until I couldn't see its body anymore, and I was stunned by how Yang managed to knock a heavy creature down the edge so easily. I managed to kill three or four of these creatures and they were a pain in the butt for me to defeat, but apparently Yang was a lot stronger than me.

I looked at Yang and said, surprised, "Nice one!"

She smiled at me and said, "Well, I guess that thing was just… trolling around?"

I stared at her for a second as I thought about what she just did and said, shaking my head, "Wow… Yang. That's just… terrible!" I was smiling at her bad joke, but I found myself chuckling as I sheathed my sword and placed my Hylian Shield on my back, and all of a sudden I felt a dizziness from the few blows of the Troll, making me stagger forward and she quickly grabbed my chest to stop me from falling over. I felt my dizziness fade away after a few moments and I said, "Thanks."

She smiled a bit and gently started to help me walk forward to catch up with the group, seeing that they were a little far ahead on the trail and eventually I started walking on my own again. We managed to catch up with the girls as they were sitting on some rocks, panting from the long hike as they tried recovering their energy. Honestly, I couldn't blame them, they were as tired as I was, even when they didn't fight the Troll.

I asked, breathing hard after a long hike, "Feeling better?"

Weiss said, "Yeah… sorry we couldn't help with the Troll."

I waved it off and said, shaking my head, "Don't worry about it. You're in no condition to fight anyway." I looked at them and said, "What matters is that the threat has been stopped, and you guys are safe. Although I do appreciate the help if you guys think you can try to fight with me, you honestly are more than welcome to do so."

Blake looked at me and said, "You… you aren't bothered that we didn't help?"

I asked, shrugging and opening my arms, "Why would I be? If I called out for help and if you didn't come, then I would kind of be mad at you. But, I'm not, and I care about your safety than my own." They stared at me and I said, "Look, truthfully it wasn't easy, and I would have gotten my butt kicked if Yang didn't save me at the last minute. But I am willing to keep you safe for as long as it takes."

Weiss said, "You are arrogant, foolish and irresponsible to throw your life away… but you do have a good heart. Like Ruby, in a way."

I nodded and said, "Alright. Let's see if we can make it to our destination." The girls stood up and I could feel every muscle in my body was protesting against me to stop and rest to recover my energy, but I knew it was far too late to stop now.

Yang panted, "We've got to keep moving… to keep moving…" She began laughing as it made me smile and I chuckled slightly since it reminded me of Barrett's panting up the stairs in the remake version of Final Fantasy 7, which I think is actually pretty hilarious.

I looked at Ruby and asked, "What about you, Ruby? Are you doing okay?" She gave a thumbs up and I said, "Let's keep moving. The sooner we get to High Hrothgar, the sooner we can get out of the cold so we can rest and recover." I looked at the sky and added, "Plus, I don't want to be out here when night time comes and when there are no clouds to hold in the heat for us."

Blake shuddered and said, "You don't need to tell me twice…" We continued ascending up the mountain as the atmosphere around us grew colder, and the wind started to blow harder, making the situation worse, and I quickly grabbed my arms to keep them warm. Ruby stayed close to Yang as the blonde held her little sister to help her stay warm, and Rigmor walked next to me and started to move closer to me.

I looked at her and asked, "What are you doing?"

Rigmor looked at me and said, "I can feel your body heat from here James. How is it you're so warm?"

I raised my eyebrows and thought, "Uh oh… if she finds out I have a wolf form, she'll panic!"

Weiss shouted, breaking my train of thought to come up with an excuse, "This sucks! I wanna go back!"

I panted as I looked at her, trying not to laugh, "You seriously want… to go back down… all those stairs… you just climbed?!" My heart was pounding in my chest and I knew laughing would hurt my lungs, but I couldn't help but just find it funny. My breath was showing in the freezing air as I started to laugh softly, and poor Weiss was groaning and complaining in the freezing area as we continued on, and my hands were starting to feel cold as my gloves couldn't protect my hands from the atmosphere anymore. My legs were hurting as we continued on, and I started to want to stop, but I felt in my heart that we needed to continue on, and we were almost there.

Eventually, the road stopped going higher and was turning into a straight road up on the path of the mountain, and eventually we turned right to reveal something that made my spirit cry out in joy that the painful hike was over.

I widened my eyes and said, panting after the long hike, "Holy… mother of… mercy… that's the end..." What we saw at the edge of the mountain was a stone structure that was kind of an ancient Temple, with a few carvings of a dragon skull on two opposite sides of the entrance. It looked impressive, as if it was a Temple waiting to welcome any visitors, despite the stone looking black instead of gray.

Rigmor said, "By the Gods… look at that!" She laughed and said in amazement as she panted, "That's… just… wow!"

I panted a bit and said, "Talk... about a... steep climb. Let's hope... the Greybeards... can help me... with this."

