Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the iconic gaming franchise The Elder Scrolls by Bethesda Game Studios nor am in any way associated with them or their affiliates other than through the purchasing of their various products.

Author's Note: So, time to have fun in the ol' Sunderstone Cave, eh? Can't wait. I remember it took me almost an hour before I could finally make it around the first trap, let alone make it all the way to the end and beat the fire— Sorry, no spoilers. But, this is definitely gonna be a fun one and will be the first true test of both Gio and Lydia's might. Enjoy, my children.

Chapter 6: Yol

Lydia escorted me around Whiterun first and foremost, introducing me to the Plains District at the lowermost level where the market (as well as Breezehome) was located, the middle Wind District (named because of the wind tunnel the buildings formed) that served as the main residential area, and the Cloud District (the highest point in Whiterun and as such the closest to the sky and the clouds) where Dragonsreach proudly stood.

We only made a short visit to my new home. It was quite fairly sized and right next door to Warmaiden's. It had two floors, with the first one being almost entirely open. The house felt larger in its emptiness, with only an unlit fireplace in the center of the room and the few pieces of furniture that had already been moved in. There was an extra room hidden in a corner underneath the stairs, and at first I thought it was a broom closet but I was informed that an alchemy and enchantment table from Farengar would be placed in there (along with brooms).

The second floor had a hallway with an open view of the first floor that led to two separate rooms. When you immediately went up the stairs and to the left was a small guest or servant's room of some sort, with only a lonely bed in one corner with a nightstand. Further down the hall was my room, much larger with a bed fit for two and storage chest. The men returning from the outpost had brought pieces of the defeated dragon with them as well, including its bones and some scales that had survived being incinerated, which were stored within the chest. Supposedly dragon scales made for the best armor in Skyrim, but even old Eoruld Gray-Mane hadn't the honor of saying he knew how to forge it.

Once we finished looking around, and I changed from my prison rags into a more suitable pair of trousers and tunic, we started shopping around town. We visited Adrianne first since she was so close, and she informed me that both the great sword (a less famous but still powerful one that she could only name as Frostbiter due to an inscription on its hilt) and my new suit of armor were done. She'd done an impressive job with the armor, making it from thin layers of plate steel. I put it on at the forge with Adrianne's help, finding it to be almost as weightless as leather armor, and after Lydia gave me a few good whacks with her sword, that it was also strong as any heavy banded mail.

"Nords like great swords, don't they?" I asked Lydia, looking back at Frostbiter.

"I prefer a sword and shield, but sometimes heavier weapons have their uses."

I tossed the great sword to my Housecarl, who caught it deftly despite its weight.

"My Thane, I can't this is yours."

"Yes, and you're mine as well, in a sense. Just think of it as me keeping my assets in one place."

"That was a really bad pickup line," Adrianne whispered to me as Lydia stowed the heavy blade.

"She's my Housecarl," I whispered back. "Nothing more."

The Imperial woman chuckled. "That's what Jarl Balgruuf says about his Housecarl."

We continued to explore the remainder of the market, picking up potatoes from Carlotta and venison from a meat merchant next to her stall, and I even allowed myself to buy a wheel of goat cheese from a little old Gray-Mane woman. At the General Store I didn't browse very long, only picking up a few spell tomes and upgrading Lydia's equipment some.

"I'm fine with what I have," she insisted as I tried to decide between two refined steel swords for her.

"Don't be ridiculous," I told her, selecting one of the blades. "That standard issue iron sword isn't going to cut it. I'd buy you some new armor as well, but I need to save the rest of my money for horses."

"You're looking for horses?" the Breton man running the store asked. "Check out Whiterun Stables just outside of town. The man there—can't remember his name for the life of me—raises some fine beasts."

I paid for the sword and tomes and potions that we had purchased before leading Lydia outside of the store. Lydia told me she already had some mead that we could drink along the way, so a stop at the Bannered Mare was unnecessary. We could go at once, if I was prepared.

"Better to go now," I said, "than wait until morning just to have to wait yet another day because I am sore."

Lydia didn't say anything to this, and we made way to the hold's gates, but we stopped when we spotted a pair of guards arguing with some men with dark hair and reddish skin.

"A'likr warriors," Lydia informed me. "Best we just leave them to the guards. They cause nothing but trouble. We don't have any proper evidence, but it's them who keep raiding our farms. They aren't welcome in Whiterun."

I listened in on the conversation. The Redguard men were saying that they were looking for some woman, but the guards wouldn't have it. I decided to step in.

"I can handle things from here," I told the men.

"Yes sir, Thane Gio," the men said simultaneously, returning to their posts on either side of the door. They looked ready to let fly at a moment's notice, but the two Redguard men didn't appear stupid enough to start anything with an entire hold's worth of men ready to fall on them.

