Chapter 15:
The Path to High Hrothgar
Once formalities had been exchanged and as there was still a couple of hours until sunrise Emily and Serana along with Lydia left Dragonsreach in favour of the Bannered Mare where Emily booked a room for the day.
"What are we going to do now?" Serana whispered quietly in her ear as they stood at the counter, Emily having just handed the Innkeeper a pouchful of gold, "She won't go the whole distance to High Hrothgar without figuring out what we are. We won't even make it halfway before she realises." Emily glanced over her shoulder at the housecarl sitting by the fire, holding a tankard of mead.
"I don't plan on keeping it from her," Emily replied and Serana looked at her as though she had taken leave of her senses.
"Emily, surely I don't have to tell you why that would be a bad idea," she said.
"I do have a plan, Sera," Emily replied.
"Then let's hear it," said Serana with a note of scepticism as she folded her arms.
"We can delay our travels until tonight under the pretence that we're tired out after slaying that dragon," Emily explained, " After all, what mortal wouldn't be? Then by the time we've covered a night's distance it will be too far for her to turn back. I will tell her then. I know it's a bit underhand but-." She left the sentence hanging.
"And what do you think she'll do when you tell her?" Serana replied, raising an eyebrow, "She may attack us."
"Well, the Jarl has already sent her along with us," said Emily, "We can't very well send her back. And she may not attack us."
"I guess that's a chance we'll have to take," said Serana resignedly as she picked up a bottle of mead from the counter. They took a seat alongside the housecarl.
"My Thanes, are we ready to leave for High Hrothgar?" she asked, "My sword and shield stand ready and waiting."
"Not yet, Lydia," Emily replied, "We'll leave at sunset. Fighting that dragon, it took quite a bit out of us. We'll need to rest first."
"Very well," said Lydia, "I shall await your command." Emily took a draught from the bottle of mead.
"Lydia, what exactly does it mean to be a housecarl?" she asked, "Are they like bodyguards?"
"That's the gist of it," Lydia answered, "Where are you from? Your question suggests you aren't native to Skyrim."
"You'd be right," Emily replied, "I'm from England, a very far off place."
"And you, my Thane?" Lydia asked, addressing Serana, "I can see you are a fellow Nord. Where do you hail from?" Serana, fearing the housecarl had already grown suspicious, kept her answer guarded.
"Falkreath," she replied.
"So that was how you came to be at Helgen?" said Lydia, taking a draught from her tankard, "That was a horrible business. Whole town wiped off the face of Nirn."
"And aside from an Imperial officer and a few others we don't know if anyone else made it out alive," said Emily, "Did any show up here?"
"A few showed up the day we first heard the rumours of the dragon attack," Lydia replied, "Most were taken in by the Temple of Kynareth."
"I'm glad there were at least some then," Emily replied, "I doubt I'll ever forget what I saw there." She shuddered. Lydia nodded.
"Well, I think I'll retire for the day," said Emily as she got up. Serana soon joined her.
"I will await your command at sunset," Lydia said solemnly as she returned to contemplating the fire.
The day passed quietly enough and sunset saw them leaving by the town gates. Lydia told them that the quickest route to Ivarstead, the town at the foot of the Throat of the World, would be through the Haemar Pass which stood between the ruins of Helgen and Ivarstead. Although Emily had no desire to see the blighted lands again they agreed it was the best route and she knew it was imperative to leave Whiterun as far behind as possible by morning.
They followed the shallow stream that ran from Whiterun's sewers down towards the River White and here they followed it upstream towards Riverwood, following the winding hairpin road.
"So, what can you tell us about High Hrothgar?" Serana asked as they walked.
"It's high on the slopes of the Throat of the World, up the seven thousand steps," Lydia replied.
"So, quite a climb," said Emily.
"Indeed," Lydia agreed.