Yang said, breathing heavily, "They really need... to consider... relocating."

Weiss wheezed, "You're... telling... me!" We stood together in a circle as we panted a bit from the steep climb, and we were glad that the journey to the top of the mountain was over. I placed my hands on my knees as I felt my energy recovering, and I exhaled as I slowly stood back up straight, thinking of what the climbers that wanted to move up Mount Everest had to experience, though I had a feeling that it was worse. I looked back up to the entrance of High Hrothgar, seeing a little more stairs extending to the large metal doors that were between the doors, and it felt very peaceful up at the mountain, despite how freezing it was.

I closed my eyes and whispered, "Thank you for helping us continue on, Heavenly Father…" I reached inside my pocket and pulled out my phone to see that it was 4:00 pm, and we were hiking on the mountain for a long time.

We walked up the stairs as the girls were behind me, and Rigmor said, "Guardian, wait!"

I turned to Rigmor and asked, "What's up?"

She asked me, "What's the plan?"

I said, looking at the door, "Well, we go inside." I looked at her and asked, "Unless you want to sit out here and wait?"

Her eyes widened as I tried not to grin mischievously as she asked, "What?! Sit on the steps and wait?! You're kidding, right? My ass will freeze out here!" I covered my mouth to stop myself from laughing, but I knew she would give me a glare and I thought for a second for what I needed to say.

I said, clearing my throat, "Alright, listen. We go inside and you along with Team RWBY find a corner that doesn't interfere with the Greybeards… and keep out of trouble." She scoffed and blew a raspberry at me and I gave her a look and said, "I mean it, Rigmor. I want to find out what's going on."

She sighed and said, "Okay! Okay! Lighten up!" I sighed and shook my head as I turned to the large metal door and I pushed the doors open and we walked inside. As soon as everyone was inside, I shook myself to get the snow off of me, and everyone did the same. I removed my belts holding my sword and shield and placed them on the floor against the wall, and I pulled the zipper down on my coat to reveal my tunic that was nice, dry and warm.

I said, removing my coat and shaking it to get the snow off of it, "Holy crap… that's cold!"

Rigmor sighed and said, "It's a bit musty here…"

Blake said, "Better than being in the cold, that's what I can imagine."

I looked around as I put my weapons belt over my shoulder and finished strapping them together and Rigmor asked, "What do they do with themselves all day?"

I said, "We're about to find out, though I can imagine they are like monks… meditating all day is what I can come up with a best guess." We walked further into the area and I felt a huge feeling of peace enter into my heart, and I quickly stopped and placed my hand on my heart, and I recognized the peaceful energy as if I was in a sacred place. I looked up and asked quietly, "Father… art Thou here?"

Rigmor said as Blake looked at me as if she heard my whisper or prayer, "Whoa… look at this place." We walked further inside as we approached the large room, and I saw four old men dressed in long purple robes emerging from the shadows, and we walked to the middle of the room before all four men stood around us.

I whispered to Ruby, "I'm guessing these are the Greybeards." She nodded and I whispered, "Go ahead and stand with me for a second, before you take a seat." She looked at me with a nod and we all approached them together.

One of the Greybeards approached us and said, "So… a Dragonborn appears, at this moment in the turning of age."

I looked at him and said, "You call me this… 'Dragonborn'. What does it mean, exactly?"

The Greybeards said, "First, let us see if you truly are Dragonborn. Let us taste your Voice."

I asked, feeling concern for the old man, "Are you sure about that?"

The Greybeard said, "Do not fear, your power will not harm us." I nodded as Rigmor and Team RWBY stepped back, knowing I was going to Shout.

I yelled, "Fus!" (Force!) A blue shockwave emerged from my mouth and struck the Greybeard, causing him to stagger backwards and grunt in effort, falling on the floor. The shockwave also traveled over him and struck the nearby pots and knocked them over, and I cringed and said, "Sorry!"

But the Greybeard looked at me in awe and said, "Dragonborn… It is you. Welcome to High Hrothgar." He stood from the ground and approached me again, saying, "I am Master Arngeir, I speak for the Greybeards, the followers of the Way of the Voice, if you will." He asked, "Now, tell me Dragonborn, why have you come here?"

I bowed and said, "I am James Brightheart, Master Arngeir. I want to find out what it means to be Dragonborn."

Master Arngeir said, "We are here to guide you in that pursuit, just as the Greybeards have sought to guide those of the Dragon Blood that came before you."

I frowned and asked, "You mean that I am not the only Dragonborn?"

He said, shaking his head, "You are not the first. There have been many of the Dragon Blood since Akatosh first bestowed that gift upon the mortal kind. Whether you are the only Dragonborn of this age… that is not ours to know. You are the only that has been revealed thus far, and that is all I can say." He nodded to me and said, "We will do our best to teach you how to use your gift, in fulfillment of your destiny."