"So, you're Whiterun's Thane," the man to my right said. "Well met."

"You said you were looking for a woman?" I asked them.

"Yes," the man said. His words were suave and liquid, almost as though he was trying to seduce me into his will. "A Redguard woman."

"What would she be doing in Whiterun?"

"She snuck her way in, most likely. You see, she's a wanted woman in the hold we come from. She probably snuck her way in, seeking refuge. Most likely she won't be using her real name and is keeping a low profile."

"Why exactly are you after this woman? What has she done wrong?"

"That is none of your concern," the man told me, the suave gentleness turning into a hiss. "All you need to know is that there's money on her head in Hammerfell, and we're paying for any information on her. If you do have any information, bring it to Rorikstead."

Without another word, the two men turned and left.

"I wouldn't bother with them," Lydia told me.

I grunted in response. If I figured anything out, I supposed it would be rude not to say, but I doubted I'd discover anything useful.

"We should be going, my Thane," Lydia suggested, and after I waited a moment longer so that the two men could get some ground ahead of us, we walked through the gates and headed for Whiterun Stables.

At the stable, after I'd made my request for two horses, the man running the stable said, "Sorry, sir, but I only have one horse available. But she's a fine steed fit for any man, be they soldier, commoner, or even our own Thane himself."

I looked at the horse that he was sitting next to and asked, "How old is your horse?"

He patted the farm horse's rump. "Allie here is seven. But she has spirit left, she does. She'd make a fine war horse. I was selling her for a thousand Septims, but for you sir, I'll half the price."

"I'd be a fool to turn that offer down," I said, already fishing out the necessary gold from my bag. "I'll take the horse. She'll earn a fine name under my ownership."

"I can't wait to hear the songs," the man said genuinely, accepting the coin and gesturing for me to take the horse.

I guided the horse out of its stall and onto the road, mounting it easily and fluidly. I scooted back in the saddle to make room and offered Lydia a hand up.

"I can walk," she assured me when she realized what I was doing.

"I'm not going to ride while you try to keep up on foot," I told her. "Hop up."

She glared disapprovingly at me but gave no further complaint as she accepted my hand into the saddle.

With a flick of the reins, Allie went into a trotting gallop. We were headed west in the direction of Sunderstone Gorge, with no time for detours or roundabout paths. Forward we went, following the winding the dirt road, past the fallen outpost and into land that I'd never been to before. I glanced down at Lydia, who was looking intently forward, and wondered if she'd ever even left Whiterun before.

"I'm still a relatively new Housecarl," she said suddenly.

"Excuse me?" I asked her.

"I only finished my training to become a Housecarl of Jarl Balgruuf little more than a month ago. I was practically born into my training. My mother and father had me join the training regiment when I was five. It took every Septim they owned, but they got me in."

"They must be proud of you."

"They're dead."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"It's fine. I hardly even knew them. Hardly even remember them. I hated them for selling me Balgruuf, but at the same time, I was so sad when the courier arrived with my inheritance. I wanted to make them proud, and so I became entirely oriented on my training. I graduated at the top of my class and was made a new Housecarl of Jarl Balgruuf himself."

"Your parents would have been proud."

"Aye, they would be. You would think that it would make me happy, but it didn't change the fact that they were dead."

"Now you're my Housecarl though. I'm sorry if this wasn't what your parents wanted for you."

"They'd be prouder to know that I am the Housecarl of the Dragonborn than if I were the Housecarl of any Jarl."

"Well, that takes a weight off my chest at the very least."

Lydia said no more, and neither did I. It crossed me that before she became my Housecarl she hadn't so much as bothered to look at me before. Now she was giving me her life story.

"We should take a break," Lydia suggested.

I noticed that Allie was getting tired and complied, drawing the brown mare to a halt. We hopped off her back, stretching out our legs. We separated a moment to relieve ourselves before returning to Allie, Lydia spreading out a roll as I got to work digging a pit for a fire. By the time the flames were up to a comfortable height, the evening star was in the air.

"So, do you know how to cook?" I asked Lydia, suddenly aware that with all the skills in swordsmanship that I'd somehow remembered, there was a complete blank on cooking.

"I will take care of any cooking, my Thane," Lydia assured me, going through our bags. She let out a quiet curse. "We forgot salt."

I reached a hand into my bag, pulling out a bowl of salt.

"Thank you," she said, accepting the bowl and laying it out with a venison steak and some potatoes. She deftly skinned and cut up the potatoes, then proceeding to dice the deer meat into little cubes with equal finesse. She produced a cooking pot, filling it at a little stream nearby, before hanging it from the cooking spit by the flames.

