(( Surprise. I updated again. I decided to mess around make this chapter in the point of view of Yosuke. While narration is normally a bit dry, as it comes with Yu's personality, Yosuke's was a bit more fun. Definitely an experiment in giving the narration a bit more voice. ))

Of Facades and High Fantasy

Chapter Five: Yosuke's Favorite Day Ever

We've been walking for hoouurs.

"Yosuke, look a bit more alive, will ya'?" Chie teases, causing me to snap from my zombie-like trance and once again pay attention to things. I take step after step on the dirt and stone path, looking at my surroundings once more. Y'know, I noticed when I'm bored to tears I actually start to see how pretty this place is. The sky is clear, and while the moderate amount of trees and bushes around me are green, the grass is a dark brown. The air, while still as cold as always, at least rushed past my nose with ease and smelled of pine.

After this, maybe we could all go camping again. I stare off into the distance to look at the far off mountains, their peaks surrounded by a light mist. The dragonborn, though, decides it would nice to sharped his weapon with some kind of rock. The metallic sound repeating in a pattern over and over and over AND OVER AND OVER AND-.

Maybe I should find something new to focus on. I take out one of my daggers and a cloth. I take a vial with my free hand and pour the liquid on the blade. I wipe the weapon down, coating it evenly. I take the other dagger as Yu starts to talk. "How far are we from Kynesgrove?" He asks.

I drizzle the liquid onto the weapon and start wiping it down once more. The nord responds. "Shouldn't be too far, now. Just be prepared for a fight, just in case Delphine is right."

Yukiko once again uses her staff as a walking stick, looking it over curiously. "Yosuke, is there some sort of limit to these staves? I can't see this thing being limitless, and I hope I don't run out of power in the middle of a fight."

I blink. "Yeah. I think they have a certain amount of magic to them. Though, I know they can refill when you enchant them with a soul gem." I shrug, and place the dagger back into its sheath. "Besides, even if it runs out of juice during the fight, you still have your Persona." I stuff the cloth back into a pouch I put onto my belt.

Yukiko nods. "I suppose so. We will have to find one of those gems at our next supply runs."

Yu digs in his backpack and takes out a dagger in a sheath. He hands it to Chie. "I've been meaning to hand this to you. While your kicking is a good technique, you'll be need a sidearm just in case that isn't an option. He takes a second one and tosses it towards Yukiko. "You, too. We can never be too careful, here. I know you're fine, Yosuke. We all have health potions, right?"

I snicker to myself. "Okay, mom." I blink, and take a look around me once more. Other than Yu rolling his eyes, I see the entire place starting to look greyer. I see clouds gathering above, and snowflakes falling. The entire group start to look around, except for Dunjar. He looks to a lodge nearby, and start walking towards it. "Here's Kynesgrove. Let's hurry, I'm sure this isn't a coincidence." We all head towards it in a light job, the nord drawing his weapons out.

From the lodge, a woman runs out of the door and looks to us. "No, you don't want to go up there! A dragon… it's attacking!" She yells.

Dunjar shook his head. "Here?" He blinks.

The woman shook her head. It hasn't attacked yet, but it circled around. It's headed for that old burial mound!"

Chie widens her eyes. "Crap! We need to get up there, now! Before there's two of them!" We all start sprinting up the hill, as Delphine comes from behind.

"Hurry, we might be too late." The former innkeeper says. I look up, and see the outline of a dragon flapping its wings in the air.

We reach a crater-like indention in the ground, glowing brightly with an aura. "Crap." I mutter, drawing my daggers. A booming voice from above starts to yell.

"Sahloknir! Ziil gro dovah ulse! Slen Tiid Vo!" The shockwave that results staggers us all, as the crater starts rumbling. Rocks start cracking, rising, and shifting out of the way. A skeletal dragon starts crawling out of the ground, its fram starting to glow, skin and scale starting to envelop its form.

