Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Part 1, the Outsider

by Mathew Allbright

James Brightheart, a 23 year old autistic young adult lives on Earth before he is taken to a land he remembers playing in a game a few years back. Forced to learn how to kill in order to protect himself, James finds a young girl relentlessly hunted by the Thalmor and becomes a Guardian to protect her with his life. Rated T for safety, but rating may change.

14. Chapter 12: A Test for Courage

Chapter 12: A Test for Courage

We waited for everyone to get back to the south gate after a half hour passed, and I saw Yang was running toward me as she held a yellow shard in her hand, along with a note that said, "14th Shard of 24. Found in Lost Prospect Mine." Ruby and Weiss came back a few minutes later with a black Fragment and a note that said, "9th Fragment of 24. Found in Crystaldrift Cave." We tried waiting a little longer for Blake to show up, but I had a feeling in my heart that we needed to get moving now, and Blake was going to be late from helping the Khajiit. Ruby wanted to protest, but I told her that the Holy Ghost is telling us to move with good reason, and there is no other way for us to stay safe, since the longer we stayed near Riften, the higher the risk we are putting ourselves in danger.

She hated the idea, but she agreed that we needed to move, and I walked toward the same guard near the South Gate and asked him if he can tell Blake a message that we went to a tomb that is southeast of Riften. He was a little hesitant, but I paid him with 10 gold coins to help pay for my request, and I knew I was low on money after paying for supplies and food on the journey to High Hrothgar. We set off to the location at once, not wanting to have more bounty hunters or who knows what else to get to us since they were tracking us down. We set off into the woods, staying off the roads for a moment and taking bushes as cover from anyone that could be just 'casually walking' across the road, and we couldn't trust anyone else. Eventually, we found ourselves back on the main road again, and I had a feeling that the road would lead us to the area past over the small bridge to a dirt road that lead further into the woods.

As I pulled out my map and followed the trail, tracing my finger on a line that was getting to a Nordic Ruin called Forelhost, the journey was a little harder than I anticipated after all the hiding and not trusting a lot of people. Suddenly, some wildlife found us hiking through the woods involving a pack of 7 wolves and a large brown grizzly bear, each of them growling and snarling at us. Before we could draw our weapons to defend ourselves, I felt my power rising in my mouth and I suddenly Shouted, "Kaan!" (Kyne!) A yellow shockwave emerged from my body and entered the animals that surrounded us, and they stopped attacking as soon as they stood a few feet in front of us.

I looked at each of them and commanded in a stern tone, "Sit!" They each did what they were told, and bowed their heads to me as if I was their master. I pointed, "Go and find actual prey to hunt, rather than attacking humans instead!" The animals did what I commanded, each bounding off to different directions as the girls were staring at me for what I just did.

Rigmor said as she scratched her head with her finger, "You were right, James. That is an odd Shout."

I asked, shrugging, "Well, it saved our lives, yes?"

Weiss said, nodding in agreement, "True."

Yang looked around and said, "I think we should hurry and get out of here. I don't know how long that is going to last before they turn around and attack again." I nodded at once and we followed the road for a couple of minutes until we noticed there was a dirt road splitting from the main road that lead further southeast. We decided to follow the dirt road and started ascending up a large hill that was starting to pile with snow, making the atmosphere grow colder as we got closer to the top. I looked up and saw a large structure that looked like it was a giant stone building, and I knew that we arrived at the large tomb.

I said as we walked inside a tower that led to the upper level of the main entrance, "Holy moly, this place is as big as Bleak Falls Barrow!"

Yang said, nodding in agreement, "Oh yeah, I'm never going to get used to sights like this!"

I said, "Not as amazing as High Hrothgar, but it's still pretty cool!" I turned around to see the entrance of the tomb as large stone walls that was over 30 feet tall, and I could hear some faint whispering that was on the top of the wall, making me think there may be a Word Wall nearby. I saw stone structures that looked like some dragon head carvings to signify that this place was some kind of base or fort in its olden days, and I saw a yellow fairy hovering over two metal doors that was the main entrance to the tomb itself. I pointed to the door as we walked toward the entrance, "That looks like our way in."

Rigmor placed her arm on my shoulder to gain my attention and whispered, "James… look." I looked up and saw in the middle of the courtyard was a tent and a campfire that was lit in the middle of the area, and I saw a person wearing armor that was dressed with fur all over his body. I noticed something else was kind of off, as his skin was a yellow color, and I recognized he was one of the Altmer elves, most of which are possibly spies for the Aldmeri Dominion.

The Altmer looked up, dressed in some kind of fur armor with blue linings, and he said, standing up from his seat, "You there! As an officer of the Imperial Legion, I require your assistance to complete my mission."

I frowned and asked, confused by what he meant, "What? What mission?"

He said, "The General has sent me to obtain a powerful weapon for the war effort. This was the last great bastion of the Dragon Cult, and their leader's mask was reported to be quite powerful."

I folded my arms and asked with an eyebrow raised in suspicion, "As a member of the Imperial Legion?"

He raised eyebrows in surprise and said, "Oh... well... of course they'd disavow all knowledge... spies are everywhere." I didn't say anything but hesitated, and he asked, "Are you going to help me with my mission? I need someone very capable."

The Holy Ghost said to me, "Accept the mission, My Child. There is something inside the tomb that will be of great help to thee and thy group."

I sighed and said, "Very well… if it will help the cause."

He nodded and said, "Very good." We walked to him as he explained, "The research I've done seems to indicate that Skorm Snow-Strider left part of his journal here after laying siege. I believe it should indicate how to enter the blocked off sections of the stronghold." We followed him as he led us to two large stone doors that looked like they posed as the main entrance to the large tomb, and stood at the entrance and he said as we looked at him, "I should warn you, Forelhost is quite haunted, but I'm sure you can handle it. Return to me here once you've obtained the staff."

Weiss asked, "Is there something you can tell us about Forelhost?"

The Altmer said, "It seems that after the strength of the Cult was broken in the Dragon War a last contingent came here to create a stronghold and regroup. King Harald's forces crushed stragglers here during the First Era and it has been haunted ever since, but the specifics of the siege are unclear."

Rigmor raised her eyebrow at him and asked, full of suspicion, "Is there a reason why you are not going in there?"

He asked, "Me?" He shook his head and said, "No, I'm far too important to the war effort to risk life and limb in there… Besides, that's what I'm paying you for." I sighed and shook my head as I reached to the handle of the metal door, and I pushed it open to reveal the inside of the tomb, seeing a large lit brazier in the middle of the room, and a couple large roots in the corners and walls of stone. I held the door open for the girls to pass through, and I gave him a suspicious look as they passed me, and I walked inside and closed the door behind me.

I scoffed and said, knowing he wouldn't hear us inside the tomb, "Something's wrong with this guy…"

Yang asked as I walked after them in the middle of the hallway, "Does anyone get the feeling that the guy is hiding something?"

I nodded as I looked at her and said, "You're not wrong. I can feel it too." I sighed and said, "I really hope Blake is doing okay…"

We started exploring the tomb, finding hints about the Dragon War and something that was called the Dragon Cult, since it talked about different priests that worshipped different Dragons in their time before some part of their group split up and traveled to the island of Solstheim, near the country of Morrowind. Since then, they were sealed away because of their fearsome power after the Dragon Cult failed, and it made us wonder if it was when Alduin was sealed away. In the tomb, there were multiple Draugr in the area as we fought against more Undead creatures that appeared out of nowhere and tried to kill us, multiple times. After every battle, I would make sure there are some shortcuts available for Blake to come through, since it felt like it would be a good idea for the Faunus to come to us a little faster than taking all the different routes.

I also would check my phone and text Blake of our progress while the girls rested to recover their energy, and when I heard that M'rissi killed a thief that was apparently responsible for killing a Khajiit that knew about her ancestry, I just shook my head in disappointment. She then told me through the text messages that M'rissi and Lydia are getting along fairly well, but I was planning on disciplining the Khajiit to kill only in self defense. Once the group was ready to go, I put my phone away and prepared to move out, but the next thing that happened was a ghost appeared in front of us and tried to cast a fireball at us, and it was heading straight toward Ruby as she saw the ethereal glow.