We waited silently for several minutes until the water boiled. Then, she dumped the potatoes and meat and salt all in together, stirring it all up as the boiling water slowly cooked the crude ingredients together. It was a beggar's meal, but my stomach growled hungrily nonetheless. It dawned on me that I hadn't eaten since Helgen, and probably for an amount of time before that even as well. I was also quite thirsty.

"Pass me the mead," I said, outstretching my arm.

Lydia picked up a bottle and tossed it to me. I uncorked it and tossed my head back, guzzling down the sweet nectar.

"Be careful," Lydia said distastefully to me. "Honingbrew is good, but it'll leave you drunk before you know it."

I ducked my head to stop the flow of amber liquid down my throat. It burned comfortably in my belly, and my thirst was relieved, but my senses were suddenly befuddled and I felt dizzy, almost as though I was about to fall over after spinning in a circle a dozen times.

"Great, now he's tipsy," Lydia grumbled.

"Is the stew ready?" I asked with a hiccup.

"Just a minute," she said. "And you'd better not try anything stupid with me. You can ask that old drunk who wonders around the Plains District how I respond to men who get too free with their hands."

"I'm not that drunk," I assured her. "But what do you do?"

She didn't say anything, only continued stirring the stew as it steadily grew thicker and thicker. As it began to steam profusely and I thought she might be about to burn it, she moved the pot carefully away from the flame and served the contents into our bowls. Allie was content with munching on grass and snowberries.

"Careful; it's hot," Lydia warned me as I burned my tongue on the food.

"Thanks for the spoiler alert," I said around my scalded tongue. After toying with my stew a minute, I asked her, "So why did you tell me that?"

"Why your food was hot?"

"No, about your parents."

She didn't say anything, didn't look at me. Finally, she surrendered, "Women tend to say things when a man's prick is pressing against her arse."

I spit out my stew.

"I'm so sorry," I said quickly. "I'd hoped you wouldn't notice. I didn't know what was happening, but after you mounted in front of me and the way that the horse was jostling us, I—"

"I'm only teasing you," she said with a laugh. "To be honest, I'd've been more worried if you stayed limp the whole ride. And as for my sob story, most of Whiterun knows it. I just figured I'd beat everyone else in telling you about it."

"I feel played," I said, but couldn't help but to touch my odd exterior organ curiously. "But I honestly didn't know what happened. I mean, I knew that it was there and all, but over the past two days since I woke up, I don't remember it doing anything like that."

Lydia grinned mischievously. "Oh, so you don't know anything about it do you?"

"What're you talking about it?" I tried asking her, but she only chuckled slyly and ate her stew, acting as though I was being left out of some huge secret. By the time I'd finally given up trying to leech it out of her, I had to eat my stew cold.

We spread out our bedrolls, Lydia offering to take the first watch. I didn't object as I curled up in my fur sleeping bag, allowing myself to fade away into slumber.

ten hours later

I awoke to a gentle prodding on my cheek. I blinked my eyes opened, surprised when I saw Lydia hovering over me, looking exhausted.

"Good…morning?" I said, unsure of what to make of her. It suddenly dawned on me that she hadn't awakened me to take my watch.

"Good morning," she said sleepily. "A few stray wolves wondered by, but I managed to shoo them off."

"You don't look fit to shoo a hare," I said, sitting up in my bedroll.

"There were a lot of wolves." She grinned. "You slept like a log though. Allie had to come save me."

"You should have waked me up."

"It's just fine, my Thane. It is my duty to keep you safe."

"How are you to keep me safe if you can barely even keep your eyes open?" I asked of her, cupping her face in my hands. She had such pretty eyes, I realized, but black rings around them had altered their beauty. "You get some rest while I pack everything up. You can sleep in Allie's saddle the rest of the way to Sunderstone Gorge."

She rejected my invitation to rest, but couldn't put up much fight as I wrapped her up in my bedroll. Immediately I set to work bagging supplies, burying the fire pit, and saddling up Allie. It took the better part of an hour, and probably would've gone by much quicker with Lydia's help, but I couldn't allow myself to have her help when she'd exhausted herself for me so already.

Delicately, I pulled Lydia from the roll and folded it up as well before nudging her awake.

"We're ready to go," I said informatively.

She rubbed the sleep form her eyes, sitting up from the dirt. Her hair was strewn with grass, but I chose not to say anything about it as I jumped up on top of the horse's back. I gave Lydia and hand up, and almost immediately she leaned back against my chest, her head resting on my shoulder at an awkward angle, and started to snore.

"Not much decency in Skyrim, is there?" I thought aloud, spurring Allie into a slow canter.

We continued forward with little excitement. I kept a steady eye on the horizon, sniping any wolves before they got too close from the saddle. A traveling bard offered me and my "lady friend" a song, but I denied him and continued onward. Before long, we were cresting a ridge when I came across three elf-like individuals traveling by foot with avid determination.