Crap, we really got ourselves up shit creek this time. The zombie-dragon looks up to the one in the air and talks. "Alduin, thuri! Boaan tiid vokriiha suleyksejun kruziik?" It says in its weird language.

"Geh, Sahloknir, kaali mir." The bigger dragon replies. We all unsheathe our weapons, as the dragonborn approaches the big-ass lizard on the ground. The dragon in the air speaks again, "Ful, losei Dovahkiin? Zu'u koraav nid nol dov do hi." But this time, it was in Dunjar's direction.

After a few seconds, it laughs and starts speaking in English. "You do not even know our tongue, do you? Such arrogance, to dare take for yourself the name of Dovah." As he flies away, he speaks one last time. "Sahloknir, krii daar joorre."

The lesser dragon charges towards us, as Dunjar thrusts his blades forward. The dragon clamps down on to the blades in his mouth, the nord holding his ground. The rest of us charge in, weapons swinging. I get one good stab in before the dragon starts to inhale. Whoa. Whoa whoa whoa! I summon my tarot card, and shatter it with my dagger. "Jiraiya!" I shout, as my Persona appears behind me. I slash at the dragon twice more, before concentrating my power and shouting. "Garudyne!" A large gust of wind comes from my Persona, blowing the dragon sideways, the lizard losing grip of the swords and letting go of the Skyrim native.

I look to Yu, and ready my daggers. "Yu! Should we show'em who's boss?" He nods. While the dragon's down, the four of us charge and start wailing on the dragon.

Yu starts slashing and cutting deep into the dragon's sternum, while I focus on stabbing the underbelly, Chie starts to stomping and kicking the dragon's back with her spiked shoes. Meanwhile, Yukiko is letting loose a stream of firebolts at the lizard's head. After a few seconds, the nord gets up just in time for all of to be blown back by gusts of wind produced by the dragon's wings. It flips over and launches into the air, soaring in the sky and circling us.

Dunjar's the first to get up, and sheathes his swords and takes the bow from his back. He closes an eye and takes an arrow from his quiver. He aims, and waits for the dragon to stay still. Delphine does much of the same, only she lets an arrow go and hit the dragon in the gut. Yukiko readies her staff and starts shooting more bolts of fire. Only one manages to hit the dragon, the beast pausing briefly. Dunjar takes advantage and lets the arrow loose, the projectile hitting the dragon in the eye. It screams in pain. But it still soars in circles around us. Yukiko's firebolts suddenly stop, as she shakes her staff, expecting something to come out.

The dragon takes another deep breath, as fire starts to come from the sky, the stream following Dunjar. I could feel the heat from meters away. The nord runs, and tries to swerve to avoid the breath. Yu summon his tarot card, and crushes it in the palm of his hand while yelling. "Izanagi! Ziodyne!" His Persona appears behind him and casts the spell. Lightning hits the dragon, the stream ending when its concentration ends. Though, it seems the nord was caught just as it ended, the brutish warrior flais in order to try and put it out.

I widen my eyes, and crush my tarot card once more, as Yukiko does the same. I yell out, "Dia!" as Yukiko follows with "Diarama!"

Healing energy surrounds the hairy man, the fire fading away and skin starting to look normal. He stands up and clutches his swords. "GET THE BASTARD DOWN HERE!" He barks, teeth clenched, face twisted in anger and eyes gone wild. He looks a little pissed.

Chie crushes her tarot card with a kick, yelling, "Tomoe Gozen!" The yellow jumpsuited Persona leaps up and then elbows the dragon's back, driving the halberd into the dragon as it crashed to the ground. The nord rushes the downed beast, and drives his swords into the lizard's skull. The creature stops lashing, finally taking its final rest.

Freakin' finally. That was hell.

The dragon starts to glow, once more. Its skin starts to turn into golden winds that flow into the dragonborn. He takes a deep breath, and wipes his forehead. "Thank you, Yosuke and Yukiko. Not sure if I would have been able to fight if it weren't for that spell."

I shrug. "Of course. I mean, it's what we do for friends."

