Giorno and Fugo were at the sight where the Hero of Kvatch closed the Great Gate, near the roads where the path split. The siege crawler remained, collecting snow that landed on the ground.
"Why did we stop here?" Fugo asked. "We should hurry before a guard spots me."
"We might have to get rid of our horses," Giorno explained.
"What? Why?"
"We have to go through a cave. I heard that the Hero of Kvatch found a cave that leads to Skyrim. Wait here. I'll sell them and buy some food, climbing gear, and warm clothing."
Fugo got off his horse, but before Giorno could take Raven, he gave her one last pat. The Breton went to Bruma with the horses. Watching Trish's horse fade into the distance hurt him.
Giorno came back a few minutes later with the items. He wore blue gloves to match his robes and gave the red ones to Fugo.
"I bought some clothes that should keep us warm, but let us find the Serpent's Trail first. If we head to Dragonclaw Rock and go west, we should expect to find the Sentinel. North of that is the cave."
They went up the road, finding Dragonclaw Rock, going west, then north. Before they went in, Giorno faced Fugo.
"I don't know if the ogres are still there, but we should be careful," the blond warned. "I heard the hero fought some of them."
They got inside the cave. It was slightly warmer but still cold. Fugo changed his clothes to match Skyrim's temperature, which they assumed was extremely cold. There were a bunch of layers of clothing he had to wear, but he liked the dark russet color of his long coat. He also had on fur boots.
The two went down the tunnels, finding frozen corpses the hero left behind. However, there were some rodents skittering around, but it was nothing they couldn't handle. After searching the tunnels, they found a door. Giornopushed the door open, but there was a blizzard outside.
"At least the door opened, but—"
"There's a blizzard?" Fugo interrupted. "How long will it last?"
"I'm unsure. I have a couple of firewood in my bags."
"Part of me wants to wait, but the battlemages are tracking us down. Is there somewhere we could wait and rest?"
"There's a fort nearby. We just have to follow the road."
They followed the road. Along the way, they saw frozen ogre corpses. Giorno assumed the hero slew them, and they couldn't decompose because of the chill.
The blonds got to the fort, went inside, and stayed near the entrance. The blue fire kept them warm. There, they unpacked their things and decided to rest. The two were tired and decided to cuddle in their bed rolls.
"It feels lonely," Fugo commented.
Giorno squeezed him tightly. He refrained from talking about Trish. Thinking about her also made him lonely. "At least we have each other."
"I'm sorry for everything."
It was morning, and Giorno and Fugo barely got enough sleep. Once they got out of the fort, the blizzard was still there.
"Damn it!" Fugo shouted. "We can't wait here. The battlemages are probably getting closer."
"I don't know if we should start climbing the mountain," Giorno said. "Do you have your pickaxe and lantern?"
"I do. Let's not waste any time."
Before they could scale the mountain, Giorno looked closely at the road, spotting someone in heavy armor. The snow made visibility difficult, but a battlemage lay on the road. He tried to guess the cause of death but couldn't see.
"They already found us," the Breton warned.
"What?" Fugo looked at the body. "Who did this?"
"Don't know. We should hurry. More might come."
They climbed the mountains. It took them hours, but they probably passed the border. Climbing down wasn't easy either. Once they got down, the two made camp. The blizzard died down a little too, but it was still snowing. They were cold and huddled near the fire.
"I'm so tired," Giorno said.
"Even that was too much for me," Fugo added.
It got dark, and the couple rested. However, Fugo kept his eyes out. A stranger approached them, causing Fugo to shake Giorno awake.
"Who are you?" the Imperial demanded.
"Vanilla Ice," he answered. He stepped closer to their fire, revealing his face. He looked different from what they remembered. Vanilla originally was a brunette, but his hair turned white, and his eyes were orange and glowed. The vampire looked at Fugo. "I was not expecting him."
"I wasn't expecting you either!" Fugo furrowed his brow and showed his teeth. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"
"You didn't kill me. I was still alive but gravely injured. Come, Giorno, we mustn't keep Lord Dio waiting."
"I'm not leaving without Fugo," he said.
Vanilla sighed and crossed his arms. "Fine, he can come."
"Where are we going?"
"Normally, I would reveal this to you, but I don't trust your friend."
"Hmph! Whatever. I'll eventually find out where we'll end up," Fugo replied.