I looked down and asked, "My… destiny?" Suddenly my thoughts turned to what the voice was saying to me a couple days ago, as well as what happened within the last month before Skyrim, that the time has come for me to awaken, and since the Golden Wolf that appeared before me two nights ago after Skjor's death. I looked up and said, "A few days ago, I started having these dreams that the 'time for me to awaken has come'. Not long before that, about a month ago, I received a dream that my destiny was coming and it needed to be fulfilled. Do you think that these dreams, these… visions… are they the meaning that I need to train with you, to use these powers I have to stop the dragons?"

He said, "That is for you to discover. We can show you the Way, but not your destination."

I nodded and said, "I see…" I clenched my fists and spat, "Well… I'll be damned if I let these dragons take down the Nord's homeland and destroy everything your fathers have built for." I looked at Master Arngeir with a determined look and said, "I am ready to learn and begin my training, Master Arngeir."

He nodded and said, "You have revealed that you are Dragonborn, you have the inborn gift. But, do you have the discipline and temperament to follow the path laid out for you? That remains to be seen." He sighed and said to me, "You and your friends can rest here, you can change into different robes that will be suitable for you."

I nodded in thanks and we walked toward the left area to find a hallway leading to multiple beds, and the girls ran toward them and collapsed on the beds, and I walked toward a certain bed that had black robes lying on the bed. I looked at Rigmor as she looked at me with a tired look and I smiled softly and grabbed the folded clothes and gestured for her to rest here.

She said gratefully, "Thank you." She dropped her sword next to the bed and I looked to an empty space and summoned a bed through an easy spell I found in the chest by waving my right hand, causing it to appear between Rigmor and Ruby's beds. I unbuckled my weapon belt that held my Ordon Shield and Hylian Shield and placed them next to the bed I summoned and I climbed inside after taking off my hat. I felt my body fall asleep as I closed my eyes and I let the silence and soft snoring sounds take me away into a peaceful sleep.

The next day, I woke up early in the morning, around 6:00 am, and I dressed myself in the robes the Greybeards placed for me and I placed my tunic in my bag while everyone was asleep. I reached inside and pulled out a few loaves of bread, cheese and cooked meat and made a few sandwiches and I ate them slowly as I enjoyed my breakfast. When I was finished, I cleaned my place and placed the crumbs on the floor near a small hole, and I exhaled softly and stood from my bed and I placed my bag next to Rigmor's stuff and I walked to the main hall and saw the Greybeards walking to the main hall as well.

I knelt to the earth in front of a stone slab and I began praying silently to my Father in Heaven, "Heavenly Father… I thank unto Thee for this beautiful morning, and for the opportunity for me to rise and prepare for the day ahead of me. Dear Father, I ask unto Thee to please help me succeed with this training, and I also ask unto Thee to please watch over and protect my friends and my family while I am away from them. Father… I love Thee very much and I am so grateful for everything that Thou hast done for me and for my family. For this I humbly pray unto Thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen." I rose from the ground and I felt my heart burning with love and hope, and I smiled as I wiped my eyes, and I turned around and saw the Greybeards were already assembled, and Master Arngeir approached me and I bowed my head to him respectfully.

Master Arngeir said, "Dragonborn, we are ready for you." I nodded and walked toward the corner of the square in the middle of the room as the Greybeards that had formed a circle. Master Arngeir said, "Without training, you have already taken the first steps towards projecting your Voice into a Thu'um, a Shout. Now, let us see if you are willing and able to learn." I swallowed nervously, and I knelt to the ground and watched him as I waited for the leader of the Greybeards to speak.

Master Arngeir began teaching, "When you Shout, you speak in the language of the dragons. Thus, your Dragon Blood gives you an inborn ability to learn Words of Power. All Shouts are made up of three Words of Power. As you master each Word, your Shout will become progressively stronger." He looked at another Greybeard behind him and said, "Master Einarth will now teach you 'Ro', a second Word of Unrelenting Force."

I looked at him and asked, "'Ro'?"

Master Arngeir said, "Ro means 'Balance' in the dragon tongue, combine it with Fus - 'Force' - to focus your Thu'um more sharply."

The second Greybeard walked toward me and stopped only a few steps away from me, looked down on the ground and waved his hand toward the ground saying, "Ro." Suddenly, markings appeared on the floor, and they glowed with red fire inside of the word.

I looked at the carvings on the ground and whispered, "Incredible…" I looked at the markings and they quickly faded, but they quickly were imbued within my mind and I understood the markings. A voice suddenly spoke in my mind, "Ro..." (Balance...) I felt stronger than what I used to be, as I widened my eyes.

