This came out pretty quickly. Came out even quicker for the folks who have accounts on Spacebattles. Not advertising or anything, I just love the discussions there and would like for more people to bring what they can to the table. As always, I give thanks to xTRESWHOx for making everything clearer, better spelled, and for keeping my from shoving my foot into my mouth on occasion.

The four huntresses had barely plopped into bed when sleep finally overcame them, too tired for even dreams to appear. They slept peacefully before waking up to the rays of dawn.

"Heuah," Yang stretched with a yawn and smacked her lips. Her hair was in a disheveled state, something she would have to take care of later, and looked around the room, where the others were also beginning to stir. "Morning, guys."

"Morning, Yang..." Ruby trailed off, rubbing her eyes from the sleep.

"Why are you so loud...?" Weiss complained, annoyed and half asleep.

"You know what they say, Weiss. Early bird gets the-" Yang suddenly stopped in mid-sentence, her expression changing to one of horror. Following her eyes, the rest of her team turned to look at what was causing Yang's distress, their eyes widening at the sight of a familiar white orb, glowing on the nightstand. The memories of the past few days, who, and more importantly what they talked to exploding to the forefront of their minds. Before, they didn't have a chance to comprehend it, but now they could. Gods, actual gods exist here on Nirn. And they've interacted with them personally.

"AAAH!"

"Uh, this is a headache," Yang complained after Ruby set down the strange object and explained how she'd found it. "So this friend of Sanguine's is probably another one of these Daedric Princes, which are, basically, 'demon gods'?" she asked with air quotes.

"It's more complicated than that," Weiss answered, flipping through some pages in a book. There was an anonymously written encyclopedic part at the front, followed by a listing that described the Princes in slightly more detail and nuance, written by an Imperial historian. After that was some self-described large scribe's description of cults, on which she lingered for a moment. She eventually settled on the description of Meridia, then flipped to the last portion of 'Compilation of Common Knowledge of the Daedric Princes', which gave details like locations of shrines and summoning days.

"A shrine west of Skingrad, north of the road," she read aloud in a low mutter. "Ah! Here we are! 'There is an old temple dedicated to Meridia west of Solitude in the Kilkreath Mountains, commonly called the Kilkreath Temple.' There you have it. Well, Meridia's supposed to be one of the nicer ones," she said as she picked up the beacon and started to turn it in her hands. "Still, she's a Daedric Prince and I wouldn't want us- Agh!" Weiss screamed as she dropped the item, her hands showing horrific burns on them more akin to roasted meat.

"Weiss!" her teammates screamed in worry as Ruby rushed over to her side and held her wrists, looking over the injuries only to hiss in sympathetic pain. "What happened?"

"If that abomination touches my beacon again, I will not be as merciful," the voice of Meridia echoed from the beacon before falling silent once more. The Huntresses glanced between the beacon and their harmed teammate, worry etched on their faces.

"That… That was stupid of me," the heiress groaned out through tears of pain. "I should have known better. One thing they keep emphasizing is that Meridia…hates undead."

Weiss began pouring magic into her hands, giving them a yellow glow as she worked the healing spell, slowly mending her burned flesh while pushing off the charred bits of skin like crumbling paint. Ruby let her arms go and turned to glare at the beacon, which now Yang was cautiously picking up. The blonde set it back on the table and put a hand to her hip.

"So, are we still gonna…fix her temple or whatever?"

"I'll take it there and see what she wants," Ruby growled. "But if she says anything about hurting Weiss then I'm going to tell her to shove it."

"Ruby, I'm as mad as you are about that," Yang explained gently. "But we're still dealing with what these people unironically call a god. Don't get yourself hurt over it, okay?"

Blake placed a hand on the white orb and waited a moment. When nothing seemed to happen, she picked it up and turned it over in her hands. "Probably shouldn't take Weiss there. If that's what her 'beacon' can do, I'd hate to see what she'd do if you came close to her temple."

"Yes, that's an experience I think I'd rather avoid." The healing spell stopped and Weiss groaned. Her hands still looked a little raw, but the worst of it was gone. "Why am I so bad at healing?"

"Bad at it? You can heal wounds by just waving your hands over them," Yang pointed out.

"It's not that simple. Every different School of Magic takes a different sort of skill. Sure, you can be good at magic in general, but being able to summon a bound sword or lash out with enough fire to melt an armory doesn't translate to healing wounds or using magic armor." She paused for a moment in thought. "Oddly enough, magic armor seems almost trivial to cast for me."

