Chapter 40
Drinks on the House
"An Elder Scroll. A fucking Elder Scroll!" Bishop threw his hands up, shouting it to the sky, then brought them down, crossed his arms and raised his brows looking at her incredulously as they trudged back down the slope together.
She cocked her head at him, frowning, "Yes. I heard. I was there."
"Where exactly do you plan to get one of those Princess? Gonna pull it out of your ass? Because," he chuckled, "I've seen your ass plenty of times and I don't think you've got one hiding up there. Feel free to surprise me though!"
She was already aggravated by the conversation with Paarthurnax that she was in no mood for Bishop's cocky attitude either, "Could you lay off me a little? I'm just winging this whole Dragonborn thing. I don't exactly know what I'm doing either."
He sighed, realizing that he was being a total ass, "Sorry."
She looked at him surprised. The word sorry, rarely, if ever crossed his lips.
"I'm just taking my frustrations out on you. Think I'll save it for the four Grey bastards instead," he stopped suddenly, grasping her arm and getting her to halt too. He looked at her, brows knitting together and said, "Rona, you don't have to do this. Fuck the prophecy or whatever the hell it all is. We should just leave. Go to Cyrodiil, see your friends, hell, I'll even join your damn Fighter's Guild with you if it means getting as far away from this place as possible."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Bishop, you heard him. The dragons will find me. They can sense me. And... they keep talking about Alduin destroying the world. What could that mean?"
"Probably just means a lot of people are going to die. I mean they have already, dragons being resurrected and going around destroying entire villages and cities. What do you expect?"
She made to pull away from him and he clung harder, drawing her into a tight embrace. Their cloaks caught on the wind, blowing around them as the snow started falling harder. She listened to him breathing deeply and clung to him. "I can't go..." She mumbled into his chest.
He ran his fingers through her hair, grasping the back of her head and sighed, "Yeah… I know." He buried his face into her hair, kissing her head.
She knew how much it pained him to watch her continue on this path, one that might even lead to her death at some point, they couldn't know for sure. She was more worried for him though. If Alduin learned of her love for Bishop, if he made to destroy him... would she give up like Jillian did that day? Fall to her knees and let him take her? If there were no others to stop Alduin would she let it happen? She couldn't... she wouldn't think about it.
Rona pulled him onward and they returned to High Hrothgar. She didn't intend to stay. She was still angry with everything Arngeir had said to her and a bit ashamed of herself for pointing out his own flaws so directly to his face. But as they came down the steps into the courtyard they found the four of them kneeling on the steps, praying or meditating. Arngeir looked up and cleared his throat. The others broke from their reverie and all four stood up.
Arngeir approached her, drawing his hands together and bowing. "Forgive me Lady Rona. I have been intemperate with you. I allowed my emotions to cloud my judgment. Master Einarth reminded me of my duty. I was so concerned that you would stray from the Way of the Voice, that I had forgotten that you are not bound by our philosophy. You were right in everything that you said."
She brushed her hair behind her ear and said, "I'm sorry too, for getting so angry. I sometimes forget that not everyone believes the same as I do."
Arngeir nodded, "It is not that we wish to see the world end, it is only that we accept it if it should be."
Rona looked into his eyes and asked him, "Is the world really going to end if Alduin lives on?"
He responded with a question of his own, "What do you know of the black beast?"
She shook her head, "Nothing."
"Come, let us sit inside. I will tell you everything I know." They followed him into the monastery and sat down at the dining table. The Greybeards had already cleared and cleaned up the food.
Arngeir looked on at her with despair in his dull, grey eyes, "Alduin was the first born of Akatosh, the first of the dragons. It is said that he destroyed the last world so that the new one could be born. During the Merethic Era, the people of Atmora worshipped the dragons and Alduin ruled over them all, mortals and dragons alike. Paarthurnax, his younger brother, served as his lieutenant and he too ruled over the mortals. It is around this time when Eira the White was born to a Dragon Priestess. She was the first woman to be gifted with the power of the thu'um. She was born several years after the very first Dragonborn, Miraak. Some say that Akatosh created her for Miraak, just as Nir was born to balance Anu. Eira and Miraak were raised together and trained to use their thu'um by the dragons themselves. They were accepted by them, nearly as equals. The two were married and bore many children together, continuing her bloodline. But, much like Anu and Padomay once warred over the affections of Nir, Eira fell in love with another."