"Hail, travelers," I greeted them. "Can I ask where you're headed?"

"That is none of your concern, foreigner," the leader—a woman—said coldly. "We are on official Thalmor business."

Why is it always foreigner? I thought, and then aloud, "Forgive me, I meant no disrespect. But can I ask who you are?"

"I am a Thalmor Judiciar. Now, if you will excuse me from your pestilent questions, as I afore mentioned we are on important business."

Without a further word, the three continued forward. The two male elves following after were stone-faced, completely unreadable. I remembered Ralof saying something about the Thalmor being a race of high elves. I couldn't help but wonder if all of them were like this.

After another hour or so of traveling, I came across a group fighting with each other. All of them seemed hostile, and I immediately woke Lydia and we dismounted the horse.

"Forsworn," Lydia said, pointing to the more raggedly, tribally dressed men and women. "The others are orc hunters. Both are unlawful factions known to attack anyone aggressively, but it's the Forsworn we should be worried about."

The Forsworn outnumbered the orc hunters two-to-one, but the hunters managed to take down two of them and injure a third. Immediately, they spun around to face us and started flinging threats our way, telling us to back off from their territory.

"What do we do?" I asked Lydia.

"If we turn our backs to them, they'll just shoot us down. Might as well engage them."

Without another word, I drew Dragon Tongue and Elder Reaper, Lydia producing her own steel sword and raising her shield, and we engaged the Forsworn. The tribal warriors seemed taken aback by our attack, but engaged us with equivalent ferocity. I had to commend them for their ferocity and likewise use of dual blades, but their exposed flesh made for too easy a victory.

"I'm wide awake now," Lydia informed me after we finished looting the dead. We'd come up with some orcish bows and arrows and various other weapons of mass destruction form the hunters, but the Forsworn had little to offer besides a fair amount of gold.

"We should be going then. How much farther until we reach Sunderstone Gorge?"

"It should actually just be around this bend, if your map is accurate."

We remounted Allie, and I spurred her into a gallop. Sure enough, as soon as we rounded the mountain, the mouth of a cave yawned open in the side of a cliff face.

"Sunderstone Gorge?" I asked.

"Sunderstone Gorge," Lydia confirmed.

We dismounted Allie, and I started to tie the horse off when Lydia stopped me. She said that Skyrim horses were loyal, and if Allie were to run off it was most likely for her own protection. So, we entered the cave, our weapons in their sheathes but we still ever cautious.

"I here talking," I whispered, stopping before we'd hardly even entered the cave.

The words of whoever was inside were only faintly audible as they echoed down the stone corridor to our hears, but I could make out the words of a woman saying she was going to get back to work and then footsteps heading our way.

"Hide!" I hissed urgently to Lydia, pushing her into a shelf in the wall and producing my bow.

A woman—maybe Nord or some other race—passed by in front of us, oblivious to our presence. She had shortcut white hair and wore a black robe. She didn't carry any obvious weapons, but she exuded an ominous and unholy power.

Without second thought I loosed an arrow, and it flew through her throat. She gurgled softly, crumpling to the ground. I was personally impressed with the stealthy kill.

"Excuse me," I heard Lydia's muffled voice say behind me. I looked over my shoulder at her, finding that I'd crushed her up against the wall behind me in my haste.

"Sorry," I said, moving out of her way. She stepped from the shelf, drawing her sword. She looked irritated with me. Oh well.

"There's still someone else ahead," I stated, notching another arrow and creeping down the corridor. I peeked around the corner and spotted another woman dressed similarly to the other one. Her back was turned to me, and an arrow in the small of her back made for a quick kill.

"I don't see anyone else," I said, slinging my bow over my shoulder and starting down the sloped cave floor to the campfire where the woman had been sitting at.

"Okay, but be careful, my Thane. These sorts of places have lots of— Uh-oh."

There was a ker-thunk, and I turned to see Lydia staring at a pressure plate on the ground she'd just activated. There was a rumbling sound, and all of a sudden the wall at the top of the slope exploded outwards, sending boulders and large stones hurtling towards us. The first two or three that connected with my body I'd managed to stand down, but the rocks just kept falling and soon I was buried in rubble.

"Way to go, Lydia," I moaned, struggling under the heavy debris. My armor had resisted startlingly well against it, but I was still pretty banged up and pinned.

Finally after a little bit of wriggling I managed to push a boulder away from my face, only to be greeted by a chattering skeleton. It hissed and raised its blade to strike me but was stopped short when an arrow struck it in its side and it crumbled into a pile.

I looked to see Lydia with her longbow raised, looking much more banged up than I but still alive.