"Speaking of spells," Ruby led off, "can you show us a few? If it hadn't been for all the glowing mushrooms, I wouldn't have been able to see in Shimmermist."

"Ooh, I wanna know how to throw fireballs!" Yang bounced excitedly before reigning herself back. "I, uh, for practical purposes."

"Fine," the heiress groaned. "But we'd better take it outside. We don't need you burning down the inn."

Ruby watched as the ball of incandescent light raised up from her palms, only to sputter and then pop, disappearing in wisps.

"Ooh, that was five seconds! I'm getting better!" She began summoning another one.

Yang was several feet away and pointed toward a stone wall with nothing flammable nearby. She had managed to actually create flames in her hands (which had excited her to no end), but was finding the part where she needed to concentrate those flames into a throwable ball to be a lot harder than she imagined.

The flames puffed up once more, escaping her hand and fizzling out.

"Damn it!" she muttered.

Lydia walked in from around the inn and looked at the scene. A couple of guards were watching to make sure nothing bad happened, such as a building catching on fire. The housecarl looked over the scene once more, and then cautiously approached Weiss and Blake, who were both going over a spellbook.

"Honestly, I don't expect you to get it this quickly. Yes, you have an affinity for it, but this is an adept level spell and you only just…" Weiss stopped when she looked up and could see straight through Blake.

"Did it work?" the faunus asked.

"Yes, but…the effect is only partial. It's almost like…extremely clear glass. Try standing in the shadow of the building."

The nearly invisible Blake did so and almost disappeared from sight. If they hadn't been looking for her, they could have easily missed her.

"Well then, you now know the chameleon spell," Weiss said with very little enthusiasm. "I get that your Semblance is an illusion, but that shouldn't mean you can blow through the Illusion School like it's nothing. I'm still having trouble with the command spells."

"You're all practicing magic?" the housecarl asked.

"Oh, hello Lydia," Weiss greeted, finally seeing her. "And yes. Everyone's trying something they think will be useful to them in the future. Blake here is doing…exceptional with illusions. Ruby has gotten the creation part of candlelight down, but is having some trouble maintaining it. Yang's getting close to an angry outburst."

"Stupid spell!" the blonde yelled before punching her fist forward, not noticing how the flames she had made gathered around her punch. And so when her fist hit the wall the accidental fireball exploded and launched the unprepared girl backwards, landing her right next to Lydia and Weiss. She coughed a few times and then smiled, despite the wince.

"I did it!" She gave a thumbs up and coughed again.

"An angry outburst with a breakthrough apparently. You just skipped flare and firebolt entirely and went to the next level."

"Well, that's good, right? At least now I won't have to use up Ember Celica's ammo." Yang hopped to her feet as Blake became opaque once again right next to Weiss, who jumped.

"Yep, as long as no one's looking," the faunus smirked.

"Ooh, think I got it!" Ruby announced as she walked over with a small ball of light lazily floating over her right shoulder. "I'll never stumble around for a flashlight again." She grinned brightly in victory, but then looked over at the light. "So, uh, how do I turn it off?"

Weiss facepalmed for a moment while holding up her other hand. "It… Okay, normally they just run out after a time, but I guess you might want to make it go away quickly in some cases. So, to dispel magic from yourself, you need to focus on the magic within the spell affecting you. Remember how I taught you to 'feel' the magicka?"

Ruby nodded and then Weiss pointed at the little ball of light.

"Well, now feel the magicka in your candlelight, rather than in yourself."

"Oh, okay! So then I just pull it like thread like you said before and-"

The candlelight with out with a glass-like pop, making the girl jump and let out a small squeak of fear. One of the guards watching had to cover his mouth to keep himself from letting out a rather emasculating sound after seeing the cute girl react like that.

"Gently," Weiss admonished. "Gently. Well, you have Mysticism basics down. I suppose I'll see if you can learn detect and absorption spells. We should all probably learn a little of those. Armor doesn't block magic, and…Aura only blocks the damage, not the effects."

"Meh, we should be fine. Although…speaking of armor, I heard that if I make the cut and then some for the Companions, I could get a custom suit of that awesome wolf armor that they have."

"Ooh, it is pretty cool," Ruby admired, recalling some of those special armors hanging on mannequins and worn by some of the Circle during their tour. "Oh, maybe you could get a dragon-styled helm! You know, because your name means dragon and we're dragon slayers!"

"Eh, I probably won't wear it. It'll mess up my hair."