"Paarthurnax," Rona said.
"Yes," Arngeir nodded,"Though it was not just Paarthurnax whose affections she'd caught, but Alduin himself. Alduin tried to take her, to keep her as his second in command, to make her for lack of a better word, his queen. Miraak was angered by her treachery and by Alduin's interest in her. He fell from his own path seeking vengeance against his dragon masters. As far as we know he was lost to the pages of Hermaeus Mora. Eira continued to tangle with Paarthurnax behind Alduin's back and she convinced him to gift mankind with the thu'um. Whether she did this to free her people or out of love, we do not know."
"We do, however, know that Alduin discovered her betrayal and he tore her apart, killing her. Paarthurnax convinced his brother that she had cast a spell over him to control him. Alduin overlooked it. And as Paarthurnax languished the loss of his beloved, he carried on teaching the thu'um to mortalkind for an age past. With their newfound power the humans began to fight against their dragon overlords, resulting in the Dragon War. Jillian was born from Eira's lineage and as you know, she fully accepted the role fate had given her and fought against Alduin herself once upon a time."
This was all incredibly enlightening. Though it still did not answer her question in the slightest.
Bishop yawned and said sarcastically, "Great story Arngeir, top marks for all the detail, but how exactly does any of that answer the question?"
"Oh I am getting to that young man," Arngeir assured him and Bishop rolled his eyes.
"As you know, Jillian's lover, Ronin was killed by Alduin. Jillian sought vengeance against him and all dragons. She joined the Tongues at the top of the Throat of the World where they used the Elder Scroll to tear apart Time itself and sent Alduin... well, here it seems. It has always been foretold that Alduin would consume the world and remake it. He is the harbinger of apocalypse, The World Eater. Jillian could not destroy him, they could only cast him to the winds of time. Long has the world turned wherein a Maiden of Dragon Fire has not blessed us, until you," he nodded to Rona, "Fate would restore the female Dragonborn, for your destiny is so intertwined with that of Alduin's, since the time of Eira. Perhaps the gods mean for you to destroy him once and for all, or perhaps they mean for you to send him adrift on Time once more, though you could also choose to do nothing. This is your destiny Dragonborn. Only you can decide the fate of our world."
She felt it on her shoulders then, the crushing burdens of the world. Her choices would mean the life or death of all of humanity. Arngeir could see the tension in her eyes and said, "The prophecy tells what may be, not what should be. Just because you can do something, does not mean you always should. Do you have no better reason for acting than destiny?"
She knit her brows together and looked to Bishop who wore the same concern and fears on his face. She said, "I... I like this world. I don't want to see it end."
"Some would say that all things must end, so that the next can come to pass," Arngeir offered.
She looked back at him, "No... I won't let it happen. The next world, whatever that may be, that's not my responsibility... this one is."
"A fair answer," Arngeir nodded.
But Bishop seemed to disagree, shaking his head, "Ladyship... this isn't your responsibility. You don't have to carry the worlds burdens on your shoulders just because some prophecy, which we don't even know is real or not, says so."
She turned back to him and touched his cheek, taking a breath and holding back her tears, "I can't lose you. Not now." He grasped her hand in his own and looked down at her hopelessly. Her lip trembled and she said forcefully, "I'll fight Alduin, I'll stop him somehow," she pulled her hand back, though Bishop held on and she pleaded with Arngeir, "Do you know Dragonrend? Can you teach it to me?"
Arngeir was despondent, "No. I cannot teach it you because I do not know it. Its Words of Power are unknown to us. We do not regret this loss. Dragonrend holds no place within the Way of the Voice."
"She needs it to beat that black dragon," Bishop growled angrily, "Damn you Greybeards! I thought you were supposed to know all the shouts!"
Arngeir simply said, "The knowledge of that shout was lost in time before history began. It was created by those who had lived under the unimaginable cruelty of Alduin's Dragon Cult. Their whole lives were consumed with hatred for dragons and they poured all their anger and hatred into this shout. When you learn a shout, you take it into your very being. In a sense, you become the shout. In order to learn and use this shout you will be taking this evil into yourself."
"We need the Elder Scroll then," she said desperately, "Where can we find it?"