I shouted as a fireball was flying toward us, "Look out!" I grabbed Ruby by the shirt and pulled her to the side, feeling the heat of the fireball pass behind my back, and I kind of liked the feeling of the heat, only when it is not trying to kill you. I released Ruby and opened my hand and concentrated my magic to summon a freeze by mist in the palm of my hand, and I pulled my hand back, feeling the spell charge until I felt frost forming in my hand. I quickly ran out of the hiding spot I was in and thrusted my hand forward, releasing a powerful ice spike as it formed out of thin air and flew right toward a ghost that attacked us. The ice spike flew in the air and struck the spirit directly in the head, and it flailed its arms for a second before it fell back and slammed against the ground, and then the ghost-like body dissipated into a blue ash pile.

I looked at my hands in shock as my hand was not only shimmering with a blue mist, but I felt a sacred presence inside of the mist as if there was light reflecting inside of my magic I summoned. It was surprising that I managed to kill the spirit within one blow, but it soon made me think of my connection to the Melchizedek Priesthood I held, so I think somehow I placed a sacred power inside my Destruction magic to make it lethal to the Undead. I looked back and saw Ruby trembling at the sight of the blue ash pile, and I couldn't blame her for witnessing a real spirit that tried to kill us. That was clearly the fourth time a ghost appeared and tried to kill us, but I think Ruby just saw her first ghost.

Ruby shook with fear and asked, "Was that a g-ghost?!"

I said, "Well, he did say that this tomb is haunted…" I scratched my head and said to myself, "How can we see them so easily and clearly? Is the Veil so thin here?"

Weiss asked in confusion, "Huh?"

I looked at her and said, "Oh! Sorry, I was… thinking out loud." I turned to the girls and said, "Try to stay together. If there are more of these things in this place, then I have a feeling we will face more Undead creatures soon."

Rigmor added, "Don't forget the traps."

I nodded and said, trying not to groan, "Especially the traps…" I drew the Ordon Sword and the Hylian Shield from my back and inhaled deeply, knowing if there was something inside the tomb, it was going to be extremely dangerous. The rooms were filled with broken doors and dirt piles everywhere on the floor, and when there were multiple flickers in the air, I would hold my shield arm out in a straight line for everyone to stop and get ready for a ghost to appear in front of us. Even taking care of the ghost was making Ruby scared, and I decided to have her stay close to me as we continued on in the Nordic Tomb. There were some Draugr in the area further in the tomb, not that it made the situation better, but we managed to continue on, and I tried thinking of some jokes to lighten the mood.

I asked, "Hey guys, do you know why the student ate his homework?"

Weiss widened her eyes and asked, "He did what?!"

I said, "His teacher told him it was a piece of cake." She stared at me for a second as Ruby immediately covered her mouth to stop herself from snickering, but it let out a little giggle instead, and Weiss rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Yang said, grinning at the joke, "Ooh… I bet he had a bit of a stomach ache."

Weiss turned to her and asked, placing her hands in her hips in annoyance, "Yang, really? You have to come up with puns every time?"

The blonde gave an innocent shrug and said, "What? It's not like he knows any good jokes!"

I scoffed as I tried to hide my laughter, and I said, "Some of these jokes I know come from my dad, and he works as an ER Nurse at the hospital. Trust me, a lot of them sound bad but some of them make me smile and start chuckling at them!" Yang smiled further and I asked, "So what did the Altmer elves learn in kindergarten?"

Rigmor looked at me and asked, "What?"

I said, slowly grinning at the joke, "The Elf-abet."

Weiss said, shaking her head as she didn't look impressed, "Wow…" Ruby then burst out laughing and Rigmor's mouth twitched as she started chuckling, her face showing a smile as we continued on in the tomb, and we saw there was a gorge with multiple iron ingots, some silver ore and two gold ingots and ore. We continued looking around and I found some records of a certain priest that worshipped dragons during the Dragon War remained here and did some… unspeakable actions to his civilians, as it also involved murdering little children by poison. The rest of the followers followed the same fate as they followed the Priest to their deaths, only to horrify the invading king that was hunting the priest and to call off the invasion that was held here in Forelhost.

As we continued on, more spirits appeared and I tried using the same spells to kill the ghosts, though some of them were smarter than the others as they avoided the incoming fireballs or ice spikes. One managed to get close and I tried parrying his sword with my weapon, hearing the steel clash against the spirit's weapon. It was a little surprising, but I pushed the ghost away from me and I had a feeling in my heart telling me I have power over the spirits of the dead. I ran forward toward the spirit as it barely recovered it's footing and I swung at its chestplate, hearing the metal striking against the ghost as it groaned in pain.

The spirit sneered, "Only a fool tries to kill the dead!"

I immediately thrusted my left arm and roared, feeling the power of the Priesthood flowing through my arm as I grabbed the ghost's face, "SUFFER ME NOW!" My voice echoed across the hallway and the spirit immediately knelt on the ground, staring at me with a horrified look. I spat, "Why are you and your friends attacking us?!"

The spirit widened his eyes fearfully and said to me, "This… this is impossible! No such human can possess such power!"

I snarled, "WHO ORDERED YOU TO ATTACK US?!" My hand vibrated with power and the spirit whimpered in pain for a second until the pain lessened for him.

He pleaded to me, "Please… a priest that resides within these halls has commanded us to protect this tomb! He promised us resurrection as we served him in life!"

I narrowed my eyebrows and growled at him, "You have been following an evil man in life, and he has committed heinous crimes against the people of Tamriel, including killing innocent children! How can you follow a savage like that?!"

He said, "He promised us that we would be reborn! Through his power, we will be able to rise again!"

I narrowed my eyebrows and spat, "Unfortunately for you, you have been duped!" I commanded as he widened his eyes fearfully, "By the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood that I hold, and in the name of my Master, Jesus Christ, I banish thee back to the foul pit of whence thou came!" The spirit glowed for a moment until his entire body faded away, completely disappearing from sight and I no longer felt his energy. I sighed as I knelt on the ground, feeling a little weak from using my own energy, but it was quickly replenished within the next minute. Ruby and the others looked at me with a horrified expression on their faces, and I stood back on the ground, flexing my fingers as I looked at my hand.

I said, "It's honestly been a few years ever since I cast out an evil spirit." I looked at them and said, shaking my head, "Trust me, it's not a pleasant experience."

Ruby stammered, "Y-y-you've done it before?"

I looked around and promised, "I'll tell you some other time, but not here. I don't want to have more evil spirits to have the idea to come back and attack us again."

Rigmor shuddered and said in agreement, "You and me both." The rest of the girls looked very shaken, but as soon I opened the door and walked through to get to the next location, they resumed their focus and joined Rigmor and I to continue exploring the tomb. There were some long hallways filled with corpses in the walls and the floor, kind of similar to Bleak Falls Barrow, but it really creeped me out when I saw a pile of wrapped up bodies on opposite sides of the wall, with their decayed heads sticking out. I pushed the door open as I held my sword and shield, and carefully walked through to see if there were any more Undead to watch out for.

Suddenly we heard footsteps running toward us as I readied myself for something that was coming, but as soon I looked back I saw a woman wearing black clothing and long black hair with amber eyes running toward us. I raised my eyebrows in surprise but felt glad and grateful that Blake had finally arrived.

I looked back at Blake and asked with a smile on my face, "Oh! Well, nice of you to join the party! I thought you had been carried off! What kept ya?"

She said, "We had a little run-in with some problems… M'rissi is fine."

I said, "You can tell us later." I looked back at the tunnel and said, "Right now we need to clear out this dungeon, and hopefully it will help us lose the trail of our enemies hunting us down."

Blake nodded and said, "Right." She pointed with her thumb and said, "That Altmer soldier told me about the staff or mask that he was wanting, and I figured that you would want to be here for that."

I shook my head and said, "No. Staves are not necessarily my thing, but I have a feeling that whatever is inside of here will be of great help to us on the road ahead." She nodded in understanding since staves are very powerful magical weapons, but they really aren't my kind of thing, even when I was playing as a Sorcerer in Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin. We continued on in the hallway of the dead, keeping an eye out but making sure we don't wake any Draugr like last time, though we couldn't avoid any other traps that caused a loud echo in the room.

Weiss encouraged me to use my Destruction Magic a little more as we continued on in the hallway, and streams of fire, frost and ice spikes flew everywhere from me, since there was a little bit of a pyromancer inside of me. Weiss used ice spikes to make the wounds a little more lethal, but while we were fighting some more powerful Draugr, their favorite spells were streams of frost that was like a blizzard, and they managed to hit me mostly and I almost got frostbite on my arms once, making me use my Restoration magic to make the pain fade away. Even when it struck Weiss, her Aura appeared on her body, easily protecting her from the freezing temperatures, and I felt a little jealous of her and the team. Even Yang noticed my facial reaction as I was trying my best not to call Weiss a cheater, and I sighed in irritation as I shook my head as we moved on after the Draugr were defeated.