"That's poor reasoning if I ever heard it," Lydia commented.

"What's your reason?"

"Full vision. A helm blocks off a lot of my sight. Unfortunately, they haven't devised a helmet that only covers the skull."

"I could probably make one based off a skater helmet," Ruby mused. "It would have to be strapped on, and it might look a bit goofy, but it'll protect your noggin."

"Really? Well, guess I shouldn't be too surprised."

Yang flicked a little flame on and off her thumb. "So, how long until we get our robes and wizard hats?"

"What is a…wizard hat?"

"Oh nothing. Just a cultural reference."

Blake eased out of Dragonsreach, hoping no one asked about the almost invisible object in her hands. Luckily, no guards were around the entrance as she had told them about a nonexistent Khajiit lurking around the Cloud District. She felt awful for saying such a thing, but she needed a distraction while she went and got whatever was behind that door away from those people. Sanguine's appearance had proven to her that gods were a real thing in this world, and Meridia's beacon showed her that they were very dangerous, especially when they had artifacts lying about.

She eventually made it back to the Bannered Mare. By now the chameleon she had wound around the sword had faded, but no one really so much as gave her a second glance. Almost everyone at least carried a dagger on their person, and seeing someone with a new sword was not unusual. Some seemed a bit interested in its design, but looked away again after a few moments.

She made it to their room and sighed as she shut the door behind her.

"Hey Blake," Ruby greeted, looking up from a map and a few books. "Wha'chu got there?"

"Whoa, now that's a katana!" Yang said in admiration.

"More of a daikatana, actually," Ruby corrected. "It's longer, likely needing both hands to be effectively wielded. Branching out on your style? Where'd you get it?"

"I, uh, did a favor for Balgruuf's…brother," she lied. The sword seemed to vibrate in her hands, as though the terribleness of the lie offended it somehow.

"What did Hrongar need from you?" Weiss asked curiously.

"You know what her family has done to your kind," a whisper came to her. Her eyes widened a moment before she took a deep breath.

"I kinda had a double-bounty going on for that hagraven. A friend of his was killed by the same coven a long time ago, and he heard about how I was heading to Orphan Rock and asked that I kill it. I showed him Nettlebane and he believed me."

"Oh, you never mentioned it."

"I…wasn't sure about how I felt about hagravens before then." She nodded at that and her eyes hardened at the memory of those dead children. "Now I'm sure."

"Wow, the edge of this thing is really sharp," Ruby observed as she slid a piece of cloth on the blade, only for it to be split cleanly within a second.

"Ruby, careful!" Blake admonished as she moved the sword away from her leader. "This thing's more than just really sharp! It's been…enchanted or something!"

"Okay, I'll be careful. By the way, where's the sheath?"

"He didn't have one. It was sitting on a display." Technically true.

"Well, we should get you one so you don't end up cutting yourself on it. And maybe a new hilt. That one seems pretty worn down. Ooh, maybe I can ask Eorlund where he gets his stuff from."

As Ruby made plans to affix the Ebony Blade with new pieces, Blake set the sword on a shelf gingerly and turned towards Weiss, who seemed to be drawing up their traveling plans.

"Blake, question?" the heiress asked.

"Fire away."

"You don't mind if we…split up with Ruby and Yang for a while, do you?"

The faunus raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? We just got back together and now you want us to separate?"

"We've all discussed it, and, well, Ruby has a sort of responsibility now with all of this dragon and Dragonborn business, and she's planning to stay the course and get to the bottom of it all and, hopefully, stop them and the World-Eater."

"Definitely will!" Ruby added with a bit of cheer.

"But, we still should try to find a way home. Now, the Greybeards might know something. After all, they're supposedly Masters of the Voice, which is a sort of magic all its own. Then again it could be that the Voice is far too direct for that. All I know is that it can be used to create fiery or frost breath and some kind of concussive force."

"Well, there was that time slowing Mirmulnir did." Ruby winced, as though bothered by a memory. "Everyone else thinks he just went fast, but I felt it."