The nord blankly stares. "A few days fightin' things and you consider me a friend. Odd bunch."

Delphine approaches us, and crosses her arms. "We can discuss such matters later. I suppose I owe you an explanation, and your entourage as well. Considering the fact they decided to come along and help as well, I can't just kick them out."

Yu nods. "Besides. It'll help to not be in the dark when we're going up against the next thing."

She looks to the bearded man. "So. What do you want to know?"

Dunjar sheathes his blades, and looks up. "Who are you and what do you want with me?" He asks.

"I am one of the very last members of the Blades. A very long time ago, the Blades were dragonslayers, and we served the dragonborn, the greatest dragonslayer. For the last two hundred years, since the last dragonborn emperor, the Blades been searching for a purpose." She pauses, and uncrosses her arms. "Now that the dragons are coming back, our purpose is clear. We must stop them."

The nord shook his head. "And what do you know about the dragons coming back?"

She lets out a small sigh. "Not a damn thing. I was just as surprised as you to find that big black dragon here."

The brute blinks. "Wait. I've seen that dragon before, the one that got away."

She blinks, and steps forward. "Really? Where?"

The nord nods. "It was the one at Helgen, when Ulfric Stormcloak escaped."

She grits her teeth, and scrunches her nose. "Damnit! We're blundering around in the dark. We need to find out who's behind all of this."

The Skyrim native straps his bow against his back, fixing his quiver. "Well. What's our next move, Delphine?"

She rubs her head. "The Thalmor. If they aren't the ones causing this, they'll know. The key is getting into the Thalmor Embassy. It's their headquarters in Skyrim. But it's locked tighter than a miser's purse. They could teach me a thing or two about paranoia."

I scratch the back of my head. "So how do we get in?"

Delphine shook her head. "We only have two invitations. I have ideas, but I'll need a bit to string them together. Meet me back in Riverwood, and if I'm not there when you get there, just wait. I won't be long."

The nord gives the woman a part on the shoulder. "Alright. I will see you there."

The Blades member nods, and turns to leave, "Keep your eyes to the skies. This is only going to get worse."

When the woman leaves, Dunjar looks to us. "We'll be taking a trip to High Hrothgar, to return the Horn. I suggest you four find warmer clothing when we stop by Kynesgrove. This will be at the peak of a snowy mountain, and the climate will not be forgiving."

Chie blinks. "I guess, yeah. I mean, any colder and I'm pretty sure I'd freeze to death."

The nord turns and starts to walk while taking out his map from his bags, we all start to follow alongside him. Yu comes up to me and starts to speak. "Yosuke. When we get to Kynesgrove, I'll handle getting us warmer clothing. I trust you can handle getting the other supplies. You just need to get food, poison, and whatever a soul gem is." He takes a pouch and starts filling coins up with it from his own coin purse. "If those soul gem things are too expensive, come find me."

I nod, and take the pouch. "Thanks, man. I got'cha. Make sure my thing's got a lotta' fur. Mountain peaks are kind of cold as hell."

He laughs to himself. "I don't doubt it. Those gems went for a lot of money. I might just get us a full set of that hide armor. Besides, it's not like we need to think for much longer than a week or so."

I shrug. "It can't be much longer than that. I'd give it a few more days."

We reach Kynesgrove, and I look up into the sky. It's no longer cloudy, and snow stopped falling around us. Yu stops by a person at a campfire, with a tanning rack. Dunjar walks somewhere, I guess, because when I walk into the large lodge that stood at the center of the place, he didn't follow. But Chie and Yukiko walk inside behind me.

Chie takes out her own pouch, and sets it on the bartop. "Two bags of jerky!" She says. The tavernkeep nods, and turns to go to the kitchen. Yukiko takes out her pouch as well, and sorts out a number of coins.

The tavernkeep comes back and sets the bags in front of Chie. Yukiko orders next. "A loaf of bread, a few strips of jerky, and some fish." She smiles, and sets her coins down.

