As the sun rose slowly over the mountains of the reach, Loki sat in one of the pavilions in the courtyard sipping on his tea to start his morning. He would have to see if Lucan had any more of the leaves when he returned to Riverwood, it had become a staple of his morning routine. Hadvar and Ralof were in the courtyard practicing with bokkens (wooden practice katanas) still working on getting the feel for their new weapons. After his morning tea, Loki planned to practice his kendo and some battojutsu he had been learning and then head back to the library where he spent most of his time studying magic and lore.
It had been a week since they arrived at the temple. In that time Loki had learned far more than he could have ever dreamed possible in this land he had once only known as a video game. His potential as a mage with all this ancient knowledge, plus what was known to the modern mages in Skyrim, was limitless. He had some novice success at making up some basic spells and enchantments with the spellcrafting and enchanting alters, but he knew he was going to have to seek out someone with experience to unlock their full potential. He could now conjure daedric weapons and armor, atronachs, and familiars; cast fireballs, lightning bolts, and Ice spikes; cast many illusion spells like calm, charm, invisibility, chameleon, paralyze, demoralize, night eye, and silence; restoration spells were coming along nicely; and he had even found the lost school of mysticism spells, several of which had been adopted into the alteration school later on. Loki had also been practicing his quieter shouts. He had Aura Whisper down and Throw Voice was working well. He still didn't want to use the louder Thu'ums for fear of changing the timeline too much and losing his advantage.
Ralof had talked him out of trying to parlay with the Forsworn yet. They knew they would have to eventually do something, but Ralof had made the point that perhaps they should wait until there are at least more than 3 of them. The two Nord soldiers had made their way down the back side of the Karthspire a couple times and come back with some tasty rabbits and even two decent sized goats to keep them fed. So, for now, Loki contented himself to take the advice of his companions and focus his efforts on preparations for the upcoming events instead of getting himself killed if his diplomacy failed.
The time was nearing for them to head back to Whiterun and for Loki to face his destiny as the Dragonborn. Despite all the advancements he had made in magic and combat, Loki was still very nervous about his upcoming battle with Mirmulnir. His confidence was growing, but there was still something unnerving about facing an actual dragon in combat. His mind often wandered a lot as well. With each passing day this world felt more and more real and he began to fear his former life would become a distant memory.
As the day wore to an end, the three got themselves ready for the next quest, the return. Being that they had decided this temple was going to be their base of operations for the revived Blades, they only packed what they thought they would need for the upcoming adventures, their armor, weapons, and some clothes; and, of course, Loki packed a few books and manuscripts to read.
The following morning they put on their armor, hoisted their packs, and set out for Markarth to catch a carriage back to Whiterun. On the way out, Loki cut his palm and applied it to the seal to reseal the temple.
"Wouldn't want anyone looting us while we're away."
They slipped back past the Forsworn camp before the light of dawn and were almost five miles in the direction of Markarth when the sun peaked over the mountain tops down into the valley below.
I Apologize for this chapter being so small and a long wait. I am a father before a writer and my work and children have been in more need of my time than my hobbies, so writing had to take a back seat. I will be picking the pace back up soon. I was going to wait this until I had added more, but I don't want anyone thinking I had abandoned the story. Anyway, I appreciate all the great feedback and positive reviews you guys have been giving me here. Enjoy.