"We have never concerned ourselves with the Scrolls. The gods themselves would rightly fear to tamper with such things. As for where to find it... I do not know."
He was useless to her and only fed into her frustration and anxiety. Rona put her head in her hands, feeling her fears mounting. This entire journey had taken a horrifically sharp turn for the worst. One minute all she had to do was carefully follow the path laid out for her, learn the Words and kill some dragons, she could do that. The next the world was on the verge of ending and the Greybeards wouldn't help at all. Maybe the Blades could though. The Thalmor had a lot of information too... maybe they knew where the Scroll was.
Bishop put a hand to her back and muttered, "Rona?"
She stood up abruptly and strode out of the dining room. They had to leave immediately. They had to get back to Riverwood. She needed to see her father and Delphine. They could help her, she just knew it.
Bishop caught up with her, Karnwyr following at his heels. Arngeir cried, "Wait! Dragonborn!"
"I can't stay Master Arngeir. I have to go now - I have to do something!" She spoke swiftly and had a hand to the door when he called at her back.
"At least allow us to complete the shouts you are missing words from. We would also gift you with another shout."She turned back and the old Greybeard gave her a sympathetic look. He held a hand out, "Please. I would like to do this for you."
Rona shook her head and threw a hand out, exasperated. "I don't have time to meditate or think about the Words!"
"I know," he said chuckling slightly, "and to be quite honest, I doubt you need to meditate on them. Come, let me complete your knowledge of Become Ethereal and Marked for Death."
He shouted three words to the ground. Rona relented and stood over them, allowing them to burn into the crevices of her mind.
The other three Greybeards approached as she did so and each stepped forward and shouted a different word into the ground, creating a new shout she had not learned. She took those words into her mind as well, Tiid Klo Ul. Masters Einarth, Borri and Wulfgar imparted their knowledge of the three new words immediately to her.
"That is Slow Time. I am sure it will prove useful on your journey. With that shout you will be able to slow time itself. It is a very powerful shout, one that I hope you will use wisely," Arngeir bowed his head to her, "I also wanted to apologize for upsetting you my dear. That was never my intention. I'm afraid to admit, I felt rather... ashamed of myself, making a young lady cry."
She smiled at him and ran over giving him a hug, which completely surprised him. She pulled away from him and made to leave again saying, "Thank you for everything Master Arngeir," she looked at the others, "all of you. We'll be back soon I hope, with an Elder Scroll in hand."
"Good luck to you Dragonborn. We will patiently wait for your return," Arngeir and the others bowed their heads and she ran out the door with Bishop and Karnwyr at either side of her.
It was quite dark outside. She had no idea how late it really was, though Bishop's yawning was an indicator that it was nearly time for bed. She had other plans though. As they crunched through the snow and neared the wind barrier Rona could clearly see a large group of people on the other side of it. They had a roaring fire, they were all waiting for her. But she had no time to bother with them.
Rona stepped off to the edge of the cliff face and looked down below them. At the bottom was Riverwood. It was so close, yet so far. Bishop stood by her and said, "What're you looking at?"
"Riverwood is right there," she said.
He yawned again, "Yup, gonna be a few days before we get there."
"It doesn't have to take a few days," she said looking up into his face with severity, "It could take us less than ten minutes."
He scowled at her and shook his head, "Oh no. No, no, no. We are not doing that again. I like keeping my feet planted firmly on the ground, thank you."
She pleaded with him, "Bishop please. We have to get there as soon as possible, I have to speak with Ata and Delphine."
He scoffed, "What about the horses? All our gear?" He threw a hand out, "What about Karnwyr!?"
She looked over at the wolf, "He can come with us. I can paralyze him and you can carry him over your shoulder."
He grit his teeth and held his hands out clenching his fists, uttering a frustrated growl, "I... You... We..."
"Risla was already expecting to look after the horses for a few days," she added, "We can walk back to get them later."
He threw his hands to his head, rubbing them over his face and sighed heavily, "Lightfoot, you're going to kill me..."
"I'm trying to save you!" she cried, tears clinging to her eyes.
His face fell at the sight of her. "You're really that worried about all this?"
She turned away from him. "I don't know what else to do," she whispered, wiping her eyes with the palm of her hand.
Bishop threw an arm around her waist and pulled her against him, making their hips meet. He pressed his lips together and said, "Okay, let's just get it over with."