I shudder. Fish. They're a gross creature and a gross food to eat. I'm not sure how anyone can stand them. I place my coins on the table. "Two bags of jerky and a loaf of bread. By the way, you know where I can get a soul gem?"

The tavernkeep nods, and talks as he heads to the kitchen. "You're lucky I have one. Hopefully you have the coin for one."

I take out my pouch, and set it down. "How much would it be?" I ask.

The tavern keep sets our food down in front of us. "Well. It's one-hundred fifty septims."

I widen my eyes. "Geez. Alright, I suppose that's fair." I fish out and count all of those coins out on the table. The guy behind the counter digs and rummages below the counter, and sets the soul gem down. I take it and stuff it in my pocket. I feel for how many coins I have left, and I have about twenty. Balls.

"I'll take a bottle of mead, too." I say as I place the coins I have left on the table. I'm left with one coin as I pack the stuff I did get into my bag, handing the gem to Yukiko. "Chie, Yukiko, ask Dunjar how you recharge stuff with this. I'll check on Yu."

We turn to walk towards the exit; I brace myself for the cold once more and open the door. I head to Yu aheft my bag. "So. How'd the armor business go?" I ask, as Chie and Yukiko walk off to find our guide.

My partner throws me a set of leather armor. "Put this on. I trust you got the supplies?" He asks.

I start strapping the armor on over my clothes, buckling and tying and man this is complicated. They really don't want me getting out of this on accident. "Yeah, I got the food we'll need, and Dunjar's mead. I didn't have enough money for more potions or poisons. But Yukiko has the soul gem… thing." I say, arms flailing behind me to strap the stuff behind me on the chest piece. Though, it does feel nice to have extra layers, and the fur is a nice touch. It actually feels bearable to exist outside. I finish by kicking off my shoes and strapping the boots on, and then fixing the bags and pouches on my belt.

Yu had also been putting the armor on, but looks to me after I finished talking. "That's fine. You have enough poison for one trip, and we have a potion per person. Besides, Dia spells are good for that, too." We walk in the direction the other three had been going, for us to find a carriage that Chie, Yukiko, and Dunjar have been sitting in.

"C'mon." The nord starts. "I found a passing carriage and told him to hold long enough for our group. Luckily he'll be passing through Ivarstead, which is where the path starts for High Hrothgar."

Yu and I climb in, the three of them scooting over and making room for us. I lean against the railing, letting my legs stretch horizontally across the floor. Yukiko and Chie take their respective sets of and (regrettably) follow my example and begin putting it on over their clothes.

I close my eyes and get myself a nap in, before we head to this mountain.

Besides, I need rest after a damn dragon battle.

And of course, the nap always feels far too short. I'm tugged awake, only to open my eyes to- oh god that's A SPIKED FOOT NO.

I make a very unmanly squeak that I hope no one heard, and tumble off of the carriage (which totally would have been a backflip if I was prepared). I land on my back, and roll over to my stomach to push myself up. I glare at Chie, and yell, "What the hell was that for?! That's messed up!"

Chie and Yukiko laugh at my expense, and hop off of the carriage. Jerks. Yu and Dunjar once again take the lead, heading towards a bridge in front of us. I look up to the sky, as we walk, seeing that the sun was starting to head towards the horizon. It's still clearly daytime, but it's heading towards the evening. As I cross the bridge, I over hear, "Heading up the seven-thousand steps, Glimmek?" I blink, and gulp. Seven thousand steps? You kidding?

I mean, I knew it was long when I played the game but… All I had to do was push the control stick upward. But alas, we head upwards. The trail leads to steps. Steps on steps upon steps oh my god LOOK AT ALL THOSE-.

Relax, Yosuke. They're just steps. They can't hurt you. I adjust the sheaths on my daggers as I look around, seeing Yukiko using her staff as support walking upwards. And then I hear a howl. A goddamn howl near us. This is fantastic. Soon after, a wolf lunges from the side towards Yu. He takes a few steps back and takes his sword out, but by then the nord had already jammed his swords into the wolf's throat.