"So, there's a chance, but we can't put all the eggs in one basket, so I'm still headed to the College of Winterhold to hopefully learn more there. It's the premier place of learning in Skyrim, and if anyone has knowledge of planar travel, or the ability to learn about planar travel, it's the College. The only thing is we have no idea how long this Greybeard business will take, and we can be certain trying to find or make a portal home will not be a quick and easy process. Also, Winterhold is a long way from the Hrothgar Mountain. Yang volunteered to stay in Whiterun while working with the Companions to keep up a place for Ruby to come back to. The thing is…"

"We really don't want Weiss to go alone," Yang finished. "Like, we've seen what can happen to people on the roads. Bandits are a growing problem, and there are all kinds of nasties out there. Remember that troll that one Senche-raht ate? That was a little one! Not to mention she might run across a group called Vigilants of Stendarr, and they might figure out she's a vampire and try to kill her. They won't succeed, but it'd help to have someone not undead there to talk them down."

"So…you guys want me to go with her?" She looked over at their leader. "What about Ruby?"

"I'll have Lydia with me."

"A normal person with no Aura."

"You know, there's an easy fix for that," Yang pointed out, to which Blake sighed.

"Yang, we've been over this. Giving these people Aura is not the best thing for us to do. It would be like lighting up a powder keg. Besides, we don't even know if they even have Aura."

"You've been over this. I say we should unlock people's Auras. Give them a fighting chance against these dragons, bandits, hagravens, whatever else attacks them," Yang argued, echoing their previous conversation about the subject. Blake responded with a glare, and Yang shrugged, dropping the subject for now.

"Moving on, Lydia is a local who is good enough to oust a conspiracy of people with skills based entirely in stealth, and really good at striking the weak places of giant bugs." Weiss shuddered and rubbed her arms. "Seriously need to look into what makes them like that. There are normal sized spiders on this world, so there's absolutely no need for them to be that huge."

"While I wouldn't call hand-sized normal for a spider, I have to agree that Lydia's a pretty okay gal." Well if Yang was behind it, it must be fine. She wasn't going to leave the well-being of her little sister in the hands of someone incompetent. "Besides, we'll be with each other at least until Ivarstead. The owner of the mill in Ivarstead is making complaints about bears, and I'm to help her out."

"And then we'll head there together, if you're fine with that," Weiss told her. Blake thought it over for a moment, and then looked up at Yang.

"You better behave while I'm gone."

"D'aww, you really do care," Yang faux gushed.

"So, plan's good?" Ruby asked, looking up from her notebook.

"We're good," Blake affirmed. "I will miss you guys with only the Ice Queen to keep me company though."

"Really?" Weiss asked, annoyed.

"Eh, you'll live. Besides, you'll get to see her in her natural habitat. Apparently, everything's covered in snow from Windhelm and onwards." Yang chuckled at the thought

"Joy," the girl born on a tropical island deadpanned.

"There you go. Gentle with it now."

Ruby tapped her hammer against the red hot sword. She turned it over and tapped the other side as well, being mindful of how much lighter it was than normal. She smoothed out the metal bar slowly, being mindful of its slowly dissipating heat. She turned it, ready to start evening it out some more, but found that it seemed to be ready.

"All right then," Eorlund said as he looked the blade over. "Remember, into the saltwater."

"Yes sir."

Ruby dipped the blade into the separate trough and then wiped an arm across her forehead. She looked down at her current work, admiring how much effort it took to get the three metals working together right. Moonstone alone couldn't make a sword, so it needed iron sheeted in to make the actual blade's edge, and a metal Eorlund called quicksilver, which Ruby believed to be aluminum, coated most of it. The reaction between the disparate materials ended up making an item with an almost gold shimmer to it. The blade was perhaps the lightest sword of its size that Ruby had ever held.

When she brought it back out and prepared to bathe it in the forge once again, Yang came up wearing a grin and holding a scale mail shirt.

"Forgot how long it took to make one of these by hand."

"Still faster than anyone I've ever seen," the old Nord said as he looked the armor piece over. "Hm, no obvious chinks I can see. Makes me wonder if there's a bit of orc blood in the two of you as well as Nord."

"Orc?" Ruby wondered aloud.

"As backwards as many of them can be, orcs boast some of the best smiths. They normally work with orichalcum, that green metal you may spy them wearing or wielding from time to time. I know how to work it, but I had to venture all the way to one of their strongholds and prove myself to the forge-wife, as well as swear to never teach anyone about it."

"Aw, so you can't show me?" Ruby asked, feeling a little let down that she couldn't learn all the secrets.

"I can't. But if you're willing to make the trip you can always ask a forge-wife in one of the Orc Strongholds."

"Hm, guess I'll do that. At some point." She pulled the red hot blade from over the forge. "Oh Brother, this stuff heats quickly!" Carefully, she turned the blade with her tongs and dipped it into the oil, grateful for the heat resistant gloves protecting her from the flames.