I said, "Whoa…"

Master Arngeir said in amazement, "You learn a new Word like a master… you truly do have the gift." He looked at me and said, "But learning a new Word of Power is the first step… you must unlock its meaning through constant practice in order to use it in a Shout." I looked at him and he said, "Well, at least that is how the rest of us learn Shouts. As a Dragonborn, you can absorb a slain dragon's life force and knowledge directly."

I thought for a moment and said, "Like that dragon I killed at the tower near Whiterun! That would explain why I learned to use the Shout so easily! It's not just learning the Word of Power… but also hearing the power of the Word itself. When I absorb the soul of the dragon, I then possess the pure knowledge of the Word from the dragon itself."

Arngeir nodded and said, "You learn quickly, young Dragonborn. As part of your initiation, Master Einarth will allow you to tap into his understanding of 'Ro.'" Suddenly, an orange mist came from Einarth and entered into my body, making me feel power forming in my mind, and I understood the second Word of Power. Arngeir said, "Now, let us see how quickly you can master your new Thu'um. Demonstrate your Thu'um at your targets as they appear."

One of the Greybeards came toward the middle of the room and shouted, "Fiik… Lo… Sah!" (Mirror… Deceive… Phantom!) Suddenly, a ghost that looked like a Greybeard appeared in the middle of the room and looked at me.

I shouted, focusing on my increased power of Unrelenting Force, "Fus… Ro!" (Force… Balance!) I felt the power emerge from my mouth as a stronger shockwave struck the target, and the ghost quickly disappeared as soon as it was hit.

Arngeir said, "Well done! Again!" I repeated the same steps as they summoned two more ghosts separately, and it felt incredible to feel the new power of my Shout. It felt more focused and powerful than last time, and I noticed Ruby and the others sat on the steps and watched me quietly as I performed my Shout.

Master Arngeir looked really impressed at my skill and he said, "Impressive... Your Thu'um is precise." I looked at him and he said, nodding to me, "You have shown us great promise, Dragonborn. We will use your next trial in the courtyard. Follow Master Borri."

I looked to my right and mentioned to Ruby and the others by my hand to follow me and we walked side by side to follow Borri into the courtyard. I opened the door and walked outside, feeling the cold wind blowing within my face, but I held it open for the girls and the Greybeards to follow through the doors. The storm seemed to stay on the mountain and lightning flashed causing soft thunder to rumble in the clouds. It was incredible, as if the Lord was helping with the weather to make my training more sustainable.

Master Arngier said as the howling wind died down, "We will now see how you will learn a completely new Shout. Master Borri will teach you Wuld, which means 'Whirlwind'."

Borri waved his hand on the ground and said, "Wuld…" More markings appeared on the ground and they immediately began glowing as soon they were formed.

I heard Arngeir say as I knelt to examine the Word of Power, "You must hear the Word within yourself before you can project it into a Thu'um." As soon they faded away, I knew the next Word and Master Borri gave his understanding of the Word to me by using the same thing Einarth did to me.

I heard the voice in my head, "Wuld…" (Whirlwind...) My mind suddenly opened as I knew the Word of Power and somehow… I felt faster for some odd reason.

Arngeir said as I looked at my hands, "Master Wulfgar will demonstrate the Whirlwind Sprint Shout. Then it will be your turn." Borri walked toward the closed gate and stood at the side of it, positioning himself to open it as Master Wulfgar readied himself to run. The girls and I backed away to not get in the way, and I watched the Greybeards position themselves for the Shout they would use. Arngeir nodded and said, gesturing with his hand, "Master Borri."

Borri looked at the gate and said, "Bex!" (Open!) Suddenly the gate opened quickly and Wulfgar readied himself to run.

I widened my eyes as I watched Wulfgar race through the open gate when he shouted, "Wuld… Nah… Kest!" (Whirlwind… Fury… Tempest!) His flight was incredibly fast, and he was through before the gate closed in three seconds.

I said to the girls that stood there in shock, "Whoa! Did… did you just see that?! He just shot through the gate like a bullet!"

Ruby responded enthusiastically, "That was so cool!"

Arngeir looked at me and said, "Now, it is your turn. Stand next to me, Master Borri will open the gate, and use your Whirlwind Sprint to pass through before it closes." I walked up to the leader of the Greybeards and positioned myself to be a few feet away from the gate, kneeling down in a racing position.

I muttered, my heart pounding with excitement, "Here we go!" Master Arngeir nodded to Master Borri again, and he repeated the same Shout to open the gate. The gate quickly opened, and I ran toward the gate, shouting, "Wuld!" (Whirlwind!) Everything went fast in a blur as I flew past the gate with incredible speed, and I stopped my feet once I was past the gate, stopping in front of Master Wulfgar.

I panted as I looked at my hands and back at Team RWBY and said, chuckling a bit as I grinned, "Whoa! That was awesome! I like this one!" They stared at me in awe as I walked towards the leader of the Greybeards, and he was greatly surprised as I was.