Dunjrar snorts. "That's why I always have my weapons out. Anything can come up to you and start chomping down. I remember fighting an ice troll here. A bitch of a fight."

I stare blankly at the corpse before continuing on as usual. Man, I remember that. Hopefully they don't respawn because that's scary stuff.

We pass by a man who's just staring at some altar thing, as we reach steps that seem to be covered in snow. He looks to us and says as we pass, "Be sure to look out for wolves if you're on the path to High Hrothgar."

Oh, really? Thanks, guy. So much help.

We walk for what seems like a damn hour, the sky lightly splashed with orange as the sun slowly reaches the horizon. We take step after step after step after STEP AFTER STEP AFTER USELESS WARNING FROM ANOTHER GUY.

Whoops. Everything became red for a second. Yukiko looks to me. "You alright, Yosuke? You seem like a zombie."

Dunjar rolls his eyes. "If he keeps doing that, something he won't see coming will smack him off of the mountain."

I stuck my tongue out, and shook my head. "I'm fine. It's just the cold." By the way, it's cold as balls. I mean, mountains are cold but this is really cold. After infinity times five steps, we come near a cave. This is where I found that frost troll, in the game. It seems both Dunjar and I cautiously creep around the area and look around for the worst thing since dragons. The frost troll, destroyer of health potions and reaper of every player ever.

Chie tugged my shoulder, and quirks a brow. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I shudder. "Trust me. I wish it was a ghost I was dreading." I shook my head, as we finally find more steps (I never thought I would want steps this badly.) away from the cave. "…And it seems it doesn't respawn, because the universe wants to give me a break."

After thirty more minutes of uneventful walking, I finally see a fortress. High Hrothgar, as I remember. We head up the last of the steps, and open the door. The first thing that hits me is the warmth that I had been craving since I left the tavern in Kynesgrove. The old men in robes look to Dunjar, as the dragonborn takes the horn from his belt. "I return with the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller." He gruffly states.

One of them takes the horn, and bows his head. "Master Wulfgar will teach to you the final word, of your Unrelenting Force shout. It will be useful to you in your adventures." And the old man that was specified walks up to Dunjar, and glowing winds come from him and into the brutish warrior. "You have completed your training. We will speak to you, now." The first one says.

And that's when it happened. Before the four of us could speak – BAM WHOA THE LOUDEST SHOUTING I'VE HEARD IN MY LIFE OH MY GOD THIS IS TERRIBLE THE GROUND WON'T STOP AND HOW DO YOU PEOPLE DEAL WITH THIS ASININE BULLSH-.

The world stops being fuzzy, the sounds stop pounding into me, and the ground stops shaking. I find myself in a fetal position on the ground with my ears covered. The other three seems to be in similar positions, as Dunjar turns to looks at us. "…Look, I know that was loud. But you four seems to be overreacting."

…I never wanted to punch someone more. The elder who spoke before starts to speak once again. "Dovahkiin, you have tasted the Voice of the Greybeards, and you have passed through unscathed. High Hrothgar is open to you." The ancient fossil looks to us four, and shook his head. "Perhaps I should have warned you. But considering you have survived and kept your hearing says something about your strength. I commend you on surviving, but I am not sure why you are here."

Yu slowly pushed himself up and stands. "We're here to help Dunjar. We did not expect all of… that, though."

"Of course," The Greybeard starts, "We will forgive your unexpected intrusion if you will forgive our onslaught."

Chie shrugs. "It's fine, I guess. We'll live."

Dunjar pats Yu on the shoulder. "Come. We have someone we shouldn't be keeping waiting any longer."

We follow, as I turn my head to give a polite nod. Of course, as we step outside, that precious warmth fades away. The cold, biting winds come back to chew on my ass. I look down, tilting my head. "Huh. I forgot, we can't just take a carriage down."

The nord rolls his eyes. "It's a mountain."

I widen my eyes, and rub the side of my head.

Steps, my archenemy, we meet once more.