She looked at him relieved and clicked her tongue, coaxing Karnwyr over to her. She scratched his ears and cast a paralyzing spell over him. Bishop lifted the limp wolf up and tossed him over his shoulder. He clutched at Rona with his free hand and said, "I'm going to keep my eyes closed this time. So just tell me when we're there will yah?"
(Recommended music Leaving Lemuria by Jo Blankenburg)
"I will," she said holding onto him. They moved to the edge of the cliff and she counted to three and they kicked off. Bishop howled, "Aaahhh!" loudly as they fell, but she cast her spell quickly making their descent a slow one. He closed his eyes tightly and gripped her waist a little too hard. She just leaned into him, clutching at his clothes, keeping him pressed closely to her to give him some sense of stability.
She looked up into the sky and saw a full moon peeking over the Throat of the World. A dragon, she was sure it was Paarthurnax, flew across it, roaring into the night. A dragon that had loved a woman and a woman that had loved a dragon. It was like a story from a fairytale. And although Eira died ages ago, every appearance she made when in his presence, he showed nothing but affection for her. He still loved her but could never truly be with her. For he was an immortal beast and she a dead woman. They could only see each other through the connection of the female Dragonborn, the Maidens of Dragon Flame.
She actually felt pity for the poor creature. How painful it must have been to lament on a lonely mountain for thousands of years with only his memories to keep him company. Rona looked back to Bishop. His eyes were still firmly shut and he held very still, as if budging even a little would set them off balance and send them plummeting to the ground.
They were nearly there and Rona kicked off a precipice, sending them a bit further out from the mountain. Bishop sucked his breath inward at the sudden change of motion and then finally their feet touched solid ground and Rona let go of him. His eyes snapped open and he breathed, relieved and set Karnwyr down as he fell to his knees, grasping at the grass. "I think I'm gonna be sick," he mumbled.
Rona chuckled lightly at him and knelt down, rubbing his back, "You'll be fine."
She pressed a glowing hand to Karnwyr releasing him from the paralyzation and he whimpered and looked around very confused, that is until a fox darted out of a hollowed out tree, then he ran off after the thing, barking madly.
Bishop stood back up and said, "I need a drink."
They walked down to the Sleeping Giant Inn and stepped inside. Orgnar was busy wiping down the counter when he looked up and scowled at them with half lidded eyes. "Great. You two again? Didn't you just leave?"
Bishop took a seat at the bar and leaned his elbow on the counter, putting his head in his hand. He said with a dizziness to his voice, "Uh yeah, just rode a dragon back into town. You know, 'cause it was faster than riding a horse."
Rona asked, "Is Delphine here?"
Orgnar raised his brows at her, "Nah, she's out."
"Do you know when she'll be back?" Rona persisted.
"Nope," Orgnar replied shortly.
"Orgnar," Bishop interrupted, "get me a something hard will you?"
"Like what?"
"Got any Daedric Lava Whiskey?"
Orgnar scoffed at him, "Pft. What do you think this place is?"
"Alright, got any Colovian Brandy then?"
"Hmph... Think I got a bottle somewhere, lemme check," Orgnar went downstairs.
Rona sighed. It was too late to go running off to the farm to check there for her and she didn't want to drag Bishop along with her while he was clearly suffering from another bout of vertigo. Orgnar reappeared with a large, round bottle in hand.
Bishop reached for it, but Orgnar pulled it back and said, "Hundred gold for the bottle."
"Ugh, pay the man Ladyship," Bishop groaned into his hand, "You owe me that much."
She bit her lip and said, "Everything is with the horses."
He glanced at her and let out a slow and irritated, "Fuuuck." He looked back at Orgnar, "You know I'm good for it."
Orgnar scowled at him, "No gold, no drink."
Bishop slammed a fist on the counter angrily, surprising Rona. She didn't realize he'd be so upset over the whole situation. She made to speak when a drunk man in a black robe approached them. He had stringy black hair and very reddened eyes, clearly he'd been hitting the bottle for a while now.
"Hey friend. No need to get angry, I'll gladly pay for your drinks, for both of yah!"
She looked warily at the strange man but Bishop was surprisingly friendly. He looked back at the man and said, "Yeah? I won't say no to that. What's your name stranger?"