As they passed a clump of ferns they had their first encounter of the night. Sloping out of the dark ahead came three wolves, lean from hunger. On seeing them their fur bristled and they adapted the stiff-legged gait of the aggressor. Lydia did not hesitate and drew her greatsword from off her back. As the glint of metal caught the moonlight the wolves charged. Two converged on Lydia while the third disregarded her, instead making straight for Emily. Lydia cleaved first one then the second wolf asunder and then whirled on the third in time to see it fall limp to Emily's blade. Emily saw the flicker of uncertainty dart across Serana's face. This was no mere fledgling they had welcomed into their party and she dreaded when Emily would tell her the truth. The night was still following the skirmish and they left the three wolves in their wake as they continued on up to Riverwood.
The town was quiet, smoke rising from some of the chimneys. Several guards, the detachment sent from Whiterun, patrolled the streets, carrying torches whose light reflected off the closed-faced helms. One who recognised Emily from Dragonsreach murmured, "Hail Dragonborn," under his breath as she passed. This made Emily feel uneasy as she didn't think herself yet worthy of such a title.
They left Riverwood behind and began the slow climb to the ruins of Helgen. They smelt the smoke long before they came within sight of its towers. The fires still smouldered in the rubble as none had dared return yet to extinguish it. Emily wrinkled her nose at the smell but Lydia hardly seemed to take it under her notice, seeming to accept all she saw with a calm indifference.
"Have you seen anything like this before?" Emily asked, wondering if perhaps that was the reason.
"Not of this scale," Lydia replied as they walked amongst the wreckage. Then she stopped. "Hold," she said, clutching her greatsword, "We are not alone here."
An arrow struck the ground at Serana's feet and her eyes shot up in the direction from which it had come. Standing atop one of the guard towers was an archer in silhouette. Another gleaming missile struck near to its fellow and they darted for cover.
As they reached a large stone that afforded them shelter they heard shouts rising up from the tower and then from the Keep. Leaping from the shadows of the ruined building came five bandits, garbed in furs. They were forced to break cover to meet their attackers. The nearest, a Dunmer, was felled by Lydia's greatsword. The second and third, mages armed with fire and lightning, hung back and rained down magic upon them. Emily and Serana stood with wards up, back to back and all the while the archer rained down arrows upon them. The first mage to fall was the fire wielder and while Serana closed with the storm mage and Lydia battled the last two, a dagger wielding Bosmer and a cudgel wielding Orc, Emily broke from the group and ran for the tower. The archer was readying another shot as she reached the top and she tackled him, sending the arrow skyward to fall wide of its target. He drew his blade and closed with her. Back and forth they fought. And then came the cry of victory from the Nordic housecarl and the bandit flinched momentarily. Emily took this opportunity to drive the dagger home.
She rejoined the other two by the Keep and they left the ruined town behind. The sky was lightening as they journeyed through the Haemar Pass and Emily spied a cave in amongst the frosty twigs.
"I've strength to travel a few hours longer," was Lydia's response when they pointed it out to her.
"We'd rather rest," came Serana's reply and, shrugging her shoulders, the housecarl complied.
Emily lit a meagre campfire in the centre of the cave and they sat around it. Now was the time.
"Lydia, I believe it's only fair we are upfront with you about what we are if we're to travel together," said Emily and as there was no way to prettify what it was she was to say she continued, "We are vampires." At these words Lydia's eyes immediately grew wary, perhaps even fearful and her hand reached for her greatsword. Serana made a complex gesture with her hands and Lydia froze. Only her eyes moved.
"We don't mean you any harm," she said. Lydia's eyes told her she highly doubted this.
"Truly we don't," Emily added, "We don't feed on innocent men and women. Only animals and those who would kill us. We live just as you do but by night. We seek only your guidance and friendship between here and High Hrothgar." When she had done speaking she asked Serana to unbind her. Serana, hesitant at first, did as she asked. When Lydia could move again she stayed her hand but eyed them warily.
"If you would freely tell me what you are then I won't harm you, by my swear of fealty as housecarl," she said, "But don't ask for my friendship."
"Very well," Emily replied though the housecarl's reponse saddened her.
Lydia prepared, on the fire, a meal of grilled leeks and venison while the vampires drank from their tankards.