Arngeir said in amazement as I approached him, "Your quick way of mastering a new Thu'um is… Astonishing. I have heard and read stories of the Dragonborn's abilities, but to see it for myself…"

I said, shrugging, "I honestly don't know how I do it… It just happens."

The Greybeard said, "You were given this gift by the Gods for a reason. It is up to you to figure out how best to use it." He nodded to me in approval and said, "You are now ready for your last trial. Retrieve the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, our founder, from his tomb in the ancient fane of Ustengrav. Remain true to the Way of the Voice, and you will return."

I said, "Would it be alright if I have some questions, first?" He nodded and I asked, "Why are the dragons returning? Does it have something to do with me?"

He nodded, "No doubt. The appearance of the Dragonborn at this time is not an accident, and your destiny is surely bound up with the return of the dragons. You should focus on honing your Voice, and soon your path will be made clear."

I nodded to him and said, "Thank you." I looked at him and said, "And… forgive me, Master Arngeir, but I also get a feeling that there is much more you can tell me."

He said, "Indeed, we know much more than you do not, but that does not mean you are ready to understand it. Growing your gift too quickly would be dangerous." I nodded in understanding as I kept my frustration and disappointment quiet, and I looked at the girls as they looked at me wide-eyed, still shocked that I mastered another Word of Power so easily. Master Arngeir warned, "Do not let your easy mastery of the Voice tempt you into the arrogance of power that has been the downfall of many Dragonborn before you."

I nodded as I understood his warning, as I have heard it almost a hundred times when I was on Earth and said, "Yes sir."

He continued, "But even from here, we can feel the Thu'um resonating from the Nordic Tombs scattered across Skyrim. Finding these lost Words would be a sufficient test to temper your abilities with experience." He pulled out a map and handed it to me, and I gently took it out of his hands and I opened it to see the land of Skyrim, except I saw a lot of Nordic tombs glowing with a light blue color. I nodded in understanding and knew that if I needed to learn more Words of Power, this map could potentially help us, and luckily there was one that was nearby in Ivarstead.

I rolled the map and bowed to the old man and said, "Thank you, Master. I will find the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller and return with it. You have my word."

Master Arngeir nodded to me and said, "Sky above, Voice within." I nodded and walked back into the Temple and I went to the bed and I changed from my black robes to my Hero's Tunic, and I placed my weapons on my body again and I walked toward Rigmor when she sat back on the bench.

I asked Rigmor, "Hey, are you ready to head out?"

She nodded and said with a smile, "Yanno… that was quite something back there…" She asked, "Dragonborn, huh?"

I nodded and said, "Yeah… so it seems."

She nodded and said, "Right." She stood up and asked, "So where now, Dragonborn?"

I looked around and said, "We… we need to go find the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller. It's in a place called Ustengrav."

Rigmor said, "James… no offense, but I have got other things I need to do."

I folded my arms and said, "I helped you back a couple of your trips, and all I am asking is that you and the girls can follow me to Ustengrav. Just like we agreed, right?"

She stood up and said, "That sounds so wrong yanno…" She scoffed, "Windcaller…"

I gave her a 'not impressed' look and said, "Rigmor, don't even try it, please. I need this horn if I have to do this. I need to understand what is going on."

She said, "Okay sure. Let's go." She stood from the bench and we walked toward the door and exited High Hrothgar, feeling the wind blow against us as we traveled down the mountain. It was a little faster and much easier as we hiked down the high place, and since there were no wild animals to bother us, we got down to Ivarstead in an easy full hour and a half, but we were exhausted after our hike. So, we got off the path that led to the bridge and I laid down on my back and on the ground, feeling my scabbard and my shield on my back, but it felt so good to relax and rest for a moment.

I smiled as I laid on the ground, relaxing from our returning hike from High Hrothgar, and Rigmor laid next to me and relaxed, sighing in relief. The other girls laid next to me on the opposite side and we relaxed on the hill, and I said, "Oh yeah… that feels much better…"

Yang said with a smile, "You said it."

Rigmor said, "We can get used to this."

Weiss said, "Not like every day you get to relax after a long hike."

I said, "You know… before we get to Ustengrav, how about we return back to Breezehome and you guys can make one of the best meals you have tasted…" I looked at Ruby and the others and said, "That is… if you have the recipe and know the ingredients."

Ruby said, "I know a good recipe for Mac and Cheese!"

I looked at her as I raised my eyebrows and said, "No fooling! I love Macaroni and Cheese!" I smiled as I looked at the sky and said, "My dad calls it 'Yellow Death'." The girls started laughing at my comment and I chuckled along with them, knowing they would have found it funny either way.

Ruby asked as she chuckled, "Who would want to call Mac and Cheese 'yellow death'?"