The man held his hand out and said, "Just call me Sam."
Bishop shook his hand and introduced himself. Then Sam pulled out a large coin purse full of gold and dropped it onto the counter and said, "Bring me the brandy!" He glanced over at Rona and wobbled slightly and said, "You look like the kind of lady that enjoys a nice wine."
She raised a brow at him and said, "How'd you guess?"
"Must be your elvish charm, miss," he rubbed a hand over his ear. She felt mildly suspicious of this overly friendly stranger.
Sam called for Orgnar to bring him two bottles of wine as well. Before they knew it the counter had six different bottles of liquor on it and the three of them were already downing their favorites. Rona pushed aside her reservations and decided to join in too, she wanted to stop thinking about everything she'd learned. Stop worrying and stressing herself out. The wine was very good too, better than usual.
Bishop passed her a tankard full of Colovian Brandy and slurred, "You gotta try it. We never did get around to trying this *hic* stuff back in Windhelm."
She looked at the caramel colored liquid and watched as Bishop grabbed another tankard and filled it to the top then downed the entire thing in one go. She followed suit, tipping the whole thing back and gagging slightly at the taste and the way it burned her throat.
"Tastes like fire, doesn't it?" Bishop smirked, downing another.
"It's worse than fire," she cringed, "The fire was actually kind of nice."
"Well color me surprised," he said and took a third.
"What do yah mean?" Sam asked looking perplexed and wobbling from side to side, "You a fire eater? I seen one of those once, waaay out in Elseweyr. Cats that eat fire and spray it from their mouths! It's amazing!"
Bishop smirked at the man and put a hand to his shoulder, also wobbling and red in the eyes, "This girl... look at her, this teeny, tiny girl... she's… wait for it… the Draggerborn."
Sam got wide eyed and an enormous grin sprawled over his face, "Nooo - heeer?"
"Hey!" she shouted, bleary eyed, "I resen... I resemble that remark," she squinted, "Resent... I resent that! I am not teeny tiny, thank yooouuu!"
"Ladyship... you're like the smallest person I ever met," he looked at Sam again, "You know she's half altmer? They're like twenty feet tall and she's this itty bitty thing. What the hell happened woman? Some mage hit you with *hic* with a shortening spell?"
She scowled at him, her vision blurring and she slurred, "I think you've been drinking too much Mister RUDE! How many bottles have you had now anyways!?"
"Every single bottle!" he declared,"Ugh... stop mothering me, dammit! *hic* I'm not a child. Although *hic* you'd be a much better mother than the one I had," he giggled and she laughed back.
"You'd be a better mother than mine too... You want we should be each other's mothers?" Her words were nonsensical, but she was thinking slowly and didn't bother correcting herself.
"Mmm yeah, *hic* I'd like that," Bishop smiled devilishly at her.
Rona held out her tankard and he filled it for her. The two of them drank and drank until they were both leaning heavily on the counter, laughing and giggling at each other's stupidity.
Orgnar had already disappeared for the evening, leaving the three of them to it.
Bishop poured the rest of the Colovian Brandy and drank it down and she grabbed his empty tankard and said, "Noooo... you didn't save any for me?"
He slurred back, "Maybe I did... Maybe you should take a look down my mouth." He snickered loudly at his own remark
"Hey!" Sam cried throwing his hands to their shoulders, "Let's go for a walk. Get some fresh air," he turned towards the door and Bishop grabbed one of the bottles of wine on the counter and joined Rona in stumbling along after him. Bishop leaned on her shoulders, supporting himself while she poked him.
"Hey," she laughed, "You look really drunk, how many fingers am I holding up?"
He leaned into her some more, "Not enough in the right place," he giggled madly and she met his laughter then he tried to guess, "Um... Seventeen? No, nineteen? Fuck, I don't know! Too many!" He giggled again and said, "Funny... 'Cause you don't have that many fingers."
They continued following behind Sam, who was a little ways ahead of them, going west towards Falkreath. Rona started feeling frisky and groped Bishop's rear. He shouted, "Whoa!" And looked at her smiling broadly.
He started getting a rise in his trousers and she pointed at it and said, "Is that a dagger or are you just happy to see me?"