Eventually, we arrived at a large room that had multiple stone tables and chairs that showed a long straight line over 20 feet long, and over to the far right side of the room was a platform that revealed the second level of the floor, but it only showed the edge of the area. There were also over 60 - 70 burial urns on the corner of the room next to a large bookshelf, and the bookshelf was next to a closed cage door, but I felt my ears moving backwards as I heard a twinkling sound that was in the same room with us.

Rigmor pointed, "James, look." I saw she pointed to the source of the twinkling, and I looked up to see over the ledge was a small chest, and a blue fairy that was hovering over it.

I asked, frowning, "A blue fairy?"

Rigmor looked at me and asked, "Is it Navi?"

Ruby and the girls turned to me and asked with a frown, "Who's Navi?"

I said, "She was… Link's partner in Ocarina of Time." I looked at the fairy on the platform and said, "But, it looks like that fairy is not responding to the name that is mentioned by Rigmor or I." I pointed to the fairy and said, "Which means, that is not Navi, even if she shines blue."

Blake offered, "I can get up there if you want."

I nodded and said, "Sounds like a good idea, and we'll be able to spare more time." She smiled at my approval and ran toward the wall at full speed, and she jumped on a nearby bookshelf to give herself a little boost. She then reached her hands toward the wooden planks and caught them easily before pulling herself up onto the platform.

Rigmor called to the Faunus, "Nice moves!"

I grinned and said, "That's one of the reasons why I love cats. They're quick, agile and smart." I noticed a hint of red on Blake's face and I shook my head quickly as I realized what I just did and thought, "Oh shoot… I went a little too far, didn't I?" I saw Blake offered her hand for the next person to come onto the ledge, and I decided I should go next, knowing the girls were looking around in the area to search for gold coins or gems that were hiding in the burial urns. I took off running as fast as I could toward the wall and I jumped on the wall and ran up only a few steps before I used all the strength in my legs to jump off the ledge and reach with my hand to grab Blake's.

I felt her tight grip on my wrist and I grabbed her wrist as she grunted from holding my weight, and I reached with my free hand to grab the ledge as she started to slowly pull me up the platform. It took a couple seconds, but I used everything in my body to help finish the job and I stood on the platform where she was at, and I sighed as I laid on the ground, panting.

Blake said as she looked at me, breathing a little hard, "For a thin boy, you are a lot heavier than you look."

I looked at her and said, apologetically, "Sorry." She shook her head and walked to the ledge again and I called, "Yang! You're next!" She looked up and started running toward us, and I knelt down to the edge as I grabbed the pillar with my left hand to make sure I wouldn't be pulled down and Blake would have to try again. Yang leaped hard in the air, and offered her hands to us as I tightened my grip on the pillar and prepared to catch her, and I grabbed her forearm as Blake did the same, and I immediately started to pull, grunting in effort.

She was pulled onto the ledge with us easily with Blake's help and patted my arm in thanks as soon I released her, and I looked over as Weiss looked like she was talking with Ruby and Rigmor, and she nodded as she finished and ran toward the ledge. Suddenly she jumped high in the air, just as high as we were, while it made my eyebrows raise in shock as she landed in front of me, and she gave me a simple smile before moving on to stand next to Blake and Yang. Ruby grabbed Rigmor by the waist and she suddenly transformed into a red orb with silver lines and the orb began flying toward us at lightning speed, leaving behind a trail of rose petals, and they landed in front of us within three seconds. Both Rigmor and Ruby transformed back to their regular selves, making me completely dumbfounded.

I said with a shocked expression, "Holy sweet smoking peppers! How did-?!"

Ruby smiled and said as Blake started laughing at my statement, "This is my Semblance!"

I stopped for a second and it took me a bit to remember from the show, and I nodded in understanding, saying as I facepalmed myself, "Right… I forgot about that."

Rigmor grinned and said, "That was actually fun! We should try that again sometime!"

Ruby grinned and said, offering her hand a high five, "Aw, yeah!" Rigmor did the same as both hands slapped against each other, giving off a loud smack in the area, and I smiled and shook my head at their enthusiasm.

I chuckled, "You silly girls…" I turned to the small chest that the blue fairy was hovering over, and I opened the lid to reveal there was nothing else but a folded piece of paper, making me frown at it.

Yang asked as I pulled it out, "What is that?" I opened the piece of paper that had the Sheikah symbol on it and saw it looked like some musical notes over five or six lines, and the three notes looked like they were repeated only twice.

I said, frowning as I examined the notes, "Looks like some kind of song…" Truthfully, it has been a while since I have touched the piano or the guitar, but I could still read the notes as if they were trying to show me something. I said, "I think I better hang on to this." I folded the paper and placed it inside my bag, knowing that it would be helpful since the blue fairy was hovering over the chest. But when I looked up, the blue fairy was gone, disappeared from sight after I grabbed the paper, and I closed the chest that had the Sheikah symbol.

I muttered, "Just like the red fairy back in Anise's cabin…" I turned around and saw two large doors that were closed, but it looked like they would lead to a different room, and I walked toward them and placed my hands on the wood. I easily pushed open the doors to reveal a room full of ruined books and tall bookshelves, making me think we might be in some kind of library and all six of us walked through to enter the area. Suddenly, I felt the atmosphere starting to get a little static, making some parts of my hair stand on end and I widened my eyes as I recognized what it was. Rigmor looked at me with a frown on her face since she couldn't feel anything, but I could feel it.

I screamed, "GET DOWN!" I grabbed Rigmor by the waist and she yelped in surprise as I had her collapse to the floor on top of me, and suddenly a bright light appeared from the right side of the chamber with a loud clash of thunder. Everyone in Team RWBY followed my lead and dropped to the ground within a few seconds I saw lightning flashed before my eyes and I looked to the direction of the source and saw a purple crystal that was glowing sitting on a pedestal. Ruby immediately pulled out her scythe but I saw the large weapon transformed into something long and rectangular, and she aimed the object with her weapon. I realized she turned her weapon into a long sniper rifle and she quickly pulled something with her finger, and the gun fired a bullet, unleashing a sonic boom that hurt my ears.

The bullet emerged from Ruby's rifle as a small spark of fire emerged from it, and the small ammunition sailed in the air faster than an arrow and struck the crystal that was lying on the stone pedestal. The object was knocked off and smacked into the ground, making the area safe for all of us, but the boom was so loud it felt like you were standing right next to a cannon on a US battleship. A loud ringing sound emerged from my ears and I screamed in pain as I covered my ears as fast as I could, and I couldn't hear anything as I writhed in pain. Rigmor was also affected by the loud sound and she barely had enough time to cover her ears, though I wasn't so lucky.

Ruby widened her eyes as she saw me quickly cover my ears in pain and she said as I barely heard her through the ringing sound, "Oh shoot! I am so sorry!"

I shrieked in pain as I held my ears, "Agh! Frickin, lousy… son of a… buttermilk biscuit!" I was doing my very best not to swear because there is a young child in our group and I didn't think her big sister would appreciate it. I looked at her angrily and shouted, "Are you out of your freaking mind?! You could have made me gone deaf with that thing!"

Ruby stared at me with a horrified look and I groaned as I sat up from the ground, Rigmor holding her ears as well but removed her hands from them as she said, "Oh… my ears hurt!"

Ruby looked down shamefully and I sighed as the ringing slowly dissipated and I said, "Hey, offer a little more of a warning next time, alright?" I placed my hand on her shoulder and said, "I'm sorry for yelling at you, but you have let us know what you're going to do with that thing." She nodded as I thought, "And that is one of the reasons why I don't like having guns with me. As lethal as they are, these weapons are super loud!"

Blake suggested as my hearing was slowly returning back to normal, "Let's take a look around the area. We might be able to find some stuff to sell or some gold lying around."

Weiss asked as she looked around in the area we were at, "In a library? Blake, the only thing that is worth selling here is nothing but some small chests and whatever that could be behind the locked doors I see in the room! But I'm betting that there is nothing but more ruined books and spoiled food!"

I shook my head and said, "No, Blake is right. There might be some locked doors but there is always the chance they will hold some very valuable items inside." The girls looked at each other for a second and I sighed and shook my head, walking away from them to explore the library, and Rigmor followed me as I looked over the shelves of hundreds of burnt books. There were some healing potions on the shelves, but something caught my attention that made me look at the wall as I saw a stone pedestal that was half my height and on top of it was some kind of object.