I said, "That's what he does. He hasn't liked it ever since he went on his mission! I don't understand why, but he no longer likes it." I looked back at the sky and watched the clouds passing over in the sky, and suddenly I felt a disturbing energy that made me gasp and sit up, and Rigmor looked at me as I sensed the energy was coming… toward me.

Rigmor asked, "Guardian? What is it?"

I said, quickly raising my hand to silence her, "Shh!" I looked around as I scanned the area, and I felt there were multiple people coming toward Ivarstead.

Yang sat up and asked, "What is it?"

I placed my hand on their shoulders and I closed my eyes and concentrated my energy into them, giving them a small connection to the Spirit, and the Holy Ghost commanded us, "Flee, My Children. There are people hunting for thee and desire to slay thee." I opened my eyes and the girls were horrified and surprised they all heard the voice of the Holy Ghost, I removed my hands from their shoulders.

Weiss stammered as I pulled my hand away, "Wh-wh-what just happened?!"

I said, standing on the ground, "We need to go. We need to go, now!"

Yang asked, "What was that?!"

I shook my head as I said, "Not what, Yang. Who. He is called the Holy Spirit of God, although we don't know His true name, He is one of the three members of the Godhead. His task was given by my Father in Heaven, to help teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but also to warn us about situations like this as long as we do what is right."

Weiss asked, "Does this… Spirit ever lie?"

I looked at her and said, "If He ever lied to me, He would never be a member of the Godhead, which is the most sacred responsibility that has ever been given to Him! That's saying if God the Father ever lied to me, He would no longer be who He truly is! I love Him, as I love my Brother, long before I ever existed!"

Ruby asked, "I didn't know you had another brother?"

I pointed to her and said, "Alright, no more questions, all of you. Right now we need to run, before whoever is hunting me down tries to find and kill me! We need to hide!"

Rigmor asked, "But where are we going to go?" I stopped for a second and looked around, feeling sweat dripping from my forehead as my mind began to panic, and I noticed something glowing near a tomb, and I saw a blue fairy moving side to side.

I pointed to the Barrow and said, "In there!"

Blake said as Weiss was about to protest, "Sounds good, but we need to move in carefully!"

I said, "Whatever it is, do it fast, because we don't have a lot of time!"

Blake grabbed my shoulder and she exhaled as she opened her hand and said to her teammates, "Keep Rigmor safe and meet us inside." Weiss closed her mouth and nodded at once, and Blake grabbed my shoulder as she used a spell she focused on and I looked down at myself and saw I was completely invisible, though I only saw an outline of my hands. She then covered my mouth before I could make a sound, and we both moved across the area as Blake still had her hand on my shoulder, and we went inside the entrance of the Nordic tomb as the Faunus continued holding my shoulder. Once we were inside, she released my shoulder and I felt the effects of the spell keeping me invisible fading away, and I saw my body easily again. I looked around as I saw a wooden staircase that led down deeper into the tomb, and I started walking down deeper to see a doorway that revealed multiple hallways within the area.

There were multiple corpses standing upright in an embalmed position, some were almost buried behind large rocks that covered them to the waist. Other places were covered with large pots that were completely covered in cobwebs, making me grimace at the disgusting pots that had a few spiders crawling out of them.

A few moments later, Blake asked as she covered her mouth with her hand, "Ugh… what is that stench?"

I looked back at her as I heard the door at the entrance of the tomb opening and closing, "Putrefaction." I looked around and added, "Be careful of what you touch."

She asked as I saw Rigmor and the rest of the girls enter the tomb, "What does that mean?"

I said as I walked back to her, "Decaying or rotting flesh." She cringed at my comment and the rest of the girls approached me as they walked down the pathway and I asked them, "Is there anything up there that gave you guys trouble?"

Rigmor said, shaking her head, "Not really. I noticed a group of people were coming toward the city, but I could… feel a dark presence from them. I didn't get a good look at them at first, but we walked inside the tomb without giving it a second thought." Suddenly we heard something hit the ground with a heavy thud, causing an echo through the halls, and all of us stopped talking and looked to the direction where the sound came from, and I reached to my back and clenched the hilt of my sword.

Yang asked as she cocked her vambraces, "What was that?"

I said, "Stay close." They nodded and I slowly drew my sword and my shield from my back, and we walked further into the tomb until we saw a corridor that was blocked off, and I turned around to find a passage that had four levers but only ended with a stone table at the end. Before I could say a word, a gate closed behind us, causing a heavy thud and all of us turned around to see something standing past the gate, glowing in a blue ethereal aura, like a ghost.

I raised my eyebrows and asked, "What the?!"

Ruby widened her eyes and stammered as she began shaking in fear, "A-a-a g-ghost?!"