"Is that blood you have in there?" Lydia asked, eyeing the tankard. Emily shook her head.
"No, honningbrew," she replied, offering her the tankard but Lydia refused it.
"You can't make a friend of her, Emily," Serana said as the Nord lay curled up in her bedroll.
"Perhaps not," Emily conceded, "But that won't stop me from trying." Serana smiled then and put her arm around the Earthling. Emily rested her head against her, smiling contentedly.
The second night brought them close to Ivarstead. The land about it was wild, almost as wild as the Reach and was home to wolves, bears and migrating frostbite spiders alike. It seemed an eternity since they'd last set foot in it when Emily still belonged to the Dawnguard. The way into Ivarstead lay over a stone bridge that spanned a shallow river.
"How long will it take to make the climb?" Emily asked.
"Two days," Lydia replied, "Three if the weather's bad."
"We'd better stop in town for the day then," said Emily, "It'll be sunrise in another two hours."
They crossed the bridge and made their way down the quiet streets, searching for the tell-tale sign of an Inn. There were none in the streets save for a few robed strangers. The moment Emily set eyes on them she felt a shiver run the length of her spine. Serana noticed and asked.
"No, it's nothing," Emily replied. Then she noticed a sign swinging in the mountain breeze. They turned toward it and the strangers turned and looked in their direction, torchlight flickering off polished bone.
The air inside the Inn was warm, fuelled by the firepit at its heart. Emily went to book the rooms whilst Serana and Lydia took seats by the fire.
Serana feigned calm indifference to the Nord and took a book from her bag but once in a while her eyes flicked across to her.
"That's the rooms sorted," said Emily as she joined them, "Fancy a drink?" She saw Lydia's eyes momentarily flick over in their direction but ignored this.
"See if they have any Stros M'Kai rum," Serana replied, dropping the coin into Emily's hand. Emily pushed the coin back into Serana's hands and Serana quirked in eyebrow in mild puzzlement.
"Remember I said I'd get the next round?" she asked playfully, "The dragon sort of put a stop to that before."
"Alright then," said Serana as Emily turned and made for the counter. She returned a minute later carrying a large green bottle and a bottle of mead. Serana set aside her book as Emily handed her the bottle and they sat together on the bench.
"Sera, what do you think will happen when we meet these Greybeards?" Emily asked. Serana set down the tankard.
"Really, Em, your guess is as good as mine," she replied, "Did that book I found in Helgen not offer any clues?" Emily shook her head.
"I had a bit of a read at it yesterday while you were asleep," she replied, "It talks a great deal about the origins of the Dragonborn, about the Emperors of Tamriel and a group that call themselves the Blades. Nothing about learning the Thu'um though."
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see then," said Serana, leaning back on the bench. Emily reached into her bag and pulled out two dice.
"Fancy a game?" she asked the vampiress.
"Alright," Serana replied.
"Lydia, do you want to play too?" Emily asked, looking over at the housecarl.
"No thank you, my Thane," Lydia replied. Emily nodded and she and Serana tossed a coin as to who would go first. The rules were simple. The dice were thrown and the number multiplied by three. They would then each throw the dice, trying to get it as close to the number as possible without exceeding it. Serana was a shrewd player and many a night she would walk away victorious but that wasn't for Emily's lack of trying.
They played for just over an hour before electing to retire to their room. They curled up together on the bed and Emily pulled the furs up around her.
"I wonder if there's really seven thousand steps," she said, already starting to fall into a half doze.
"It's a tall enough mountain," was Serana's reply.
"Now I really am glad I'm a vampire," smiled Emily, "Air's going to be thin up there if it's as tall as all that. No altitude sickness for us, no frostbite. Hope Lydia can handle it."
"Pfft, I wouldn't worry about her," said Serana, "She's a Nord. Nords were made for the cold. As for the heights, I doubt the Jarl would've sent her if she wasn't capable."
"I don't get it," Emily sighed, "She was perfectly fine with us until I told her. We didn't turn on her on the road or in Helgen as I'm sure we easily could have done. But now-." She left the sentence hanging.