I walked toward the pedestal to get a closer look, and I raised my eyebrows in surprise as I saw a small handheld dragon claw sitting on the top of the pedestal, except the nails and the shape of the bone was made out of glass.

I whistled and said, "This thing looks a little cooler than the Golden Claw!" I reached out to the object, but I felt a prompting from the Spirit to stop and look what what I was about to grab. I looked at the stone pedestal as I slowly moved my hand away as I noticed there was a small gap between the stone, and I noticed there were multiple holes, three on the bottom and three at the top and I raised my eyebrows as I was standing right in front of a booby trap. I thought, "Uh oh…" I looked around and saw there was a good distance to the bookcases, and I felt my heart pumping with adrenaline as I prepared to snatch the thing and run.

I said as I slowly grabbed the hilt of the claw, "I really hope this works!" Three seconds later, I pulled the claw and ran to the bookcase as fast as I could, and smacked into it as I heard something emerging from the wall, and striking against the stone floor. I cried out in pain as I fell to the floor, holding my face with my hands and I slowly looked up as I saw six spikes emerging from the wall, and they remained embedded in the ground before they retracted back into the wall.

Rigmor ran over to me and asked frantically as I slowly sat up, rubbing my head, "Guardian, you alright?!"

I scoffed and said, "Well, I'm not impaled, so that's a good sign." I stood up and looked down to my hand and saw I was holding the Glass Dragon Claw, and I saw three symbols of animals in the palm of the claw. I frowned and said as I began thinking about the Golden Claw, "Interesting…"

Ruby suddenly called, snapping me out of my train of thought, "Hey guys, a metal gate went down! We can move on further into the area!" I placed the claw in my adventure bag and nodded to Rigmor to continue on, and we traveled with Team RWBY deeper into the tomb. As we traveled further into the tomb, we saw less and less stone caskets that remained closed that made me feel satisfied yet uncomfortable at the same time. We came across a long hallway with Nordic carvings on the walls, showing pictures of a man wearing some kind of odd mask and long robes with armor.

I heard Blake say to me, catching my attention, "James." I looked over and saw a large stone door with three symbols of different animals that were carved into the door, and I recognized it at once. Blake said as we approached the large door, "Look at this, another one of those Dragon Claw doors." She looked at me and asked, "Do you think they would mean in your games?"

I folded my arms and said, "Giant doors usually means boss doors. If you have your equipment with you, I would highly suggest you better get ready for a hard fight. Once you go inside, there is no guarantee that we will walk out of there until the boss is destroyed."

Yang said, "Well, that sounds a little ominous."

I sighed and said, shaking my head, "You have no idea…" I examined the stone door as there were different stone carvings of animals on the door, each showing two snakes and a fox.

Blake asked as I reached inside my bag and pulled out the Dragon Claw, "What does the Glass Dragon Claw say?"

I looked down at the object in my hand and said as I identified the password, "Fox, owl and snake." I walked toward the door symbol and placed my hands on the stone that looked like it could move, and I pushed the top stone with my strength, grunting in effort as the stone moved, and Yang ran over to the other side and began pulling to reveal another symbol, but I continued pushing until the fox symbol was revealed. We repeated the same thing with the other two stones except following the symbols on the claw itself, and I stepped back and placed my hands on my knees, feeling exhausted after pushing the heavy stone for a bit.

I placed the Glass Claw on the keyhole, and I pressed the item into the mark as it fit perfectly inside the markings. I then pressed harder and I saw the entire keyhole pushed inside the door itself, and I turned the key sideways before I removed the Dragon Glass Claw out of the keyhole, and the stone keyhole pushed itself out easily. The large stones suddenly moved to match the symbol of the Snake, and we all heard a large unlocking mechanism from the door itself before I saw some dust falling to the earth. Suddenly the stone door began moving, and I bent my knees and clenched my fists as I saw the door descend down into the ground, revealing a stone staircase leading further into the final room of the tomb.

As soon as the stone door was fully open, all six of us ran inside, ready to face anything that may be expecting us inside, and the area was huge. At the bottom of the stairs were four stone caskets standing upright as if they were guarding the stairs, and when we walked up to the main chamber, which showed multiple stone pillars that had fallen to the floor. The middle of the area had a single stone casket lying on the ground, and there were two large metal doors on the opposite side of the chamber. In front of the doors was a large stone table that had multiple items that had some armor or embalming tools on the table. It looked impressive, and I raised my eyebrows to see the large size of the area we were in, as a beam of sunlight shone through a hole in the ceiling.

I whistled at the size of the tomb and said, "Wow… for a big area, whoever has been buried here, he must have been pretty important."

Yang nodded and said, "Yeah, though I like the look of the Bleak Falls Temple room a bit better." I continued looking around the area as we walked a few feet further toward the room until I noticed something shining from the sunlight, as if it was a golden color reflecting from the light.

I widened my eyes as I saw something that looked like some type of gloves or gauntlets with the vambraces attached to the gloves on the table and I said, "Call me insane or smart… is that what I think it is?!"

Weiss and Blake asked in confusion, "Huh?" I ran past the stone casket and I approached the table and I saw a pair of gloves with metal layers of bracers that looked like they were made of pure gold, and at the back of the hand of the gauntlets was a large red crystal in the middle.

I said as a big smile formed on my face, "It is! The Golden Gauntlets from Ganon's Castle in Ocarina of Time!" I quickly grabbed them from the table, feeling very excited as I was holding such legendary artifacts from one of my favorite games.

Before I could do anything, a loud strike struck the stone casket behind me, making me freeze at once and my smile faded away at once, making me feel that I must have awakened the dead somehow. Another large strike came from the stone casket behind me, and I slowly turned around when I heard something big and heavy crashing against the ground, seeing the casket was open. I expected another powerful Draugr to emerge from the casket, but instead I saw a person dressed in decayed robes emerge from the coffin, holding a long staff and wearing a green mask to cover the corpse's face. The undead creature instead of standing on the ground, began levitating only a foot away from the ground, and I could feel his magic was very powerful.

Rigmor blanched and said, "A Dragon Priest!" The undead creature turned around to face me as I held the Golden Gauntlets in my hands, and it stared at me with a creepy glare on its mask, not moving an inch. I looked down to the Golden Gauntlets I held in my hands and back to the Dragon Priest chuckled nervously, as it stared at me and the treasure I was holding in my hands. The creature opened his free hand and I saw his palm was glowing blue, and within the next two seconds, he cast the spell and I saw an aura of skyblue light appear on his body as if it was a shield.

I widened my eyes and said, "Oh… crap…" The Dragon Priest hissed at me and raised his right arm that was holding a staff that was the shape of a dragon, pointing it directly at me as I saw something orange glowing on the tip of the staff, where the dragon head was located. Then a powerful burst of fire emerged from the tip of the staff, acting like a flamethrower and I quickly turned around to use my Hylian Shield to protect myself, which I regretted ten seconds later. The shield got hot really quickly, and within the last moment a spray of fire emerged from where I was at and I was blasted from the ground, screaming in pain and in fright as I sailed in the air and slammed against the wall, where some of the pillars were located.

I groaned as I still held the Golden Gauntlets in my hands, "Oh… that… freaking… hurts…"

Rigmor shouted as I slowly tried to move, "Guardian!" I slowly looked up and saw the Dragon Priest levitating toward me, but stopped when it heard Rigmor shouting my name or title. The creature turned around to see the girls drawing their weapons and preparing for combat, and I looked over to my right as I saw a spray of fire emerging from the ground, spraying like lava that is erupting from the earth. I felt incredibly dazed from the blow of the staff and I couldn't do anything, but I noticed with my eyes the battle had already begun, but I heard growling noises that belonged to more Draugr.

Yang shouted in warning, "Heads up! We got company!"

I croaked, feeling too weak to move, "No… it can't… end like this…" Suddenly my head started to clear as I opened my hand and began casting my Healing spell, and the battle with the Dragon Priest and the Draugr against Team RWBY and Rigmor raged in the room as I tried to heal. My eyelids began to droop as Ruby leaped high in the air and swung her scythe against the Dragon Priest, cutting his chestplate and tearing a part of it off to reveal some robes hiding underneath. The Priest rose his staff and swung it forward as it cast a powerful stream of fire, forcing the teenager to use her Semblance to transform into a sphere and zoom around the area, leaving behind rose pedals as she flew everywhere, to try and confuse the creature. The Priest suddenly thrusted his staff forward again and another blast of fire emerged from the staff, this time causing the flames to be ahead of the ball, forcing Ruby to fly to the ground and transform back into her regular self.