"So what don't you know how to forge?" Yang asked the blacksmith, who rubbed his beard in thought as he continued watching over Ruby's progress.

"Don't know anything about forging those Akaviri katanas that I've heard some Cyrodiilic smiths spouting about. I won't say they're bad blades, but they aren't suitable for most battles. More of a dueling weapon, if you ask me. Also, daedric metal is beyond me."

"Daedric?" Yang asked, feeling a little apprehension at the mention of such a thing.

"Aye, daedric. That's what happens when someone forges a living daedra into ebony metal. I've no idea how it works, likely through some sort of magic. But they say that the daedra experiences horrific pain as it's melted into the metal and forged into a weapon or armor. I don't even know anyone who knows how to do it. Maybe some elves. In the end, it's not something I'd even want to forge."

"But…why would anyone even do something so horrible? Even to a daedra?" Ruby wondered as she pulled the cooled sword free.

Eorlund noticed the serious look on the sisters' faces. "Something wrong, lasses?"

"It's just…" Yang started, wondering how to word it. "Blake, Weiss, and I ran into…daedra worshippers. A witch coven."

"Oh, that. Yes, I could see that leaving a mark. Especially if you came across one of the Namira or Molag Bal sorts." He hummed as he took a seat on a stool. "Well, I don't know what to tell you, aside from that you needn't worry about the daedra themselves overly much. Their power's limited on Nirn, and they can't enter Mundus except in a weakened state. In fact, I don't think they can enter with ill intent."

"But they could with…neutral intent?"

"Suppose so. As I said though, the daedra themselves aren't the worrisome part. Worshippers of them, like that coven, are a much greater danger. They're tangible, and the wall between Nirn and Oblivion won't keep them out. Still, a mortal's a mortal. They can be defeated like any other group. More so, in my opinion, with the Divines on your side."

As Ruby tightened the clamp, she thought about the beacon she'd found. "What about good intentions? I heard that some of them were…nicer. Like Azura or Meridia."

"Wouldn't know too much about that. I suppose they would be fine, but I'd still be weary of any interaction with a daedra or daedric cult, good or no."

"Hm, so if someone asked me to go to one of their temples…?"

"Have a good blade, and even better armor."

"Well, good thing we've got you for that," Yang joked, hoping to lighten the mood a tad. Eorlund laughed and grabbed a box nearby filled with several items.

"That you do. Now, we're going to need lining for that mail. And Ruby, were you going for a one-handed grip, or a longer pommel?"

"So frustrating," Weiss complained in a whisper.

"Well, at least we won't be traveling there alone," Blake offered.

"I understood offering to help that man. He's all alone and doesn't look like he's ever swung a stick, let alone a sword. But then you invited a family of Khajiits."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, really, except we're getting bogged down with numbers."

"We'll be fine. And they'll all either stick around Eldergleam Sanctuary or head back to Whiterun afterwards. M'thri offered to bring back the sap for us, and he really wants to see the Eldergleam since he couldn't come in to see Gildergreen or visit the temple."

"M'thri was Ko'ari's apprentice, right? The Suthay?" Weiss giggled. "So he offered huh?"

"Yeah. I told him why we were going, but mentioned that we couldn't really bring it straight back."

"Oh Blake, have you really not noticed?"

"Noticed what?"

"Oh, you're lucky I'm the one telling you this! Yang would beat around the bush and probably tease you endlessly about it. M'thri's had eyes for you ever since we got to Whiterun. Every time we go through or you talk with any of the caravan he starts getting distracted staring at you. I'm pretty sure he's wanted to ask you on a date since. Or at least, whatever a date is to Khajiit."

Blake blinked incredulously. "No way. You have to be lying."

"I take offense to that. This isn't exactly something I'd lie about."

"Okay, maybe you aren't but…it's a little weird, okay."

"What's so weird? Never been crushed on before? Even I had a few admirers at a point. Probably different than normal but…"

"Weiss, he's a totally different species. Not even like how faunus and humans are different kind of difference. He's more of a cat that walks on two legs. His brother is essentially a tiger that has to speak through a magic collar."

Weiss raised an eyebrow at her teammate and then shrugged. "Well, I still think it's cute. Probably wouldn't work out in the end anyways. I mean, he is only fourteen or so, going by how he looks."

"There's also that, yes."

"But, you wouldn't even consider going out with one?"

