The days leading up to the expedition passed by far too slowly for the priest. He went through his normal routine - eating and preaching the mighty word of Talos - but he made a trip to Dragonsreach to buy new robes. It had cost him a lot of coin but the enchanted protection was worth it.

But finally the day had arrived and Heimskr was up even though the sky was still dark. He dressed in his new robes, grabbed his pack and walked out into the town, but not before making sure that his home was securely locked. The few guards that were about on their rounds bid him morning and he returned their greetings with a nod or a small wave. Once at Breezehome he knocked on the door twice before Lydia opened and beckoned him inside.

"Morning, Heimskr. Have you eaten?" Lydia motioned him to sit on one of the seats in front of the fire pit.

"I have."

"Ok. I have to finish packing and then get M'rasha and we'll be off."

The priest looked around and was surprised to see that the cat's home was less ostentatious than he expected. It was, well, homey just like his (minus the religious memorabilia). He relaxed, watching the fire in front of him slowly die down. Lydia made busy as she moved about, packing the last supplies and securing the house. Heimskr was so relaxed (and a still a tad tired) that he began to nod off until a stern voice woke him. "You're sitting in my chair, priest."

Heimskr shot out of the chair and spun around to see the Khajiit standing behind it. She donned a combination of steel and glass armor and wore a black cowl on her head and a large Dwarven mace hung from her side.

"Does the priest need another day to sleep?" M'rasha asked, mockingly. "Or can we leave?"

Before Heimskr could respond Lydia sidled next to her Thane, tugging the older woman's hood down. "Stop picking fights, woman. We haven't even left the house."

M'rasha grumbled, pulled her hood back over her head, walked past the man and out the door. Lydia could only sigh and give the priest a sorry look. "Come on, let's go catch up."

The housecarl led Heimskr out of the house and locked it. Dawn was approaching and the sky starting change color and brighten.

"Heimskr."

He looked to his left and saw M'rasha sitting on a barrel in front of WarMaiden's. In her hands she held a glass dagger with its sheath and strap. The priest eyed the dagger cautiously. M'rasha just rolled her eyes, "Just take the stupid thing. If I wanted you dead, you'd already be a walking torch. Now, I don't have to tell you how or when to use it, do I?"

Heimskr grumbled and nodded. He took the dagger, not wanting to anger the Khajiit and have her change her mind before they'd even set out.

"Good. Let's be off then." M'rasha hopped off the barrel and headed to the town gate.

An hour later they had reached their first location. M'rasha climbed atop a giant boulder and gestured to the land around her, "Okay priest, this is Whiteriver Valley. Where's the shrine?"

Heimskr pulled out his map and started walking past the rock the Khajiit was sitting on, bringing the paper down to look around every so often. "According to the map it should be nearby."

"Most likely hidden since Talos worship is outlawed," Lydia added.

"Then we'd better start searching."

They split up and began searching. Heimskr marched off the path towards some trees. But alas, the Shrine was nowhere to be found. And after 20 minutes of walking up and down that ridge the priest was starting to think the Thalmor may have destroyed it until he heard the Lydia call out to him. "Heimskr, over here!"

He walked up the small hill and there it was. The statue of Talos Spetim, sword posed over the serpent he kept under foot, ready to end it. The man's heart was full of joy to see that not only did the Thalmor not get to the shrine, but just look at the sheer number of offerings that had been left there! There were still those, those who believed in the Nine, who worshipped here.

"I see you've found it."

Heimskr looked up to see the Betmer peering down on them from the rock above. M'rasha hopped into a near by tree and slid down.

"Well that's the first time I've ever seen a cat get itself out of a tree," Lydia said grinning.

The Khajiit turned her head to the Nord and glared at her. "I will shout you into the tree and then we'll see if you can climb out so easily." She looked at the cave and then at the barely-there path that lead to the shrine, admitting, "I'm surprised the Thalmor haven't found this yet. It's not in the open, but at the same time..."

Heimskr whipped his head towards the Betmer. "Are you going to squeal to those elves?"

"It might come as a surprise, but I don't like them either."

The priest eyed his bodyguard as he shrugged off his pack. "Hmph."

"We're alone for now, so do what you have to do so we can be out of here before trouble finds us." Lydia took a few steps down towards the path to keep watch.