Blake was helping Yang fight against some Draugr that were completely covered in armor and had helmets that had antler horns on the top, making me think they were the most powerful Draugr in the game, Deathlords. She swung her katana against one that held a black sword and shield, and the creature hissed angrily at her as she quickly maneuvered to the creature and suddenly disappeared as a black form on herself remained. The Draugr raised his sword and swung at the shadow, only for it to dissipate in front of the strike and a sword stabbed through its chest, and the blade was twisted before it fell to the ground, black blood leaking from its wound. Blake panted as she pulled her weapon out from the Draugr, and she looked over at the Priest that was approaching Ruby as it cornered her to the casket.

I whispered, wanting to crawl to Ruby but I couldn't move, and the healing spell I was casting faded away, "No…"

I heard Rigmor shout as the feeling in my body started to fade away, making me go numb, "There's too many of them!"

Yang asked as she punched another Draugr away from her, "Can someone get to James and help him?!"

Weiss said as she dodged sideways from a sword swung vertically at her, "If that thing can stop throwing large streams of fire at us from getting to him!"

I prayed silently as my consciousness began fading away, pleading to Him, "Heavenly Father… please… help me… I must… protect… my friends…" My head lowered to the ground as darkness began to envelop me, and what scared me was I didn't know if I was going to die, but I felt a warm feeling over my heart, and a hand was placed on my back.

The voice of the Holy Ghost whispered to me, "James… rise. Rise, My Son, for behold, thou hast the power to defeat this wicked creature. Thou art the holder of the Melchizedek Priesthood, and with this power, because of thy worthiness to hold this highest authority, thou wilt be victorious. I will strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand and I'll never, no never forsake thee." I opened my eyes and felt multiple people gently grabbing my arms and helping me rise from the earth and kneel on the floor, and I looked down to my vambraces and saw the Golden Gauntlets lying on the ground next to me.

I narrowed my eyebrows as I heard the fighting between the Dragon Priest and my friends, and I knelt down to the earth and began unstrapping my leather vambraces with the Hero's Tunic. I knew I needed to hurry as I heard Yang crying out in pain and being blasted away from the creature and landing next to a broken pillar, and I barely pulled both vambraces off as I grabbed the Golden Gauntlets and began to put them on. I frantically grabbed one gauntlet and began pulling it on my arm, fitting my hand into the glove and gauntlet and I saw Rigmor swinging her greatsword against the creature, though she managed to cut his chest, the Dragon Priest rose his staff and thrusted it at Rigmor and a wall of fire emerged from the staff, striking the ground next to Rigmor. Luckily, she jumped out of the way and landed next to Ruby, who was trying to fight against the draugr with Yang as she swung an uppercut against one of the undead creatures, blasting it high in the air and it fell down to the bottom level of the room.

Ruby leaped high in the air, shouting a battle cry as she swung her weapon horizontally, striking another Draugr in the hip, and Rigmor swung her greatsword with all her strength, cleaving the creature in half. Then another Draugr appeared from the shadows and tackled Rigmor, knocking her from the ground and both of them slammed to the earth, as Rigmor punched the creature and grunted in pain, trying to knock it off of her.

Weiss held both her hands in a horizontal position as her palms glowed a white color, and a powerful force field in the shape of an oval great shield appeared in front of her hands, stopping the blast of fire from harming her. The Dragon Priest pulled back his staff again and thrusted his weapon forward, sending a concentrated blast of fire to strike the shield, causing me to frantically finish the second strap of my left gauntlet, and I slid my right arm into the second gauntlet and began applying the straps to secure the armor on my forearm. I applied the strap through the buckle and secured it tightly, and repeated the same process with the second leather strap, and I tightened my fists to make sure they were tight and secure. I looked up to the creature as the Golden Gauntlets began glowing on my forearms, clenching my fists as I felt a strong power coursing through my arms, and I drew the Ordon Sword and my Hylian Shield, ready for round 2.

The Dragon Priest thrusted his staff forward again, and I watched as Weiss' magical ward was badly cracked as she struggled to hold the shield with her magic, and a blast of fire emerged once again, this time busting through the ward like a bullet striking a weak target. Weiss cried out in pain as her ward shattered like glass, blasting her away from the ground and she smacked onto the earth on her back. The Dragon Priest raised his staff, laughing evilly as it knew victory was near, and I immediately ran on top of the stone casket and leaped in the air, raising my sword above my head as I performed a jump attack.

Yang yelled, "Weiss!"

I roared, feeling the raw power of the Golden Gauntlets increase my strength tenfold, "HEEEAAARGH!" I swung my sword downward, and the blade on the Ordon Sword struck the Priest in the back, causing it to cry out in pain and move backwards away from the girls. He looked up and faced me as I moved in front of it, raising my Hylian Shield and my sword in a defensive position, panting a bit as I faced the undead creature down and blocked the girls from him.

Rigmor looked up and said, "James!" She saw the Golden Gauntlets strapped on my arms, and I felt my heart pumping with adrenaline as I glared at the monster in front of me.

I spat at the Priest in the Dragon language, "Zu'u fen ni hi ahraan dii fahdon, sunvaar!" (I will not let you hurt my friends, monster!)

The Dragon Priest responded as I bent my knees and readied myself for battle, "Hi fen dir het, Dovahkiin, shark aav un dilon ulse!" (You will die here, Dragonborn, and join our dead for eternity!)

I snarled, "Not today!" I ran toward the creature and lunged at him in the chest, striking his chest armor and the metal on my sword rang like a bell, causing it to knock his armor completely off. The Dragon Priest raised his staff and fired the magic from his staff, causing me to Shout on instinct, "Fiem!" (Fade!) My body immediately became transparent, and the flames went through my chest rather than burn it instead. I quickly ran to the left to get around the creature and I clenched my shield to pull it back and I roared as I swung my shield arm forward, bashing the undead creature directly in the head as it groaned in pain.

The Dragon Priest staggered backwards a few feet as it still levitated from the ground and snarled at me, "Zu'u los Rahgot!" (I am Anger!)

I raised my eyebrow at him and said as my body returned back to normal, "You seriously should get a different name dude, because that is not healthy." Rahgot snarled in response and flew toward me, and I raised my shield in defense as I ran toward him, readying myself to swing my sword with the power of the Golden Gauntlets. The Dragon Priest swung his staff at me like a baseball bat, causing me to block the strike with my shield while at the same time, the staff fired a beam of blame at the wall, missing it's target.

I thought as I grunted to push the staff away, "I've got to be careful on how I use my Shouts! If I make a couple more mistakes, it's game over!" Rahgot pulled his staff back and I raised my shield to block the incoming fire that was barely emerging from the weapon, and the flames immediately touched the shield, though I could feel the metal heating it up, the magic of the shield was protecting me from the fire. I gritted my teeth as I struggled to hold my shield in place as I felt a lot of pressure building on my arm to try and throw my defense off. Suddenly he quickly moved around, making me look around to see if he was around me somewhere, and I felt something hot touching my pants, and I sniffed the air to smell burning fabric.

Three seconds later, I widened my eyes as I realized what just happened and screamed in pain, jumping high in the air, "Ow! Hot!" I then held my behind and quickly ran across the area as flames burned my bottom, sounding like Mario in Super Mario Galaxy when he was hit by fire, howling in pain, "OWWWW! HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT!"

I heard the girls react, cringing at the sight, "Oooh! That's gotta hurt!" I jumped in the air and landed on the floor, dragging my butt across the ground like a dog to put out the flames, and eventually they were put out in mere seconds. I groaned as I gently rubbed my backside to feel a difference in the fabric, and I glared at Rahgot as he summoned a light green orb in his free hand to prepare himself to cast another spell.

I stood on the ground and said angrily, "Okay, now I'm mad!" The Dragon Priest flew toward me again but I charged with all the energy in my legs, raising my sword as I swung left and right, hitting it with all the energy in my arms, creating different cuts across Rahgot's body as the creature groaned in pain. Rahgot swung his staff with both his arms, hitting my shield and I felt the power of the strike caused me to stagger backwards and lose my defense, but I felt multiple people grab my back as if I was being supported and I regained my footing. I immediately clenched my shield and roared as I swung my left arm at him, slamming the edge of the shield into Rahgot's mask and I heard a sickening crack ring in the air.

Rigmor widened her eyes as she said, "Whoa!"

Yang said, "Dang! That looked brutal!"