"Dating a Khajiit?" Blake mulled it over in her head. "Maybe. I couldn't… Not with any of the quadrupedal ones. Suthay and Cathay are…just weird, even if I can look past that to see them as people, I don't think I could be romantic with one. If I was, it'd have to be an Ohmes or Ohmes-raht."

"So only the absolute least cat-like among them."

"Don't judge."

"I'm not, just observing."

"What about you?" Blake fired.

"Me?" Weiss hummed to herself. "Well, we have my condition to consider."

"And if it weren't in the way?"

"Then I'd have to keep in mind that I'll need heirs at some point."

"Let's assume that's not a problem."

"In that case…I'd go for it."

Blake blinked in surprise. "Even the…?"

"No, none of the quadrupeds. While they're still people, it'd be a mite too close to… Nevermind, that's a bad subject to touch on. But if there's a Cathay or Suthay of sufficient intelligence and charm, I'd allow myself to date him."

"Well…. I can't say I'm not a little shocked."

"What's so shocking? When it comes to a partner in life one should look for quality of personality first. I'm not saying looks aren't a factor-"

"What's shocking is that the Schnee is more willing to date a being more animal than a faunus than the actual faunus."

Weiss considered her words with a finger to her cheek. "You still feel a little weird about them and Argonians?"

"I'd like to think I'm used to Khajiits at least. Argonians… I'm still not too sure about them. We only ever talked to the one, and he sent us into that cave."

"Oh, him." Weiss rubbed her neck where two little white spots could be seen under her shirt collar. "I hope Ruby gives him a solid tongue-lashing when she goes by Mount Kilkreath."

"She has been able to channel your essence rather well lately."

"Hey!"

The two stopped at the foot of the Skyforge for a moment before walking up the steps. They got there just in time to see Ruby fitting an ivory hilt onto a yellowish blade with silvery edges. She nodded over to them, but otherwise kept her focus on her work, her tongue poking out from the corner of her lips. Yang was working at a table, a pair of pliers in both hands as she fit rings together through metal scales quickly before pinching them together.

"Hey guys," the blonde sister said without so much as glancing up.

"How's your workshopping been?" her partner asked.

"Pretty therapeutic, to be honest. And it feels nice making something with my hands. Haven't done it in a while, but it's like riding a bike. Never really forget."

"That's nice. Lydia's still getting all the stuff together?"

"Yep. Getting tents, cooking pots, camping stuff basically. She looked pretty surprised when we handed her that ebon."

"I'll bet," Weiss said. "I didn't realize before, but we've sort of accumulated a small fortune by accident. Even if she ends up spending every cent, we could afford half of that small house near the entrance."

"Has it even been a month since we got here?" Ruby wondered.

"Three and a half weeks," Blake answered. "We arrived in Solitude on the Eighth of Last Seed. It's the thirtieth."

"Yeah, we missed Harvest's End, apparently," Yang added. "Bummer. Apparently there was pumpkin pie."

"Wait, pumpkins?" Ruby asked.

"They import them from Cyrodiil. There wasn't many to begin with, so they went quick. Not a single slice leftover for us."

"Wait, you kept track of one of the local holidays and learned about an imported vegetable?" Weiss questioned her blonde teammate.

"Hey, I like pumpkin pie, all right. I heard someone mention it, and I thoroughly questioned them about it. Politely," she added as Ruby began to speak up.

"Right." Ruby undid the clamp holding her sword and held the blade properly. She whistled and twirled it around her gently before letting out a small giggle. "This thing is crazy light. Look at this." She balanced the sword on a single finger, just a few centimeters from the cross guard. "It's almost a perfect balance. The whole thing probably weighs less than a pound!" She caught the hilt and gave it an expert swing.

"Interesting," Weiss mused as she looked it over. "How much do you think a sword like that could go for?"

"Uh, Weiss, this is mine," Ruby told her. "Figured I need to actually keep a sword on me. One of those chaurus got my leg and threw me across the cave, and I couldn't do anything. If I didn't have my Aura, it would have torn my leg off. So, I traded the Dwarven sword and gauntlet with Eorlund for the materials, and he showed me how to use them. Now I've got a Nordic style, moonstone-quicksilver blade."

"Wait, quicksilver? As in, mercury?" Blake asked, feeling a little worried.

"No, it was more like aluminum if I had to guess, but maybe a little less pure than what we'd use on Remnant. Really, it's used as the bonding agent for the moonstone and the iron, but something about the moonstone makes it really shine. Kinda miraculous that the three materials could even work together so well, the moonstone making a great edge, with the iron keeping it all solid, and the quicksilver holding them both in place," Ruby rambled and began to stroke the sword in admiration, only to be interrupted by a cough.