He grumbled at her stupidity, eyebrow cocked, "No... that is a penis. Not a dagger," then his eyes widened and he gaped at her slurring, "Wait... Are you? You are! You're actually trying to seduce me! HAH! Well *hic* well, it's my animal magnetism I tell you!"
She snorted at him and kept groping his rear. He took a swig from the bottle of wine and passed it to her wrapping his arm tighter around her shoulder. "You know, if you sit on my lap, I won't fall off. Not while I'm holding you, I won't. Nope, I sure won't. Come here Princess, let me hold-" he heaved slightly and she leaned away from him as he swallowed whatever vomit had come up and stood back upright, "Whoa! Not so fast, Bish..."
"Hey," she nudged him, a smirk pulling at her lips, "Think you could handle two of me right now?"
He looked at her wide eyed and then squinted as if he actually was seeing two of her, "Two of... you? Well... I've got two hands," he looked down at his own hands then back at her, "Oh, the possibilities!"
"I dunno," she mumbled teasing him, "I think the booze has impaired my ranger's performance."
He looked incredulous, "I never miss my mark! Or should I bend you over and prove it?" He went up behind her, grasping her bottom through her dress and shouted with enthusiasm, "Now there's Skyrim's heroic *hic* Dragger... uh... Draggerborn. Let's see if I can make the DRAGONBORN COME!"
He pushed his swelling groin against her butt and they tripped over each other, tumbling to the ground and giggling like idiots.
Rona looked up at him, grasping his shirt and said, "Bishop... Biishooop... the world will end if you don't tell me your middle name!"
He groaned, "Florence! No! I mean, Laurence... My parents had a debt alright? They needed to pay it off and this damn tights - wearing noble wanted them to name me after him."
She burst into loud belly laughs, bending over clutching her stomach, "HAH! AHAHAHAHAHAH!" And he frowned at her. Sam came over and put his hands to his knees, leaning over them and said, "Hey, you two have been holding your liquor real well tonight. How 'bout a friendly competition for this old staff of mine?"
He was suddenly holding an old mottled stave which he did not have before, that Rona could recall, but the evening had been quite a blur. It was a beautiful staff, designed to look like a rose. The top of it had the blooming petals and a pair of sharp thorns, while the rest of it served as a giant stem.
"It's pretty," she whispered, gaping at it.
Bishop suddenly got excited and said, "I'll win it for you Ladyship!" He pushed himself off the ground and tried to stand straight, but wobbled still. "What do I gotta do?"
Sam said, "Just gotta hold your liquor my friend!"
"A drinking contest? Pft," Bishop waved a hand, "You don't stand a chance!"
Sam pulled out another bottle of liquor, seemingly from nowhere and handed it to Bishop, "Ha! We'll see about that. This is a special brew, very strong stuff. Let's get started."
Bishop took a deep gulp from the bottle, wiping his mouth on his sleeve and passed it back to Sam, "That shit's *hic* pretty good. What is it? Mead? *hic* Ale?"
"Hehe, just something from my own stocks, been trying to make the perfect drink," Sam took a swig then passed it back.
Rona watched, sleepily as the two men swapped the bottle back and forth taking hard drinks from it until Sam seemed to give up and said, "Damn... I think I've hit my limit. Tell you what, one more round and you win the contest!"
Bishop slurred, "One more? No problemsh..."
Sam looked amazed as Bishop finished the bottle off completely. "Wow, you've really done it. The staff is yours!"
Rona clapped and smiled up at Bishop who looked quite pleased with himself as he said, "Thash grape!"
Sam pat him on the back and said, "You know, you two are fun to drink with. I know this great little place where the wine flows like water. We should head there."
Bishop made to speak but instead stumbled backward, barely catching himself as Sam said, "Hey... you don't look so good."
And then he toppled over completely and hit the ground hard, blacking out. Rona looked over at him and snickered, "Guess he couldn't hold his liquor after all."
Sam looked down at her, "Hey Dragonborn, still want to visit that place I was talking about?"
She mumbled, "Yeah... but," she looked at Bishop through her blurred vision, "We can't leave him."
"Oh don't worry," Sam twirled a finger in the air and Bishop's limp body floated up, "We'll bring him with us! Wouldn't want him to miss out on all the fun."
She smiled up at Sam and slurred, "I knew there was something funny about you! You're a mage."
Sam chuckled, "Something like that. Come on Dragonborn, the night is still young!"