I felt power flowing through me and I roared, clenching the hilt of my sword, "HAAAAA!" I spun around once, grabbing the hilt of my sword with both hands and swung with all my strength in a diagonal cut, performing the Mortal Draw, and the sword finally cleaved the creature in two. Rahgot froze at once as dust began falling from the body of the undead creature, and within the next few seconds, his body disintegrated in front of me, leaving behind his armor, robes, staff and mask on top of a pile of dust. I panted heavily as I waited for a few seconds for anything else to happen, but nothing else did, and I swung my sword twice and twirled it three times before I sheathed my weapon and my shield on my back, hearing the metal ring from the sheath. I sighed in relief as I placed my hands on my knees, saying as I felt exhausted from the battle, "I forgot how hard it was to kill those guys!"

Yang ran over to me and said with a big smile on her face, clapping me hard on the back, "You were great!" I groaned in pain as I fell to the floor, feeling the hard smack of her hand on my back as it felt like it was a punch. Ruby ran over to me and helped me stand on the ground, and I rubbed my back where Yang slapped her hand, and Ruby was ecstatic with adrenaline.

She said excitedly, sounding like she was a toddler that was hyper from eating so much sugar, "Ohmygosh, youweresoawesome! Youjusttookdownapowerfulundeadsorcerer!"

I said, barely catching what she was saying, "Ruby…"

She continued, "Youwerealllike:hyah! Rah! Whoah!" She started swinging her arms in the air, copying my fighting style as if she was fighting Rahgot.

I said louder, "Ruby."

"Andyoulookedlikeyouweresofearless-"

I shouted, "RUBY!" She stopped at once and looked at me with widened eyes as I said calmly and slowly, "Calm. Down." I showed her my gauntlets and said, "I managed to kill that thing with the help of these gauntlets."

Rigmor walked toward me as she looked at the armor I was wearing on my hands and lower arms, asking, "So… what are they?"

I said, "These bad boys are called the Golden Gauntlets. They were used by Link in 'Ocarina of Time' to give him unbelievable strength and help him lift very heavy objects and throw them as if it was throwing a pebble."

She blew a raspberry and said, scoffing with a smile on her face, "Yeah right!"

I smiled and asked, "You want to find out?" She gestured with her arm to a broken stone pillar, and I popped my knuckles as I walked toward the pillar that was lying on the ground. I said to the girls, "You might want to stand back." I crouched to the floor and grabbed the pillar at one of the ends of the object, making sure my grip would be strong enough to hold the object. Once my grip was on the stone, I grunted as I began to pull upward, locking my arms as the stone didn't move for a minute.

Rigmor smiled and said, "Having trouble, Guardian? Maybe your gauntlets don't wo-"

I screamed in effort as the Golden Gauntlets began to glow on my forearms, "YEEAAARRGH!" The large heavy stone pillar began moving as it was lifted from the ground, and I noticed out of the corner of my eyes the girls' jaws were dropping as my arms shook from the weight that they were carrying. I lifted the pillar high above my head as my body trembled from the heavy weight of the pillar, and bent my knees and roared as I threw the pillar toward the ceiling of the tomb, and the object flew toward the ceiling as if it was a spear. Three seconds later, the stone pillar shattered on the solid stone rocks, and I knelt to the ground as the large stones fell on the stone caskets below us, feeling the ground tremble for a few seconds before everything went still.

I panted as I stood back on the ground and said, still shaking from the weight that was off my shoulders, "Man… that was heavy!"

The girls stared at me completely wide-eyed and Yang said, pointing at me, "I want one of those…"

Rigmor looked at her and asked, "Are you kidding?! I want one of those!"

I walked toward her and patted her shoulder as the gauntlets stopped glowing and I said, "Maybe later." Both girls sighed in disappointment and I said, "We've stayed in here for long enough." I walked toward the ash pile of Rahgot and moved the ashes aside until I saw the green mask that was waiting to be collected, and I gently grabbed the item from the ash pile and placed it in my bag, knowing it will be safe.

Weiss said as everyone approached two large metal doors, "I'm actually glad that James found those gauntlets. They saved our lives when that priest had us trapped."

Blake shuddered and said, "You and me both…" I inserted the key inside the door and twisted it to unlock the giant doors, and I placed my hands on both doors and pushed with my strength, as the power of the gauntlets easily helped me open the doors fully. Fresh air blew against us and I took a deep breath as it felt so good to no longer smell tomb air in the dungeon, and we walked through to find ourselves on the stone walls and a large platform that was overlooking the entire valley around us. I raised my eyebrows in surprise as I saw the mountains around us were covered in snow, and I saw in the southeast was a large tower that was close to the mountains, where I was guessing it was the border of Morrowind.

I felt my ears moving back as I heard the familiar chanting, and I looked at the area in front of us and saw a large stone Word Wall with a phrase that was glowing on the side of the carved stone. I walked toward the stone as everything around me except the chanting went silent, and it made me think that it possibly would have been a trial, just like what Master Arengier said. I approached the Word Wall as I fixed my eyes on the glowing Word of Power, feeling the power of the Word blowing against my body and everything around me became silent. I stood at the Word Wall and focused on the glowing Word Wall as everything around me grew dark and read, "Strun…" (Storm…)

My mind flashed for a second as I felt the Word of Power enter my mind, and I knew the meaning of the Word at once, as if a powerful storm was around me. I backed away from the Word Wall and I heard male voices talking to each other, making me look over the stone wall that led to the bottom floor of Forelhost, and I saw two people were talking to each other at the entrance of the tomb. I looked at the Altmer that was dressed in Imperial General Armor, and he was talking to one of the Imperial soldiers, and I narrowed my eyebrows as I heard the Altmer talking to the soldier about the task he gave to us.

Captain Valmir said to the soldier, "The research I've done seems to indicate that Skorm Snow-Strider left part of his journal here after laying siege. I believe it should indicate how to enter the blocked off sections of the stronghold. I should warn you, Forelhost is quite haunted, but I'm sure you can handle it. Return to me here once you've obtained the staff."

The Imperial soldier raised his eyebrows in shock and he asked nervously, "Wait, it's haunted? I don't like ghosts... let me think about this for a minute…" I jumped from the cliff and landed on the snow, walking toward the soldier and the Altmer, furious that we had been tricked.

I spat, stomping toward him as the Altmer jumped in surprise, "Trying to trick people into your cause, asshole?!"

Both of them looked at me with surprise and the Imperial soldier asked him in shock, "Wait… Who in the blazes is this?"

The Altmer said, "Oh… um…" He chuckled nervously and said, "Hold on, I can explain!"

The soldier looked at the Altmer and back at me as I kept my focus on the imposter, and he snarled, "Valmir, you rat! You're not a soldier at all! Must be one of the Thalmor!" I felt my anger skyrocket and I tackled Captain Valmir onto the ground, holding him down to the ground.

I snarled as I pinned him down, "What else were you hiding?!" I drew his sword from his side and handed it to the Imperial soldier, which he accepted gracefully and I added, pointing at him, "I'll talk with you in just a minute. Just wait at the door." I grabbed Valmir by the scruff of his armor and pulled him to his feet, making him face me as his face was partially covered with snow, slamming his back against the wall.

I repeated angrily, "What else were you lying about?" He began stuttering, unsure of what to say and I grabbed him by the arms and said, "Come on, spread them out!" I turned him around to have him face the wall and I began searching him thoroughly, trying to find any hidden notes or knives that he may be holding within his clothing. I patted up and down on his legs, his chest and back, and I felt something inside his pouch that hung on his belt, and I asked, "What is this?"

He said as his face was against the wall, "Just a letter from my mother!"

I narrowed my eyebrows as I knew it was another lie, and I reached inside his pouch as I spat, "Oh really? Then let's find out what it's about then, shall we?" Rigmor smirked as she folded her arms at the Altmer, and I pulled out the letter and unfolded the paper easily to reveal that they were just instructions, and I read out loud for everyone to hear, "You will proceed to the ruins of Forelhost to retrieve the Mask from the Dragon Cult there. If you are discovered, impersonate an officer. It is unlikely that anyone from Skyrim will be clever enough to see through the disguise. Once you have obtained the Mask, bring it to Labyrinthian."

I looked at him and smacked him on the back of the head with my armored glove and spat, "A letter from mommy huh? Talk about bullshit!"

Rigmor walked toward me and said, "We can't let him tell anyone about this."

Ruby asked, "How about we leave him here, bound and trapped with the dead inside?"

I shook my head and said, "No. As long as people like him report back to the Thalmor, since Rigmor and I are on the Aldmeri Dominion's hit list, we won't be safe." I nodded and said, "We… we can't leave any witnesses. We have to kill him."

Blake widened her eyes in horror and asked, "What?!"