"Ruby, please quit petting the sword," Weiss requested awkwardly. Her partner blushed and lowered the blade with a stifled laugh.

"So, yeah, got a backup weapon for when little critters like that get too close."

"I suppose that makes sense. Still, if you ever feel like making another one, we could definitely get a nice amount for a quality blade like that."

"Thus did her Schnee blood call out for the buying and selling of items for great profit!" Yang mockingly said in the tone of a narrator.

"Quiet you!"

"What about the armor?" Blake asked, redirecting her attention towards her partner, still holding the aforementioned armor.

"Needed something to do. Besides, Eorlund said he'd pay me for it." She shook the scale mail shirt and looked it over. "I made one of these back in my first year at Signal. Didn't like wearing it too much though. You have to have something between you and the mail or it'll pinch you all day. Never was one for wearing armor anyways."

"You'd think a front liner such as yourself would be more given to wearing armor," Weiss pointed out. "Besides, weren't you just telling us about how cool that 'Wolf Armor', or whatever it's called, is?"

"I said it was cool, not that I was going to wear it."

"Hypocrisy, thy name is Yang," Weiss teased, earning a warm-hearted chuckle from Yang.

"Hey, Weiss, speaking of armor, whatever happened to your old dress?" Ruby asked. "You've kinda been going back and forth between the buttony dress and some local made stuff."

"Uh, I…couldn't get the bloodstains out."

"Oh. Oh… Right. Sorry."

"Well, we've all about had to abandon our normal clothes," Blake indicated. "Too cold for most of it. Except Ruby, who just added a coat."

"Well, ya'know," the leader began while digging a toe into the ground. "My outfit's pretty…"

"Whatevs. As long as you don't freeze your butt off up on that mountain." Yang looked over at Hrothgar Mountain, specifically its peak, The Throat of the World, in the distance. "Man, that's going to be a climb! At least they added a stairway or something."

"Ooh, maybe I should count them. I bet there's less than seven thousand."

"Pretty sure it's a euphemism," her partner explained.

"Wait, aren't those guys who've been…"

"You're thinking of eunuchs," Weiss sighed.

"Wait, like the ancient cows?"

"Auruchs," Blake corrected.

"Okay, now you guys are just messing with me."

Before anyone could reply, another set of footsteps was heard coming up to the Skyforge and the girls turned to see Lydia arrive.

"My Thane, I've gotten just about everything you would all need for a lengthy trip. I made sure we weren't swindled by Belethor getting them."

"Thanks Lyd. You're a big help," Ruby complimented.

"Oh, uh, tha- You're welcome!"

"Guess I'll give this to Eorlund. We're all eating at the Mare, right?"

"Where else?"

"Yes. Ysloda said something about getting a unique foodstuff from the giants," Weiss informed them. "She told me about it when I asked how anyone could trade with them. Apparently magic talismans are involved, similar to the ones used by Khajiits. Anyways, I'm curious as to what exactly giants would eat that the people here would trade for."

"Holy moly, it's strong!" Ruby half-yelled. "It's good, but it's so…strong!"

"There's not…a cheese this…sharp back home," Weiss gasped out as her cheeks seemed to be trying to implode.

Blake seemed to be enjoying the mammoth cheese the most normally. While her lips did get sucked in once in a while, she could eat it more casually than most of the patrons. Still, her ears flickered beneath her bow conspicuously. Some of the humans were actually beginning to notice.

"Blake," Ruby whispered. "Your bow!"

The faunus paused a moment and reached up to her cloth covered ears and then smiled. "Hey Lydia?"

"Yes?"

"All the guards and pretty much anyone important… They all know I'm a Thane, right?"

"Yes. There was a sketch of your likeness posted down near the guard barracks so that they could all recognize you four. Why do you ask?"

Blake's response was a small smirk and then her removal of her bow. Her ears flickered a moment and she sighed as she tucked the ribbon away. Her teammates blinked and then smiled at her bravery, while Lydia and a number of Nords stared dumbly at the ears atop her head. There were whispers, but they eventually went away as the girls continued eating their meal of steak, leeks, and mammoth cheese.

"You're a…Khajiit?" Lydia eventually asked.

"Actually, she's a faunus." Weiss elbowed Ruby, who looked at her in offense. "What? She already knows the rest. She's supposed to guard me forever and ever. She was going to have to know at some point."