"See, I'm not entirely useless," she said painfully, managing a small grin.

"Yeah," I agreed. I pulled a potion from my bag and tossed it to her before uncorking another for myself. "Drink up."

After we finished unburying ourselves we got to work examining our armor. My arm guards were badly dented from deflecting away the first few stones, as was virtually all of Lydia's. She couldn't understand how her heavy steel had been more damaged than my lighter armor, and all I could do was compliment the Warmaiden's mastery in smithing.

"These won't be doing me any good," I muttered, pulling off my bracers. I opened up my satchel and stuffed them in, and as always, it swallowed them up despite only appearing big enough to fit one.

"How did you do that?" I heard Lydia asking.

"How did I do what?" I asked back.

She squinted at my bag.

"Here, let me see that," she said, pointing to my bag.

I complied, handing it over to her. She examined it closely before sticking her hand inside and pulling it back out, along with a breastplate.

"I don't believe it," she said. "My Thane, can I ask where you found this?"

I blinked at her. "Uh, I don't know. I think I picked it up back at Helgen. I can't remember. Why?"

"Because this is a sage's satchel, a truly rare artifact. They're also called wizard purses amongst and some other names, but it all has the same meaning. They're just like an ordinary bag, only you can stuff just about anything inside of one of these, provided you can bear the weight."

"Interesting," I said, receiving the bag and breastplate back from the woman. "So, I take it these things are valuable?"

"Indeed they are, my Thane. The only man I know of who still knows how to make a sage's satchel is the court wizard of Emperor Titus Mede II. And the bags he makes are only distributed to the emperor's council and his staunchest war generals. The only way to get one is to join the council or the emperor's army, or hope you're lucky and find one lying around in an old ruin or dungeon somewhere."

"I'll be sure to keep this close, then."

After looting the dead women for nothing more than a few stray septims, we continued down a narrow path in one of the walls. Lydia had insisted on taking the lead, keeping her shield up in front of herself and effectively creating an impenetrable wall to any who might greet us in the narrow pass.

"I hear another skeleton," she murmured to me, and we dropped into a crouch. I produced my bow, motioning for Lydia to keep me covered. We peeked around a corner, finding a skeleton to be standing in the middle of a small room. I shot it over Lydia's shoulder, and it crumbled.

"Nice shot," Lydia complimented me, standing back up and continuing into the room.

"Thanks, but try not to set off anymore traps."

"I'll be careful," she assured me before an altar at one end of the room caught her attention and she started toward it. "Hey, what's that? It looks like some sort of— Not again."

There was another click, and suddenly a mammoth skull suspended on ropes swung down swiftly at Lydia, sweeping her off her feet and sending her flying onto the steps of the altar.

"Lydia!" I exclaimed, rushing towards her and crouching at her side. I was already pouring red potion down her throat.

"That was embarrassing," she said, standing up. Her armor had efficiently stopped most of the blow. "Where did that thing even come from?"

I looked at the wall the skull had swung down from, noticing a slot in the wall. I examined it, finding a locking mechanism that would have held the skull in place along with some unfamiliar potions a decent amount of coin.

"I'm not sure if you're good luck or bad," I said good-naturedly to Lydia, jostling the bag of coins where she could see, smiling wider than I ever had in the past days since I woke up. Lydia looked away from me.

"You should probably lead," she said softly, looking down the next corridor.

Not sure how to respond, I simply continued forward. The second corridor wasn't as long as the last and completely straight, and we soon were upon a second long room. I heard the chattering of another skeleton, and I shot it around the corner, along with a large rat. Lydia whispered something about hating skeevers, and I figured that that was probably what the rats were called. Everything seemed to be bigger in Skyrim, I realized. Bigger spiders, bigger rats, bigger lizards…

"Wait," I said, holding up my hand. Some of the rainbow-colored fuel-like the stuff from Bleak Falls Barrow was on the ground, and I could barely see a pressure plate submerged beneath the liquid. Cautiously I pressed my foot on the plate, and I heard a click and a crash. I looked left and saw a wall of multicolored flame racing across the floor towards me.

"Back off!" I cried, spinning on the ball of my foot and tackling Lydia to the ground just as the gas-fueled flames erupted in front of us.

We stayed on the ground like that, me lying protectively over top of her, for several seconds as the flames consumed the last of the fuel. As the flames subsided, I propped myself up, looking down at my Housecarl, who was looking a little dazed.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"You can get off me now," she said. I could've sworn she was blushing, but she pushed me away before I could really tell.

"Sorry," I said. "Guess I'm not much better at avoiding traps than you are."

She didn't say anything, and we rose to our feet, stepping into the long room. Down the hall there were crude structures set up, and more of the people in black robes. It was too dim for them to see us, but I had a clear shot at two of them.