Rigmor said, "James is right. We are not safe even if the Thalmor discover where we went." She drew her greatsword and said to me, "You might want to stand back."

I said, "Right. I was going to talk to that soldier anyway." I looked at Ruby and her team and said with sadness, "Sorry guys, really, but it has to be done if we need to cover our tracks." I looked at Rigmor and said, "Just make sure he doesn't suffer. He at least deserves that much." She nodded to me and grabbed the Thalmor spy by his armored shirt and dragged him into the tomb so that Team RWBY and I wouldn't have to watch.

I walked toward the soldier at the entrance and said, "Sorry about that, back there. He looked like some kind of general or captain by his armor."

He nodded and said, "Glad you could stop him before he tried anything foolish. You're not a Stormcloak, are you?"

I shook my head and said, "No sir, but I am not allied with the Empire either. It's pretty much a bad idea for me to see if I can find something for joining a side in the Civil War right now." He nodded in understanding and I said, "For your sake, I'm going to keep the treasure to protect it from the Thalmor, and until I know what to do with it, this mask will stay with me. I don't want this to fall into the wrong hands."

He said, "Then for your favor, I'll report to the General that the Thalmor tried to kill me after tricking me to enter the tomb." I nodded in gratitude and we shook hands at once, and I saw Rigmor walking out of the entrance of Forelhost, wiping her hands as she closed the door with her foot.

She walked toward me and said, "It's done." I sighed as I nodded, not feeling happy about the situation but I knew we can't have any witnesses that are allied with the Aldmeri Dominion and report back to them. I walked a couple feet from the wall and I noticed something southeast, and I saw there was something glowing behind a stone tower. It looked like it was over a few hundred feet, but I had a feeling that something was a little familiar.

I pointed to the tower and asked, "What's that place?"

The Imperial soldier looked over and said, "That is the Vigilants of Stendarr's Tower. Funny thing, there is a shrine with some kind of magical green orb floating next to it."

I frowned and asked, looking at him, "Green orb?"

He nodded and said, "Yeah, but I wouldn't want to go there if I were you. It's filled with dark magic."

I had a feeling he didn't understand what was there and I said, "I'm pretty sure my friends and I can handle ourselves." He nodded again and walked away from our group, and I twisted my neck to hear my bones pop, and I said, "Come on. I want to find out what is behind that tower." Rigmor nodded and Team RWBY followed us down the path to descend from the mountain and follow the road down the forest until we ascended up a new hill and got to the Vigilant Tower.

The air turned colder as we arrived at the tower, and snow began falling from the sky as clouds gathered across the area, and I saw the green glow that was only 50 feet away from the tower itself. I continued hiking up the hill as the girls saw me walking further, traveling up the mountain further despite the snow beginning to blow harder to try and slow me down, but we continued on until I stood in front of a large steel door with green vines all over the area. Suddenly my ears moved back as we all heard a loud roar that was getting closer, belonging to a dragon.

I shouted over the storm to the girls, "Get inside! We'll be safe here!" I pressed my hand on the door and pushed it open, and the metal doors creaked loudly as they revealed a long passageway into the side of the mountain, and I had a feeling that we should step inside now before the storm got worse. I waved for everyone to get inside, and one by one they entered the passageway as the temperature outside dropped dramatically. My hands and arms remained warm with the Golden Gauntlets attached to my arms, and I felt my body beginning to shiver from the freezing blizzard that blew against me. I looked around in the storm and I heard the loud roar of a dragon getting closer, and I didn't want to have a battle on the side of the mountain with a blizzard on its side. Within the next few seconds, I quickly stepped inside and shut the doors to stop the snow from entering the area, and I sighed in relief as I felt a warm feeling enter my body.

I sighed in relief and said, rubbing my arms with my gloved hands as hard and fast as I could to warm them, "Whew! Five more seconds, and we would have been goners! That blizzard came out of nowhere!"

Rigmor nodded and said, "Yeah, whatever that was, something didn't want us to get in here!" I felt my teeth chattering and she said to me as I walked toward her, "I really hope it was worth it, James…" She stopped talking at once when we all felt a peaceful feeling in the area, and we all turned around to see a large chamber reaching over 40 feet high, filled with moss, flowers and some snow on the ground. I saw some ruined pillars surrounding a huge marble statue of a woman holding a large pot in the palm of her hand. Within the large pot was an actual tree that was growing within the chamber, and I widened my eyes as we saw some blue and yellow birds flying into the tree and looked at each of us.

*Sacred Shrine, Wind Waker*

I ran toward the giant statue of a woman holding a jar with a tree grown on it, and the girls widened their eyes as we arrived in the chamber of the shrine. I was completely shocked to see life growing within the chamber, and I smelled so much oxygen within the chamber itself, that it was sweet as if I was standing in a forest that was growing bananas, pears, oranges, strawberries and apples.

Weiss said in amazement, "Whoa… Of all our adventures, I've never seen anything like this!" I looked at the giant statue in the eyes and couldn't help but feel reverence in the place. The area itself was full of life, as flowers were blooming at the base of the ruins of the shrine itself, moss was growing on the rocks of the walls, and I looked down at the bottom of the base and saw an altar with a bowl in the middle of the stone altar. Below at the foot of the altar was a small metal chest that looked like it was centuries old, yet it hadn't rusted, and it remained solid metal.

Blake asked as we arrived in the main chamber of the shrine, "What is this place?"

I looked around and said, "This... might sound a little crazy, but I think we're in a shrine dedicated to an actual Goddess." I looked at the bowl and I raised my eyebrows as I saw a yellow engraving of three triangles combined together, one at the top while the remaining two were at the bottom left and right corners of the triangles, the tips of the bottom triangles touching the corners of the top triangles.

I whispered as I recognized the symbol, "Th-the symbol of the Triforce..." I gently placed my hand on the engraved triangles in the bowl, and I remembered playing a mod that explained the lore of the Kingdom of Hyrule before... it was destroyed.

I thought, "If this is the Shrine to Farore, I wonder if she would be listening if I can play a song..."

Rigmor said, "Hey James!" I looked up and removed my hand from the altar and saw Rigmor was behind some rubble and she said, "I found a chest back here, but it's locked."

I walked toward them and asked, "Do you think it can be lockpicked?"

Blake said, "Weiss and I can try. Just give us a minute."

I looked back at the statue with a look of sadness and whispered, "Sorry Farore..." I then felt something strange enter the Shrine, and I felt a presence that seemed... faint, but powerful at the same time. I folded my arms as I waited a few minutes for Weiss and Blake to unlock the chest, and I walked over and saw they were having difficulty but it looked like they were making progress. I placed my arms on the rubble and leaned my head against my arms as I watched them try unlocking it, and after ten minutes, I heard a click from the lock and I perked my head up and saw they backed away.

Weiss said as she wiped her head with her hand, "That... was unbelievably hard!"

Blake nodded and said, "Whoever designed that lock really didn't want anyone getting inside it. I almost broke a couple of my lockpicks to unlock this thing."

I nodded to them and said, "Thanks for unlocking that thing." They moved aside for me to get through, and I approached the chest and knelt down to it, feeling my hands shaking with excitement as I grabbed the lid and I opened the chest and raised my eyebrows to see what was inside.

Weiss asked as she knelt next to me, "What's inside? Jewels? Gold?"

I said, "It..." I reached inside and pulled out a helmet, chestplate, gauntlets and boots, and a green cloak, and I examined the items as I said, "It's nothing but armor... but it looks fresh! This is centuries old armor and yet it looks like somebody made this thing yesterday!" I looked at the green fabric of the cloak and said, "I do like the cloak though..." I placed the cloak to the side and looked down and saw there was another item inside the chest, and I reached inside and pulled out a purple book, and I opened it to read the title was called 'Hero's Prayer' inside, but after a couple of scans from the pages I covered my mouth and felt horrible after reading from the book that was written as a journal.

Ruby asked, "James? You okay?"

I said, "Someone was here... but he didn't give any respect to the Goddess of Courage when she tried convincing one of her Heroes that some people he didn't like needed to be saved. He just... basically shut her out and refused to help her."

Yang frowned as she asked, "Does it mention why?"

I opened the purple book I held in my hands and read from it out loud, knowing it would be better for them to understand:

"I sought out the Shrine of Farore for her blessing. It was comforting to see a statue in tribute to her in this war-torn Hyrule, and I hoped that she would give me strength and guidance. What I received was not what I was expecting.

"'My Goddess… why have you done nothing for these people? Why have you abandoned them?'