The ghost wailed to us, "Leave this place! Leave… leave! Leave!" I raised my eyebrow at him as he seemed a little odd, and I couldn't feel any deceased presence of a person. It suddenly made me realize that this guy was a fraud, only pretending to be a ghost.

I asked, not impressed by his acting, "Seriously? A guy pretending to be a ghost inside a Nordic tomb?" I scoffed and said as he looked at me, "That's hardly worth the effort there, buddy! You know what, you would make a lot of money being an entertainer rather than living the rest of your life in this worthless tomb! There's nothing here that is worth lving!"

The 'spirit' just stared at me and turned around and walked away, and I heard some footsteps coming from the guy as he walked into a deeper section of the tomb.

Blake looked at me and asked, "How can you tell?"

I looked at her and asked, "What?"

She asked again, "How can you tell he is not a spirit? It looked like a ghost to me."

I sighed and said, "Right… you're not familiar with some spirituality…" I huffed a breath and explained, "Spirits usually have an essence around them, and judging by Skyrim, you can not only see it, but also feel it. I felt that presence when I was inside the Abandoned Fortress, and for that pathetic excuse of an actor…" I pointed to the path the so-called 'ghost' took and said, "He looks like he has it, but I am detecting something else entirely."

Yang looked amazed at what I said and asked me as I flipped one switch up to close the second gate, "Wow… what do you call that?"

I said as I pulled down the second lever to open both passageways, "Usually it's like a detection of something good or bad, so we call it the Gift of Discernment, from my Father in Heaven." I looked at the open path ahead and gestured with my hand as I said, "Come on, we should try to find this guy before he gets any ideas." They nodded in agreement and we walked further into the hallway, keeping watch for any traps or other unexpected things that may happen along the way. There were a lot of rotting corpses standing on the walls, but they didn't have any armor and weapons on them, and we got to a location that had two doors leading to different directions.

One door was completely made out of metal, which made me suspect that it leads to a little hideout where the 'ghost' was located, while the second door were two large doors leading to a large hallway that leads further into the tomb. I walked toward the metal doors and slowly opened them to avoid making any creaking sounds, and they managed to open without any problems. I looked back to the girls behind me and placed my fingers against my lips, motioning for them to try to stay quiet and they nodded at once as we quickly but quietly moved into the room, passing any other corpses on the walls. Eventually, we got to the room and I saw the same 'ghost' lying down on a bed roll, close to a campfire that was functioning as a furnace to keep the place warm, and the person was still glowing with the same ethereal aura. He looked like he was trying to sleep, and I quietly tiptoed into the room as I clenched my right fist and flicked my wrist to cause the hidden blade to emerge from my little sheath.

I then raised my weapon as I got closer to the ghost, squatting down as the ghost was breathing. Within the next few seconds I opened my hand and slammed the small knife into the ghost's throat, causing him to widen his eyes and gasp for air, but I twisted my wrist and swung right to open the wound. The 'spirit' tried gasping for air as he clawed for air, and I saw a pool of blood forming on the ground as the spirit then slowly went limp, staring at the ceiling with widened eyes. Then I raised my eyebrows as his ethereal aura faded away, revealing the body of a Dunmer, or Dark Elf, wearing fur clothing as his final breath left his body, and I stood on the ground after cleaning my small knife and flicking my wrist to retract the blade.

I said, pointing to the corpse of the Dunmer, "Like I said, not a ghost."

Weis slooked at the corpse and back at me with a surprised look and said, "You are more knowledgeable with stuff like this than me!" Blake knelt down and started looking over his body to see if she could find anything and she pulled out a journal, and read it for a minute before she looked at me and closed the journal.

She said, "Let's continue on in the place." I nodded in agreement and we walked further into the tomb, exiting the room where the 'ghost' was sleeping, and we noticed on the left side were two large wooden doors that led further into the tomb, but I saw there was a wire on the side of the door. Rigmor was about to open it but I quickly raised my arm to stop her, and I pointed with my hand of the trigger that was down at the bottom right corner of the door.

Rigmor looked at me and said, "Good eye." I nodded to her in silence and I walked toward the small trigger and I drew the Kokiri Sword as I knelt down to be at the rope and I carefully examined the area before I grabbed the rope with my left hand. I inhaled nervously as I placed the knife close to the bottom of the trap itself, and I carefully cut the rope, hoping it wouldn't trigger the trap, and thankfully, nothing happened. I sighed in relief as I sheathed my dagger back on my belt and stood up as I stood in front of the door and pushed it open to reveal a long hallway, and the fog inside the hallway looked like it was blocking something that was on the far end. We walked inside the hallway, seeing different carvings of dragons and people on the walls, and on the end was a large stone door that had the different symbols, just like the one in Bleak Falls Barrow.

I scoffed and said, knowing we were stuck, "Well, what do you know? A dead end."