"Any idea who these people are?"

"Mages without a doubt," Lydia said. "I've heard rumors that spell casters who specialize in fire magic and necromancy reside here, and that they worship some sort of fire god. They're evil."

"Good, because I'd feel bad about killing those last two."

Without another word, I sniped the two mages. They dropped like sacks of potatoes, but when I killed the second, I heard surprised exclamations. Deciding that the time for stealth was over, I produced my swords from their sheathes and Lydia drew her own steel blade.

We continued forward into the shadow of the wooden structures, greeted immediately by a tall man wielding a staff.

"You never should have come here!" he shouted, raising his stave into the air. A column of ice shot from the top of the stave, arcing right for me. I raised Dragon Tongue to counter it, the blade's blazing energy countering the frost.

"I thought you said they were fire experts," I said to Lydia, advancing on the mage and cutting him down with Elder Reaper. As his life left his form, I could feel the gemstones in my pocket begin radiating power.

I produced one of the stones that formerly had been dull and lifeless, which now hummed like the others.

"A sage's satchel full of soul gems," Lydia muttered. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you, my Thane."

"I guess so," I responded. I would have asked what she meant by soul gems, but couldn't as two more mages rushed us. Cutting the two of them down was easier than the first, and their corpses were left burning in their robes from Dragon Tongue's power.

"I see a ramp up ahead," Lydia informed me, starting forward, but stopped cold when something clicked under her foot. This time, a spiked grate like one that I'd been caught by at the Barrow swung around, pinning her against the stone wall.

"Lydia!" I exclaimed, catching her as she fell after the trap swung back into place.

"Damn, that's going to bruise," she muttered, clutching at deep wounds in her chest.

"Just hold on," I said, my voice shaking as I retrieved the biggest potion I had from my satchel. I uncorked the glass vial and Lydia drank from it, red liquid dribbling from the corners of her mouth. She sputtered, and I pulled the vial away.

"Just give me a second to catch my breath," Lydia told me as I sat her down.

"Do you think you'll be alright?" I asked her as she stood back up from the ground.

She examined the holes that had been punched through her breastplate. "I'm fine, but my armor is ruined."

"I told you we should've bought you something better."

We started looting the area and the dead mages. We came up with plenty of gold, as well as some stray alchemical ingredients. I'd also given the stave to Lydia, since she didn't claim to know any magic. She insisted that true Nords didn't need to use magic, but I made her take it anyway. Before long, we were continuing up the ramp and across a wooden bridge into another room.

Lydia was muttering to herself as we snuck down the shadows of a hall. There was another mage that I was preparing to dispatch silently from afar. The Nord woman sounded as though she was rehearsing, but I couldn't hear much more than a few stray words.

"What are you mumbling about?" I asked her, standing back up after I shot the mage and continuing carelessly forward. I noticed a flash from the corner of my eye and froze from my shock as a column of red flame blasted right for me.

"Gio!" I heard Lydia cry out. Something grabbed my elbow, and I was yanked back just before the flames reached me and I was suddenly on the ground, this time with Lydia on top of me.

"Déjà vu," I said, looking up into Lydia's emerald eyes, and suddenly finding myself transfixed.

"There's a soul gem trap just around that corner," Lydia said, standing up off me and looking away. "The only way to avoid being fried by it is to sprint by before it can cast its magic. Or, if you think you're fast enough, you could try to remove it from its pedestal."

"What is a soul gem anyway?" I asked her.

"Soul gems are odd crystals which can trap a person's life essence within them. The soul held captive within a soul gem can then be used to empower spells or enchantments to weapons or armor, as well as increase the effectiveness of enchantments to your gear."

"Morbid," I muttered. "I think I'll try for that gem though. They could come in handy."

I crept over to the corner. Bracing myself, I deftly leaped around it, swiping for where the gem was on its pedestal. I failed to grab it properly, but I knocked it down and kept it from blasting me.

"Not exactly a ten-point attempt," I said, "but it worked."

"Let's just keeping moving. The deeper we go, the more dangerous these traps seem to become."

We continued for many minutes, killing mages and necromancers and the occasional skeever as we continued down into the depths of Sunderstone Gorge. Soon, we were standing before a heavy set of double doors.

"Keep low," I told Lydia. "There's probably a whole bunch of them inside. Get your bow ready."

She didn't object, and we crouched on opposite sides of the doorframe and slowly opened them wide. Inside, there was a platform spread out before another rose up above, a large bonfire burning in the center. I could smell burning flesh and blood, but only two mages were present. Fluidly, we shot them at the same time.

"That's it. I don't see any other way forward," I said, entering the room, stopping just before the first raised platform. "I was expecting some sort of lethal guardian."