"'My Hero, I admire your courage. Many have asked me this question, but I was unable to answer them.'

"'Why, my Goddess?'

"'Their faith in me has faded, I could be heard by the priests and mages, but one by one they have turned away, whether they know it or not.'

"'I'm sorry, my Goddess.'

"'Do not be, my Hero. This - all of this- is as it should be. My sisters and I have not abandoned Hyrule, and we have done everything in our power to make them safe.'

"'My Goddess, forgive me, but I do not see it. I see death. Hyrule is dying, and its people with it. I have heard legends of the Goddesses intervening to stop the spread of evil. Why have you not intervened?'

"'You are wise, my Hero. You see such distances. I hope you can understand what I have to say. We fear death because we are born knowing life. My sisters and I have prepared for this day: the day that Hyrule falls.

"'It is true in other times, other Hyrules, that we have intervened, but we are powerless here. Alduin is not ordinary evil. He is the World-Eater, a decomposer, Hyrule's time has come. It's natural life has ended.'

"'My Goddess, please. Why are you allowing Hyrule to suffer in its final days? Why are you allowing this pain to continue for so long?'

"'We can do nothing to stop it. Please understand, my Hero. We are doing what we can to ensure the soul of Hyrule and the souls of its citizens are safe in eternity. We have lost so many, and we weep for them.

"'We hope they find their way to us. I know this is frightening to hear. Know that you will be safe when your time comes. Hylia will be safe. Ganon will be safe.'

"'Ganon? My Goddess, what are you saying? Farore, why Ganon?'

"'My Hero, please understand-'

"'No. I am not sure I can trust you now. Why would you want to save Ganon?'

"'My Hero… please… Ganon…'

"'This is all your doing. You're letting Hyrule die! You're tired of our little world.'

"'No… please… listen…'

"'I do not need you. I do not need a lying Goddess.'

"'You… are…'

"'I will face this evil myself, without your support. It is clear to me that you do not care for us anymore, because you don't want to save us from this evil, you want us to live with it for eternity.'

"'Not… alone…'

"'Leave me be. You are not my Goddess.'

"'I turned my back on the statue and made my way out of the shrine. The sounds of rustling leaves and running water sounded like distant weeping.'"

I closed the book as I finished reading, but no one spoke a word for a while, and I shook my head and said, "He chose not to understand because of something he didn't like. I guess after all that happened it caused the shrine to decay a bit, and no one came here in centuries."

Weiss shook her head and said, "That doesn't make any sense! Who was he? Who's Farore? What do they mean by Hyrule? Was there another country before it was raided?"

Blake said, "I'm more interested to learn about this... Alduin?"

I sighed as I wiped my hace with my glove, knowing this was going to be a long explanation, and I said, "Okay, first off, that female statue holding a tree inside the pot might resemble Farore, the Goddess of Courage, and she was talking to a Hero named Link, which one she is talking to I am not completely sure. Secondly, Hyrule was another country, yes, but what this book mentioned was that Alduin the World-Eater destroyed the entire country for his own evil purposes, which I am not sure what they are yet. This is also a theory but I think Skyrim was built on top of the Land of Hyrule after it was destroyed." I looked at each of them as I knew they had more questions and I said, "But, there was another question that began to linger in your minds, I can answer that as well, who was Ganon?"

I explained as I placed the book down on the table, "I know these people, or characters inside and out, and Ganon is a demon, once took the form of a man, and then transformed into a raging entity who had to be banished into the Void time and time again. He had a lusting desire for power, and attempted many times to take the Kingdom of Hyrule for himself, but it all ends in failure because of a Princess who is descended from the bloodline of a Goddess, and a boy possessing the spirit of a Hero, who takes up a sword made by the same Goddess, but is the Chosen Hero to protect the Kingdom and the Princess."

Ruby asked, "So, what do we do now?"

I thought for a moment and looked at her and asked, "Do you… have an instrument… like a hand-held harp?" She looked at me and reached inside her magic bag and fiddled around with it until she pulled out a simple harp, and handed it to me, and I nodded to her in thanks as I took it. "I'm just going to borrow it for a second." I plucked a few strings softly to hear the instrument, and it felt a little similar to playing the guitar, and I looked at the statue as I turned to face it, and I looked down at the harp I held. I smiled as I held the harp Ruby found a while back somewhere in Skyrim, and I said as I adjusted my hand over the strings, "Let's see if I remember how this song plays."

*Farore's Courage, Skyward Sword*

I then played the song from Skyward Sword, since it would be appropriate for Farore to hear her song, and I felt my fingers plucking at the strings of the harp, following the notes of the song I studied. Soon a green aura of light emerged from the harp I played and it surrounded me as I repeated the same notes for the second verse of the song. I smiled as I felt a powerful energy beginning to gather around me as I continued playing the second verse of the song, and some light emerged from the emblem of the Triforce, encircling all of us and filling us with a peace I was familiar with. I finished playing the notes and I held the harp in front of me, and I felt the presence of a Goddess within the chamber, and I saw a green aura of light shining around my body.

Then a female voice said, "I… have never heard that song played in eons since the Hero of the Sky." I quickly looked up and saw the statue of Farore glowing softly in a faint aura of light, and I took a step back in surprise and with widened eyes.

I asked, shocked that I was getting a response, "What the?! Farore?"

She said, "Do not fear, young child… Dragonborn, I have felt your spirit as you played the song that was performed to help the Hero to forge a weapon to destroy his enemy. Your courage burns brightly within yourself and your friends." I looked at the statue in awe as Rigmor stood next to me, and the Goddess of Courage said, "I notice you wear the tunic of my Champion, my Chosen Hero that once held one of my pieces of the Triforce, and your heart has a great love for this tunic."

I chuckled nervously and I said, "Well, Link has been my favorite character since I was 5 years old. To be honest, I wasn't expecting for… all of this to be real. I thought all of this was from a video game, a fantasy."

Farore said, "Young child, if you and your companions wish to continue down this path, I would ask you to find the other Shrines dedicated to my two other sisters. One Shrine will be located near an Orc Stronghold within the Reach, inside the mountains. The second Shrine will be close to the Sea of Ghosts, which is inaccessible without a special ship."

I nodded in understanding and said, "Got it."

The Goddess of Courage said, "Young Hero, before you travel, I would like to bestow upon you and your friends a gift, as thanks for performing a song so beautifully in my Shrine." A green mist emerged from the statue and sofly swirled around me, and I looked around as the mist swirled around all of us, making the girls surprised. As the mist flowed into me, I felt my past injuries be healed at once as I felt great power enter inside my body, making me feel stronger. Suddenly, a bright green light emerged from the middle of the altar, and I quickly turned around with a huge grin on my face and lifted my hands high above my head as we all saw a crystal of green light hovering between my hands.

*Get Heart Container, Ocarina of Time*

Farore said, "May my Winds be your last line of defense, when a situation becomes too hard for you all to bear. Go forth, young Heroes, as I, Farore, the Goddess of Courage, will watch over you." The light on the statue faded to show that Farore's presence is no longer with us and I held the glowing green crystal in my hands as I felt tremendous power flowing through it. Suddenly, I grabbed the sides of it and snapped the crystal in half with the power of the Golden Gauntlets at once, feeling the powerful magic turn into a green mist before it flew inside me, giving me knowledge on how to cast the spell. Then the mists split from the center of the crystal and flew into the rest of the group, giving all of us knowledge how to use the powerful spell.

Weiss looked at me with a shocked expression on her face, "W-wh-what was that?!"

I said with a big smile on my face, feeling the power of the spell now inside my body, "Farore's Wind! This can be helpful for us if we decide to get out of a nasty situation!"

Rigmor asked, looking at the green orb that appeared in her hand, "What does it do?"

I looked at her and explained, "It's a teleportation spell, which if we decide to use the spell for the first time, it summons an orb of light of where we currently are, and we can use it again to activate the spell and be transported to the warp point."

Yang said as she looked at herself with a smile forming on her face, "Well, that will come in handy!"

I said, "But I don't know how much magic it's going to cost us, but I would advise that we should be careful on how we use it."

Ruby said, pointing to the southwest with her thumb, "Well, I think I noticed another Dragon Shrine on the cliffs when you learned that… 'strun' Word."

I asked, "Storm? That's what the Word of Power is."

Rigmor nodded for a second and said, "Well, might as well help increase your power."

I exhaled and said, "Great… this is going to be a long trip." I looked at the Golden Gauntlets on my arms and said, "Well, at least these will be very helpful along the way!"

Little did I know however, was that we were in for a big surprise for the next day.