Heimskr shrugged off his pack, pulled out several orange flowers and a green bottle. After removing the offerings from the dish in front of the statue, he placed the flowers in the liquid and raised his arms in reverence. "Talos the Mighty!" he cried out. "Talos the unerring! Talos the unassailable! To you we give Praise! Watch over us as we do your will and spread your word!"

Lydia wasn't going to lie, she had fully expected something magical and mystical. She looked over to M'rasha just as the Khajiit rolled her eyes. With the spiel the man had told them, they had expected something a little more...flashy. Apparently the ritual was nothing more than the same speech Heimskr had told all over Skyrim…

Or so they had thought.

The eyes of the statue glowed a bright amber. The stone god lifted his foot off the dragon-serpent. The serpent stretched over to the plate of offerings and ate the flowers Heimskr had laid out on the dish. Then it had coiled back into its original position and the statue-Talos replaced its foot back onto the creature and went still once more. M'rasha slowly slinked up next to Heimskr's side and poked the stony serpent in its side. It did not move and neither did the stone Talos when she poked its leg with her ax.

"I must admit, Heimskr...that was unexpected," M'rasha confessed.

A smug grin appeared on his face. "I told you. I have been anointed by the great Talos!"

"Yes, yes. Now pack up your stuff. This is just the first one." M'rasha turned to the still-in-awe Lydia. "Lydia! Go back to the road and make sure nothing is coming to ambush us. Give a whistle if we have company."

"Oh! Of course." Lydia headed back up the path leaving the Betmer and the Nord alone. M'rasha moved away from the shrine and leaned against a nearby tree, watching as Heimskr plucked the wet flowers from the plate and placed them in a separate pouch.

"Could you hurry this up Heimskr? We have a long road ahead of us before we make it to Dawnstar," M'rasha said.

Heimskr just huffed. "And if I don't pack everything correctly, then I am liable to misplace something necessary..."

A sudden whistle stopped him from finishing. M'rasha pushed herself off the tree. Heimskr grabbed his pack and followed the two women down the hill.

The sounds of battle filled Heimskr's ears once they were back on the main road. Instead of walking straight into the conflict, the trio hid behind a large boulder. By the time they peeked out from the rock, the fight was over and the Stormcloaks lay dead on the frayed grass.

"Looks like we just saw the end of a scuffle." M'rasha sighed and began slowly walking in the opposite direction, towards the north. "Nothing we can do."

Heimskr opened his mouth to argue but stopped when he felt an arm on his shoulder.

"M'rasha's right this time," Lydia stated, as if it were a matter of fact. "Let's go."

Heimskr grumbled and followed his guards. When they got back on the path, they found themselves only a stone's throw away from celebrating Imperial company. They hoped none of them noticed the trio.

But after only a few paces they heard a voice ring out, "You there. Halt in the name of the Empire!"

They all stopped and turned to see that contingent of soldiers only a few strides away. A tall, dark-skinned man stepped forward.

"Who are you?"

M'rasha was quick to respond before Heimskr could. "Just pilgrims sir. Visiting the Shrine, sir."

The soldier crossed his arms, adopting a cocky stance. "You know Talos worship is illegal, cat. I'm well within my right as Praefect to bring you all to Solitude."

"Again, sir, this one understand fully. But we were visiting the shrine to observe the craftsmanship of those whoever carved such a splendid statue of Tiber Septim."

"It is true," Lydia chimed in, "Unfortunately, it seems that someone, most likely the Thalmor, destroyed the statue nearby. All that was left was the feet and the serpent."

The Praefect stared at them warily and then his posture relaxed. "I see. But aren't you two a little heavily-armored for scribes?"

Lydia and M'rasha exchanged glances, and then turned back to the soldier. "Well, with the civil war going on and dragons flying about, Skyrim isn't the safe place it once was. You of all people must understand?"

The Praefect rubbed his chin and nodded. "Of course. But not to worry ladies. The Empire will soon have this conflict ended and Skyrim will be at peace once more. "

"But of course you elf-lovers would think that," the priest murmured just loud enough for the soldier to hear him.

He took a step towards Heimskr, "Would you care to repeat that, priest?"

"Quiet," Lydia hissed and she swiftly elbowed him. "He meant nothing by it, Praefect. He's just cranky that he wasn't able to see the statue and we have a long walk ahead of us to the next one."

"Do not defend him, lady," the soldier commanded. "I want to hear what this priest has to say."