"Maintain vigilance, my Thane," Lydia advised. "There's sure to be plenty of traps in here."

"No, I don't even think they expected anyone to make it this far. Come on, what's the worst that could— Oh no."

As I stepped onto the platform, the tile under my foot clicked and the fire raging in the center of the room flared up menacingly. Within, I could make out a humanoid shape stepping from the flames.

Except that the thing that approached was more demon than human. Its entire body was a living flame, and two great horns towered above its head. It appeared feminine, but somehow I knew that it was only the avatar for something much more hideous.

"A flame atronach," Lydia said gravely. "You asked for a lethal guardian, didn't you?"

"Guess I jinxed it," I agreed. "But we'll be just fine. Fus!"

A shockwave blasted from my mouth, impacting the demon noticeably. In fact, it seemed to be more effected than anything else I'd ever used the Shout on before.

"See that? We can still kill this thing. Alright, let's hit it!"

I put way Dragon Tongue, knowing that its fire element would probably only have the reverse effect on the creature. I also put way Elder Reaper, replacing the both of them with the axe and shield I'd used to kill the dragon at the Western Watch Tower. Lydia produced Frostbiter.

"Thanks again for the sword," Lydia grunted as she slashed at the atronach, which danced nimbly away.

"No problem," I said, jumping in her way as the monster shot a fireball at her, dispersing the flames with my shield.

"So, where did you find it anyway?" Lydia asked, successfully making a deep gouge on the demon's side.

"Some old ruins north-northwest of Riverwood," I said, staggering the atronach with a shield bash. "It was called Bleak Falls Barrow."

"Bleak Falls Barrow? That's a bandit stronghold. Whiterun has sent dozens of men to try and flush them out."

"The bandits weren't the only problem," I informed Lydia, successfully hacking off one of the atronach's arms, causing it to scream sharply and blast a blazing silhouette of itself at me. "Once you get past the bandits, you hit the draugr and frostbite spiders. I looted these swords from the former."

"You don't say," Lydia said, shouting the last word as she swung heavily at the atronach, cleaving it in half and embedding her great sword in the stone tiles.

"Not bad," I said, lowering my guard as the atronach crumpled to the ground in halves. Just as I was about to do my victory dance, the party was over as it exploded and sent both me and Lydia flying.

"That was dirty!" I moaned, rubbing the back of my head where I'd smashed it against a stone.

"Forgot that atronachs did that," Lydia muttered.

"No joke."

I stood up from the ground. I retrieved my axe which had flown from my hand and stuffed it and my shield back into my satchel. Lydia returned Frostbiter to its scabbard across her back.

"Come on; let's find that great power before it blows up again," I said, kicking at the red ash left where the atronach had been.

"Okay. Let me collect some of that though. It's fire salt. Farengar might like to have it to experiment with. I doubt he's seen much of it in his research."

"I'd rather see what it would do in your stew. Might give it a little bit of an extra kick."

I continued exploring the room while Lydia shoveled up the fire salts. On the second platform were several corpses of elves, Nords, and other humans alike, all of them on sacrificial altars and tables. At one corner of the platform I saw something glowing, and the closer I drew, it seemed as though a sort of chanting was ringing from somewhere.

I found a stone monolith engraved with alien runes just like the one from the Barrow. And like with the one at the Barrow, one word was glowing a radiant blue color. And I read it as yol. Fire. Raw, destructive power manifest.

"What did you find, my Thane?" Lydia asked, stepping up next to me.

"I'm not sure," I said honestly. "There was something like this back at Bleak Falls Barrow, though."

"I think I heard Farengar talking about something like this once. He called them word walls. He said that the language of the dragons is inscribed on them, although the few that he's found he hasn't been able to successfully translate."

I pointed to yol. "That one is fire." I noticed that fus was also present. "That one is force."

"You can read the dragon language? Wait that makes sense. The Dragonborn can speak dragon. Why shouldn't he be able to read it? But why only those two words?"

"I really can't understand," I admitted. "I just sort of know."

"That's reliable, I guess."

I looked around the room for any faster way out than the long way that we'd come. At one side of the room there was a gate, and after a few chain pulls we were in the room with the soul gem trap.

"It won't be long now and we can return to Whiterun," I said aloud as we made our way back out of the cave.

"Indeed," Lydia said.

a day and some hours later

"Ah, Thane Gio. It is good to see you again," Balgruuf greeted me from his throne. "I was worried. You didn't inform me that you were leaving the city."

"My apologies, Jarl Balgruuf," I said earnestly. "But I was exploring Sunderstone Gorge along with my Housecarl. I'd received a letter informing me that some sort of power was within its depths."

"And did you find this power?"

"Indeed. And we also eliminated a cult."