"Don't you remember how you were with me when we first met?" Serana asked, "You were just as scared, just as wary."
Emily would have liked very much to deny that but she knew it was the truth. She had feared Serana when they first met, believing she only wanted a travelling meal. It was only time and battles fought together that showed her otherwise, that she was another soul like her, perhaps one even as unsure as she in her own way.
"When did it change for you?" Serana asked, now genuinely curious. Emily thought for a moment.
"At Dawnstar," she replied, "When I let you feed on me. I knew that any vampire who didn't drink a mortal dry when she had the chance should be trusted. How about you?"
"I can't truthfully say I ever feared you," Serana conceded, "But when we said goodbye at the Castle, maybe I didn't know it at the time but I wanted to see you again."
"And I you," Emily smiled. Serana's hand found hers under the covers and squeezed her fingers gently. Before long they had both drifted off to sleep.
The hours slipped by and before long the sun had set. Emily shouldered her bag and they stepped out of the Inn onto the streets of Ivarstead. The path up to High Hrothgar lay across a bridge at the far end of town past a lumber mill. Emily glanced around for the robed figures as they made their way down the street but they had vanished. The only sounds that greeted them was the rush of water tumbling over the rocks and the wind whistling through the trees. The steps began on the far side of the bridge and were worn smooth by many generations of pilgrims' feet. In places the steps were covered in a thin sheet of ice that cracked under their feet, formed by surface water that had frozen when the temperature dipped following sunset. Emily saw movement out of the corner of her eye and turned in time to see a goat spring from the undergrowth and dart up the steps ahead of them. Emily peered into where it had sprung from and saw, in amongst the dry tussocks of grass and the spindly limbs of the scraggy brush, a carved stone structure about as tall as herself and arched in shape. Set into the heart of this was a stone tablet covered in faded weathered writing. Emily conjured a ball of magelight and held it up to the writing.
"What are these tablets about, Lydia?" she asked, turning to look over at the housecarl who was now wrapped up in warm furs in preparation for the climb and carried a torch. She crossed over to where Emily stood.
"They tell the legend of how mankind were taught the Thu'um and overthrew their dragon oppressors," she explained as she brought up her torch to light up the words, "This tablet tells of the dragons' rule before men and the power of their Thu'um which could flood the land and blot out the sky."
"How many are there?" Emily asked, casting her magelight further up the steps.
"Ten if I remember right," Lydia replied, "Come on, we'd better keep moving. The sun will be up before we're even halfway."
The steps were uneven and steep in places, subsiding down toward the edge of the precipice. They kept close to the mountainside, at times holding onto the rock to keep their balance. For the first hour or two into the climb they saw only a few grazing mountain goats though at times when they lifted their heads to the wind the desolate howl of a lone wolf reached their ears. They came upon the second emblem whose rocky surface was scored with cracks left by water freezing and thawing by turns. This one told of man's creation and how the dragons presided over them.
"So, the dragons enslaved them the moment they were created?" said Emily as she studied the stone tablet.
"Much the same as vampires enslave their cattle," Lydia replied, shooting a cold sideways glance at them. Emily noticed Serana's eyes flash dangerously at these words.
"Cattle?" Emily asked, hoping to draw Serana's attention from the housecarl.
"It's what mortals call those enthralled by vampires," Serana explained.
"Is your protégé still in training?" Lydia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"My 'companion'," said Serana through gritted teeth, "Knows a lot more than you give her credit for. And you are on thin ice. If it had been up to me we would have left you at Whiterun. But Emily trusts you and I trust her." Lydia fell silent and they continued.
Their progress was slowed by falling snow as midnight approached. Snowflakes coated their armour and furs, catching in their hair and eyelashes and fizzled as they came into contact with the torch. As they climbed the coarse earth and rock gradually became whiter and whiter, covered in an ever deepening layer of fresh fallen snow. In the shifting shapes ahead created by the swirling snowflakes Emily saw a dark hunched silhouette. Fearing it may be a troll she fumbled for her blade. The snow made it difficult to discern whether or not the object ahead was moving but as they drew nearer to it the torchlight revealed it for what it was. The snow before the stone emblem was spattered with blood. It pooled around the corpse of the Nord woman and lay thick. Emily gripped her dagger tightly as she looked about her and saw Serana and Lydia had done the same.