"You want to hear what I have to say?" Heimskr stepped forward and scoffed at the company of soldiers. "Fine, then. You're so scared to rise up that you rather lick our Elven overlords' boots than take up arms against them!"

"Insulting a member of the Legion. I don't know whether you have guts or you're just crazy."

"Tell me," he continued, filling up with the spirit of his own evangelism. "Why do you fight for the Empire instead of Ulfric Stormcloak?"

"Because Ulfric is a traitor," the soldier responded. "He killed the High King Torygg."

"...who was a traitor to Skyrim."

"Do not call him a traitor!"

"But you know he is!" Heimskr shouted, stepping back. "And the Stormcloaks will undo the damage of that inept ruler! And if you do not side with them, then you're as stupid as the Emperor himself."

Heimskr turned his back on the small company and walked back to where M'rasha and Lydia stood. He didn't make it very far.

The Praefect grabbed Heimskr by the shoulder, spun him around and punched him in the jaw, sending the holy man to the ground. His companions winced at the blow but neither were surprised it had escalated as far as it looked down at him in pity.

The soldier crouched and spat on the fallen man. "It looks like we got ourselves a Talos worshiper after all, men." He kicked Heimskr in the ribs, delighting in his moan of pain.

But before he could take his new prisoner into custody, the Praefect was sent flying back by an invisible force and landed with his feet touching his shoulders. He worked himself back up and looked over at the trio. M'rasha remained standing where she had before, and Lydia was helping Heimskr to his feet.

"Okay. I think he's learned his lesson. Now why don't you be on your way to Solitude and forget this ever happened."

"You two aren't scribes at all!" he sneered. "Very well then, I was going to be lenient and let you two go, but now all of you are under arrest for illegal Talos worship. And instead of Solitude, I think a trip to Markarth and the Thalmor Justiciars is more likely in order. Detain them!"

He expected them to beg for their lives or even to fight but not for the women to glance at each other and start laughing.

"Arresting the Dragonborn," Lydia said, mockingly. "I don't think that would be such a good idea. You don't want her to Shout at you again!"

"I knew it!" another of the soldiers shouted. "I knew that was a Shout! She is the Dragonborn…".

The other soldiers began muttering among themselves. The Praefect was not affected by this new change in status. "Are you disobeying a direct order? I said arrest them!"

But none of the men moved.

"Then I'll deal with it myself!"

"IZZ SLEN NUS!"

A ball of ice left the Betmer's mouth and hit the Praefect head-on, freezing his entire body. She casually walked over to him and then slammed her fist down. The encapsulating ice shattered and the man crumpled into a heap on the floor. His whole body shuddered as he tried warming himself up.

"So," she said, coldly, "Since I spared your life, you're not going to arrest me or my companions, or notify any guards, members of the Legion, or the Thalmor. And, as a bonus, I'll let your men take you back to Whiterun before you die of hypothermia. And if anyone comes after us, I will hunt you down, find you personally, and finish the job. Got that?"

The man nodded, though whether in agreement or due to cold shivers couldn't be known. M'rasha looked to his men. "You can take him away now."

Two soldiers hoisted the Praefect to his feet and began carrying him back towards Whiterun with the rest of the company trailing behind.

"Oh, and boys!" They all stopped to look back at the Betmer, who had a smile on her face. "The same goes for you."

They all nodded in unison and moved even faster down the road. The Dragonborn sighed and turned to the priest, who was rubbing his chin. His left cheek was swollen and turning darker, but it was nothing a potion couldn't fix.

"See Lydia, this is why I was opposed to going with him." M'rasha grabbed the discarded pack and tossed it at the priest.

"Then leave, if you're so opposed," the priest spat back.

M'rasha held her hand to her chest, "Are you serious? Why thank you, sir! Now if you'll excuse me, I have a nice, comfy bed back at Breezehome that I would like to lie in and a few bottles of ale I would like to drink, so that I may clear out the last few hours of today out of my head."

"Enough!" Lydia shouted, interrupting the argument. She grabbed M'rasha's shoulder and pulled her back, "Will you two stop arguing! M'rasha, you are staying on this journey whether you like it or not! Heimskr, stop goading her on. She is here as a bodyguard not a disciple! I swear, are the both of you children, or grown adults?"

"She started it," Heimskr hissed.

"Did not," M'rasha replied back.

"ENOUGH!"