"Just don't go telling everyone. If we're lucky, we can solve the dragon problem and…other things, and get home before a year's passed. Then our two worlds can go on in total ignorance of each other. Barring that, we leave the interdimensional communications to the people who have something close to experience with it."

"I don't believe there's anything close to that," Lydia responded. "…At least, peacefully."

Yang came in, demanding attention with her gait, and then parked herself between Blake and Lydia. "So what's on the… Hey, your bow's off!"

"Decided to make a statement," her partner explained. "I'm pretty much as high up the ladder as we can climb, right?"

"A Thane is right below landed nobility in the Skyrim hierarchy," Weiss explained. "So, yes. Unless you plan to marry a Jarl's son one day."

"So, who's going to be the one to throw out a Thane?"

"Oh, I getcha." Yang gave a smirk as she accepted a plate from the barmaid and set it before her. Her eyes lingered on the bottle of mead for a long moment, as though trying to set it ablaze with her sight. She sighed and moved the bottle away from her and waved her hand to call the barmaid back. "Can I get a mug, about half full of water?" As the barmaid turned and left, Yang redirected her attention back towards her team, who were busy making their final preparations.

"Mm, so we're all pretty much prepared to head out tomorrow, right?" Ruby asked.

"Pretty much. Just gotta divvy up the supplies. I won't need too much since I'm headed right back." The blonde sighed. "I'm gonna miss you guys."

"I'll miss you too Yang."

"We'll try to write a letter now and again," Weiss comforted them. "The courier system is rather well done here, even if only a few have horses."

"What about the magic balls?" Ruby wondered. "Like the bank uses?"

"Those are horribly expensive! And the one's the banking system uses don't even work that way. I asked, but the teller explained that they only keep up with the account information. Basically, imagine the most basic computer systems. The kind that our grandparents used."

"Ooh, oh gosh!"

"Could you even make one?" Blake hazarded.

"The materials are equally costly. I could try to find workarounds, but my main prerogative is finding a way home. Once that's been settled, we'll work on the dragon threat exclusively, then on my personal problems."

"Personal problems?" Lydia asked.

"Nothing…too bad. I may or may not have had…my soul promised as a sacrifice to a Daedric Prince, which we originally did not take seriously, but with new information having come to light we must now find…the person who did this and stop them."

'Good save,' the rest of the team thought.

"How did-"

"Touchy subject! Please don't bring up!" Ruby yelled.

"I- All right."

A mug was brought up and Yang poured half of the bottle into it before setting the rest aside. After a sip, she took a bit of cheese and her face contorted.

"Whoa, mama! What is that!?"

"Mammoth cheese," Blake smirked as she took a bite of her own.

"Whew! I think I just curled my toes all the way to my heels!"

The next morning, the girls prepared themselves to leave Whiterun. Several guards were seeing them off as they and their four guests headed out the gates at the crack of dawn.

"Going out on a great adventure, hey?" one of them asked.

"Yeah," Ruby responded wistfully. "Adventure."

"I used to be an adventurer just like you." They were pretty sure he wasn't just like them, but Ruby supposed he had his fun in his younger years. "Then I took an arrow to the knee."

At Yang and Weiss's looks of concern, Ruby burst out laughing.

"Rubes, that's not funny!" her sister admonished.

"Something like that could've shattered his patella," Weiss began. "Have a little respect."

"Guys," she got out through her laughs, "he means he got married and settled down!"

The two blinked and looked at Lydia, who nodded.

"Realized a while ago some from outside Skyrim didn't get it. Mentioned it to Thane Ruby."

"Wait, but…"

"Arrow…" Ruby then mined something hitting her knee, and then kneeled down onto it, "to the knee." She stood back up and chuckled again. "Come on guys, even I got it pretty quickly!" At Ruby's explanation, the two girls turned to look at the guard, their confused faces meeting with an amused Nord's, who nodded in affirmation.

"... Heh," Yang slightly chucked. "I get it." Weiss, on the other hand, merely groaned.

It was at that point that Blake walked back up to the group and nodded. "So M'thri, S'dir, and Jo'nir are all ready to go. Maurice?"

"Packed and ready," the Breton responded. "And may I say again, thank you for letting me tag along. The opportunity to see the Eldergleam is person is just...!"

"Then I guess we're good to go."

"Take care, all of you," another guard told them as they began leaving.

"Watch the skies," a woman added.

The girls waved and a few other guards saluted them as they hit the road again.