"What is it?" she asked, "Wolves?"
"Wolves don't leave messages," Lydia replied as she caught sight of words sticky and red plastered across the stone carving. Warily Emily brought up the magelight to look.
"The True Dragonborn comes," she read aloud, "What's it mean?"
"I don't know," said Serana, looking around, "She isn't dead long. We should move on."
"If we leave her like this the wolves will have her," said Emily. Lydia was eyeing her as though she were about to eat the woman and Emily met her gaze.
"I am a stranger to Nord customs, Lydia," she said solemnly, "How are Nords traditionally buried?" Her words clearly caught the housecarl off guard and it took her a moment to reply.
"Some are buried in the ground," she said, "Others prefer to be burnt on a funeral pyre." Emily looked about at the barren landscape.
"Then I apologize if she would have preferred fire," she said, "But there's no wood up here."
The ground was hard and for over an hour they toiled at their work, digging as deep a grave as the earth would allow. The woman was interred there and Lydia said a prayer to Arkay before closing the grave. They moved on again, more cautiously than before and Emily kept close to Serana. Lydia was quiet. The two vampires' actions concerning the corpse had given her reason to think.
They passed another stone tablet at three in the morning as the snow began to let up but they did not stop to look.
The sky was beginning to lighten and Serana scanned the mountainside. "We'll need to find shelter soon," she said.
They found shelter in the form of a cave close to the fifth stone tablet which marked the mountain's halfway point. It was cold inside, each rock coated in frost and the harsh crack of shifting ice rang out to them from the darkest recesses. Lydia planted her lit torch in the snow and built a crude fire of dried moss that somehow managed to survive in these harsh temperatures. Emily spread out her cloak by Serana and sat cross-legged, looking into the small flames. For a time none of them spoke.
"She was a pilgrim, wasn't she?" Emily spoke up at last.
"She must've been," Lydia replied, "There are few other reasons to come up here. The game isn't good and there are no ruins to explore."
"It's that message more than anything that worries me," Emily confessed. Hermaeus Mora's words came to her once more, the message of foreboding.
"The True Dragonborn," she said aloud, "Which implies there's one those murderers consider false. And if that one is me…" She left the sentence hanging.
"We'd better keep our eyes open," said Serana, "If we meet them on the climb I'll make sure they don't make it back to Ivarstead."
Time passed slowly in the cave and more than once Emily found herself staring at the cave entrance as though expecting the robed strangers to come charging in. At one point she fell into a fitful doze and woke with a start at mid-afternoon, shrinking back from the encroaching sunlight as it shone in through the mouth of the cave. She woke Serana and they retreated further back into the shadows where they settled once more.
At sundown they left the cave and resumed the steep climb. Many of the steps were blanketed in a thick layer of snow with only the topmost edges poking through. The only vegetation was the odd spindly snow-bedecked pine and the only animals they saw were goats and snowshoe hares. At one point Serana saw a pair of green eyes glowing between two close-growing pines but when she reached for her bow the bush-tailed shadow turned and bolted.
It was midnight when they heard the howls. Emily conjured a ball of magelight and shone it about. But they kept out of reach of the light and she saw only a wet nose or a whisking tail. The path they followed had widened out, more than tripling the angles from which they could be attacked. Ahead of them a rocky wall straddled and overhung the path on both sides and they made for it, dogged by the shadowy shapes. They could hear excited yelps and barks from the younger members of the pack. They broke into a run and sprinted for the rocky overhang. Emily expected at any second to feel the weight of the animal slam into her and send her sprawling to the snow. But it never came and presently they noticed all sound had ceased.
"I guess they didn't fancy their chances after all," Lydia smiled, turning to look back the way they had come. They could just see the shadowy four-legged shapes slinking back over the rocks and out of sight.