"That is good to hear, Thane. Forgive me for my curiosity, but what form of power did you find?"

"A new Shout. I devoured the soul of a dragon along the way back, if you'd like to see an example of it."

"No, that is quite alright. The servants just finished cleaning the keep. And I offer my apologies, as Breezehome is still yet habitable. I'm afraid that after many years of being unoccupied, termites and other pests have invaded it and many of the walls and floorboards need replacing. For now, you'll have to rent a room at the Bannered Mare."

"That is fine, my Jarl. I will be going now."

"Of course, Thane Gio. And once again, my apologies. Tell the innkeeper there that I sent you, and she might give you a price cut."

"Jarl Balgruuf, permission to speak," Lydia said suddenly.

"Of course, Lydia," the Nord man said. "What have you to say?"

"I'm afraid that I may be yet inadequate for my Thane. While we explored the recesses of Sunderstone Gorge, his life was in jeopardy more than once, and I was oft the one who placed him in such peril due to my own negligence. I would ask—for my Thane's sake—you revoke my position as his Housecarl for someone more capable."

"Lydia, I do not understand," Balgruuf said. "You were at the top of your class. Even though you are yet new as a Housecarl, you rival even Irileth in raw talent. But, if you truly believe you are unfit, I will accept your request."

"Jarl Balgruuf, I have something to say," I said.

"Of course, Thane. Is this on the matter of Lydia's request?"

"Indeed it is, Jarl."

"Then go on. I'd like to know what exactly happened."

I nodded my head. "Yes, I will agree with Lydia my life was in peril more than once. Nearly as soon as we entered the Gorge she sprung a trap which buried us in rubble. Thanks to the armor forged for me by Adrianne Avenicci." Proventus seemed proud of this. "And just as I was about to unbury myself a skeleton attacked, and would have killed me while I was pinned had Lydia not saved me from it. From then on she activated several deadly traps, but if she hadn't set them off then I probably would have. And when one trap had almost got me, it was Lydia who pulled me out of harm's way. And then there is worth mentioning when we fought a fire demon at the end of the dungeon, which without the help of Lydia I could not have hoped to have killed. And then not to mention the dragon that the soul of which I had devoured was felled by Lydia's arrow."

Balgruuf looked over at Lydia, looking amazed. "Is that so? Lydia, I thought that you mentioned that you'd endangered your Thane's life. It sounds to me as though you are a hero of his life. Did this all truly happen as was described by Thane Gio?"

"It did, my Jarl."

"Then Lydia, Housecarl of Thane Gio Dragonsbane of Whiterun, it would seem as though you have performed feats unlike any other in Whiterun. But if you truly believe that you are unfit to serve your Thane, I will carry out your request."

"Jarl Balgruuf, with all due respect," I interjected, "but I will not accept anyone to be my Housecarl aside from Lydia Thundercaller. She has proven herself to me as a valuable ally and friend."

Balgruuf seemed somewhat shocked, and when I looked over my shoulder at Lydia, her own placid expression painted over with amazement.

At last the Jarl chuckled and said, "I see, Gio. I can understand you standpoint. For me, none could replace Irileth. She has proven herself to me more than once. Lydia, hearing what your Thane has to say, would you still press at your request?"

Lydia was still looking at me in astonishment. Finally she said, "No, my Jarl. I would continue to serve Thane Gio Dragonsbane and to give him my life if need be."

"So be it. Unless you have any more matters that you wish to discuss, the two of you may leave now."

Lydia gave a steep bow and I a more slight one before we turned on our heels and left Dragonsreach.

Outside and out of the hearing range of the guards on duty at the keep's entrance I turned to Lydia.

"Back at Sunderstone, when I almost was caught by that soul gem, you didn't call me by my title. You called me by my name."

"Forgive me, my Thane," she said stoically. "It will not happen again, I swear."

"Actually, I'd much prefer it if you called me Gio. It's shorter than 'my Thane,' and all this formality gives me a headache."

"If that is what you wish, my Thane."

I shook my head. "We have a lot of work ahead of us."

Lydia grinned slightly before swiftly hiding it again and I gave a soft snort. I had a feeling that we had a long journey ahead of us.

End Chapter

Author's Note: Ugh, forgive me for the late update, but I've been crazy busy. Anyways, I had fun writing this chapter, and I hope you have fun reading it. Word count is almost 8k, and close to twenty pages. Is that a record? I think that's a record. Anyways, thanks to my reviewers, followers, and favoriters, but I have more than two hundred views last I checked and only fifteen favs, follows, and reviews combined, so you all better get cracking. Anyways, here's the Fun Fact.

Fun Fact: I got nothing. Well, good place to say that Frost Emblem: Re-Animated will soon be going live. Keep your eyes open. 'Til next time.