Ruby said, "But the place has the dragon claw door."

I looked at her and said, "Only if we have a claw that matches the symbols on the door." I pointed to the claw carving in the middle of the stone and said, "Problem is, we don't have anything that can be able to open this thing, and it's impossible to do so anyway since we don't have the combination."

Rigmor looked at me and asked, "So… we're trapped here with those creeps outside looking for you?"

I sighed as I nodded and said, rubbing my forehead, "Unfortunately… yes."

Blake said, "Not necessarily." We looked at her and she said, "Ruby, Yang, I need you girls to come with me for a minute. Weiss, can you stay here and watch over James and Rigmor?"

The heiress smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure I can babysit them."

I opened my mouth and said, offended by her comment, "Hey!" Weiss chuckled and the three girls quickly turned around and left me alone with Rigmor and Weiss, and I sighed as I walked toward the door and sat down on the floor. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the stone, relaxing and regaining my energy from the little journey we had to get down from the mountain and trying to be cautious within the tomb. Weiss then asked a couple questions of what my home was like, if there were any Grimm or political stuff that was happening. I told her we didn't have any Grimm, which was a complete shock to her, and I really wasn't too much of a politics type of guy, but told her about the Coronavirus and some crazy stuff that has been happening around the world.

We talked about racial issues, as Remnant has a problem with Humans against a majority of the Faunus, and Whites against Blacks on Earth, which completely disgusted me that people are just so content on hating each other for no absolute reason. As Rigmor listened to our conversation, Weiss also admitted her distrust to Blake because the White Fang were attacking her family for a long time, but after a little while, she saw Blake for who she really is, not what she was. It takes more than just a glance of a person to judge whether or not they are a good being or not, and actions speak louder than mere looks or words. I gave some counsel to the heiress to abandon that prideful path and just open her mind to see what the world is, though there are some people that will be complete assholes.

Weiss listened to my words and I told her what happened to my ancestors when they were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and every member of the Church was persecuted relentlessly almost every day during the 1830s. She looked horrified as I told her about some terrible incidents that caused some members to be killed at Haun's Mill and children leaving footprints of blood as the Saints were forced from their homes by mobs that completely hated the Church for absolutely no reason. She looked like she was about to cry after I finished, and she walked toward me and sat down next to me, and I gently gave her a hug to comfort her as a few tears fell from her face. Rigmor didn't say anything but I could tell she understood that pain all too well, and we sat in silence as we waited for Ruby and the others to get back. There were other tragedies that involved the Church, but some of them were just too painful to explain, and I closed my eyes and felt my body being warmer as I meditated.

Within the next few minutes, we all heard a metal door opening and closing from the entrance of the tomb, making all of us open our eyes and see who was coming down. I released my hand on Weiss and slowly reached to the hilt of my sword to prepare for what was coming toward us, but I stopped as I saw Ruby running back toward us with a big smile on her face. Yang and Blake came into the room after Ruby and I saw Yang was holding a metal claw in her hand, which had me surprised.

I stood up from the ground and wiped any dirt or dust from my bottom and legs and said, "That was pretty fast!"

Yang said, "Yeah, it looked like there were some strange people dressed in robes and skull masks were in the city. Thankfully they didn't mind us, but I guess we're going to be stuck here for a while." She nodded to me and said, "Whatever that Spirit you mentioned to us has told you, it told you the right thing to do."

I corrected, "'He', Miss Xiao-Long. Not 'it'. The Holy Ghost is a He." She nodded in understanding and she gave me a dragon-like claw that had sapphire claw nails at the end, and I saw at the palm of the Sapphire Dragon Claw three different symbols: Moth, Owl and Wolf. I walked toward the giant door and moved the stone to show the correct symbols, just like in Bleak Falls Barrow, and Iinserted the claw and turned it left and right to undo the lock. As I expected, some mechanisms started whirring to unlock the giant stone door, and the symbols on the stone door showed all three owls, and we heard a loud thud as the door started to move.

I bent my knees as the stone door slowly began moving down, and the stone creaked as it moved down to reveal a long passageway that moved further into the tomb, and I drew my sword and shield before we all ran inside the hallway to see some areas that was flooded with water, but it only touched our ankles within our boots. Vines were growing all over the inside of the walls, and even though the area was full of growing life, the stench of decaying flesh was always lurking around the corner, ruining the fresh smell of plants.

The girls coughed and gagged at the smell and I said, lifting my shirt over my nose, "Oh yeah, that smells bad..." I coughed from the smell as well and we continued on within the chamber, knowing that we may encounter more Draugr or skeletons within the tomb itself. We continued within the hallways, seeing multiple carvings that I couldn't completely understand, since all they looked like was some figures of people together.

I just hope that this tomb we are exploring can give us time to wait for whoever is hunting me to assume I am not here and leave.