"This doesn't seem right," Emily said quietly to Serana. Serana nodded.
"The sooner we reach the monastery, the better," she replied.
They turned back to the overhang and started off into it. Emily's eyes wandered restlessly about, settling on the icy rocks sticking up out of the ground and the icicles hanging overhead. Her boot dislodged something from between two rocks and she watched as it rolled out, skittering into the torchlight where it came to a halt. Light reflected off the smooth yellowed surface and peeked into the two darkened recesses. Emily looked up from the skull and noticed that more of the grisly remains littered the shadowy corners. There were ribcages, femurs and more of the grinning skulls. Some belonged to goats, the long curved horns decorating the skulls, some were much smaller, belonging to rabbits and other small rodents but others looked unsettlingly human. The sight made Emily shiver far more than the mountain air and they hastened on.
Three wicked little eyes watched the trio slogging through the ankle deep snow. A thin thread of saliva ran down over the thick rubbery lips bedecked with brutish fangs and clung to the white shaggy fur. It shuffled along over the rocks, hairy knuckles bracing on the ground as the comparatively stumpy legs carried the muscular torso forwards.
A rock skittered loose and dropped down onto Lydia's helmet, making it ring like metal struck by a hammer. She looked up and scrambled back as she saw the shaggy beast plummeting down towards her. It landed heavily in the snow and roared. Emily let out a startled outcry, reaching quickly for her blade. Serana readied an icy lance on her palm and threw it at the hulking beast. It embedded itself in its shaggy shoulder and it turned roaring more in fury than pain. By now Lydia had recovered herself and had pulled her greatsword from her back. She ran at the beast, swinging the great blade but the troll whirled with surprising speed, knocking the blade to one side. Lydia rolled with the blow, clinging to the blade and brought it up again, cutting a neat gash across the troll's chest. It roared, buffeting the woman with globules of spittle and hot fetid air. She closed her eyes under the onslaught and then when the troll drew back and the air receded she opened her eyes in time to see a clawed hand swinging toward her. She tried to move but she was too late. It caught her in the stomach and she was flung back onto the snow. She saw the blood spreading across her leathers before the pain flooded her senses and she grimaced, squeezing her eyes shut. When she opened them again she saw her sword lying a few feet from her and beyond it the troll. It was shambling purposefully towards her. She thrust herself out towards her greatsword, one hand gripping her stomach to try and staunch the flow of blood. She fell short by a few inches. When she looked up again she saw the two vampires converging on the beast. One wielded icy lances while the other was dancing just out of reach before hurrying forward to stab with her small blade. Their figures wavered before her eyes and the sounds of battle sounded indistinct. Then her head dropped forward onto the snow and she saw no more.
The world around her was black and cold. She was dead, she knew it. But if that was so, why did she ache so? Was Sovngarde not a place where all mortal wounds were healed? She heard voices around her and she groaned into her arm which lay beneath her head. A flickering light danced before her closed eyelids. Perhaps it was the light of Sovngarde's heavens. Slowly she willed her eyes to open and when they did she was greeted by fire. It was a small fire with moss burning and curling in on itself at the heart of it. Beyond it she saw, as her vision came into focus, pale stone. She tried to move and a cold hand rested upon her arm. She reflexively recoiled from it and a gentle voice admonished her.
"Easy, you mustn't move too much," said the voice, "I've done what I can for your wounds for the moment. They were awfully deep."
"The troll," Lydia replied.
"Is dead," the voice replied. Lydia craned her neck around to look at the speaker. It was the blonde vampiress. Her companion was kneeling by her.
"What happened?" Lydia asked them.
"The troll knocked you out," Serana explained, "We managed to kill it and then we brought you here."
"Where's here?" Lydia asked, looking around.
"A small cave," Emily answered, "We left the overhang behind and followed the steps further up. We found the cave not far from the eighth stone tablet." Lydia closed her eyes for a moment. The pain in her stomach was still great.
"Em, go to my pack and fetch out some Marshmerrow, rock warbler eggs, gleamblossom and juniper berries," said Serana. She moved nearer to the housecarl. Lydia opened her eyes and watched warily as the blonde vampiress retreated to the back of the cave and pulled open a leather pouch. She withdrew from it a pestle and mortar, a bundle of strange glowing flowers, two small green eggs, a bunch of small pale green berries clustered together on a twig with spiky green leaves and several reed-like plants. She also pulled out a bottle of mead and hastened back to her companion with the ingredients. Serana set to work, first cracking the eggs and skimming off the yolk into the small bowl. To this she added the marshmerrow and began crushing it into a thick sticky paste. A sweet smell drifted towards her nose from the crushed stems and she watched as the vampiress took the bottle from Emily, uncorked it and added it to the mixture. She then set the bowl down on a flat rock and gingerly moved it closer to the fire. When the mixture began bubbling gently she lifted it from the rock and moved to the housecarl's side.
"You'll need to drink this," she said. Her voice was not quite so gentle as her companion's but there seemed no ill intent behind her words. She helped the housecarl to sit up and drink the potion. It was sweet and warmed her through, a warm tingling spreading out from her stomach to her extremities. As the housecarl lay back down the vampiress conjured water from her fingertips as Emily had once seen Angeline do at the Solitude alchemists and wash out the bowl.
Then she began work on the second potion.
"What will this one do?" Emily asked as she watched Serana mix the stamens of the glowing flowers with the juice of the juniper berries.
"This will speed up the healing process," she explained, "I've already given it a bit of a boost with the last potion. This one is less extreme but longer lasting."
Once the second potion had been given the housecarl slept a while. Emily took up her accustomed position at Serana's side and rested her head on her shoulder.
"How much longer til we reach the monastery do you think?" she asked.
"I don't think much longer," Serana replied, "Our guide here said there were ten stone tablets. We've found eight. I think another few hours should get us there. So long as we don't run into anymore trolls." She looked over at Lydia at these words.
"I hope not," came her companion's reply as her arms circled about her, "One is enough." Serana smiled.
"Come on, we should get some rest," she said.
It was a few hours later when the housecarl woke again. Her side still ached but more dully than before. Apparently the potion the vampire gave her was doing its work. The vampire in question was sitting cross legged by the fire. Her blonde haired companion had fallen asleep with her head in her lap. Lydia frowned. This was not normal vampire behaviour, surely. She dropped her gaze uncertainly for a moment. When next she looked the vampire was looking over at her, firelight reflecting off her red eyes. She couldn't help an instinctive shiver at the sight but she hid it well.
"I uhh…," she said slowly, "I misjudged you, both of you. I apologise." For a moment Serana didn't reply.
"You wouldn't be the first," she said at last, "And I'm sure you won't be the last."
"I owe both of you my life," Lydia continued, "Thank you." She saw a small flicker of a smile as the vampiress responded.
"I guess we can call it even then," she said, "As you got us up here in the first place."
After a time Lydia slept again, more easily this time and when she awoke it was dark outside the cave. Emily was all for delaying their trip another night but she shook her head and got stiffly to her feet. The potions had done their work and though she was forced to move cautiously to avoid jostling the wound too much beneath the bandages she was able to walk.
"I'll make another restorative when we reach the monastery," Serana said as they left the cave.
It was six hours before the towers of the monastery came into view. The night was clear and the dark brickwork was silhouetted against the undulating turquoise ribbons of the aurora.
"So that's the home of the Greybeards," said Emily as they drew nearer.
"That's it," Lydia replied, "No one but those summoned and accepted by the Greybeards are allowed within those walls." Emily turned to her then, slight concern showing on her face.
"They will allow you and Serana in though, won't they?" she asked.
"Only the Greybeards can answer that," Lydia replied.
"Well, I won't go in unless they let you both in," Emily said, "The sun will be up in a few hours and you, you need to keep warm and get some rest."
The steps up to the monastery divided in two halfway up, leading to two sets of iron doors. They took the steps on the right and followed them up past an offering chest. Emily reached the door first and, steeling herself for a moment, set her shoulder to it and heaved it open.